Hedgehog Concept-an understanding what you can be best at
Are you a hedgehog or a fox?
In the famous essay by Isaiah Berlin “The Hedgehog and the Fox” the world is divided into two types. The fox knows many things. The fox is a very cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies to sneak attack upon hedgehog. The hedgehog knows one big thing. That is rolling up into a perfect little ball thus becoming a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The hedgehog always wins despite the different tactics the fox used.
Just recently, I managed to read the book and also listened to the audio book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t by Jim Collins. This is a highly must read book even though it was about business companies but I found that individuals can learn especially the Hedgehog Concept of Chapter 5. I actually kept on listening the audio book a lot of times, it was like having Jim Collins as your coach by your side. That was priceless.
The Hedgehog Concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from the deep understanding about the intersection of the following circles:
- What you can be the best in the world at (and, equally important what you cannot be the best in the world at). This basic understanding goes far beyond core competence. A core competency does not guarantee that you can be best in the world at it. Conversely, what you can be the best at might not even be something in which you are currently engaged.
- What drives your economic engine? Most of the good-to-great companies discovered a single driving denominator as profit per x, which had the greatest impact on their economics. For social sector, instead of economic, resource engine – which is broken into three parts as time, money, and brand.
- What you are deeply passionate about. The good-to-great companies focused on those activities that ignited their passion. The idea here is not to stimulate passion but to discover what makes you passionate.
To understand more simply about the 3 questions so that we can apply to our personal understanding, here are some guiding statements. First, you are doing work for which you have a genetic or God-given talent, and perhaps you could become one of the best in the world in applying that talent. (“I feel that I was just born to do this?”) Second, you are well paid for what you do. (“I get paid to do this? Am I dreaming?”) Third, you are doing work you are passionate about and absolutely love to do, enjoying the actual process for its own sake.(“I look forward to getting up and throwing myself into my daily work, and I really believe in what I’m doing.”)
A Hedgehog Concept is not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is simply an understanding of what you can be the best at. This distinction is very crucial.
Here are some exercises that you can do to be able to find and understand your hedgehog concept. Get 3 sheets of paper. On the first sheet of paper, do an analysis of yourself. What I am truly passionate about? What do I love to do? List down as many things that you love to do even when you are a child. Start with, I love to… On the second sheet of paper, what am I genetically encoded for? I feel like I was kind of made to do this. What fits your capabilities? What fits your psychology? What fits me why I was put here on this earth to do? On third sheet of paper, what are all the various things that you can think of that will allow you to have an economic engine? What are the things that you can do that make you a living if you’re allowed to do that?
Give those sheets of papers to your trusted friends and ask them for the thoughts where do you see the intersection across these 3 sheets? What kind of direction do you think that this might help me see as the right direction for me?
Please play this audio advise by Jim Collins on How to Find Your Personal Hedgehog Concept?
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Network Marketing (MLM) Home Business – Life Skills and Lessons Learned
I got involved with Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) or Network Marketing (NM) after subscribing to Robert Allen’s landing page.That was around in the first quarter of 2008 and it was my first time ever to be involved in a network marketing industry. I learned about Robert Allen after attending KC See’s You Can Create Wealth Seminar of Money Mastery way back 2007. They recommended reading the book on Multiple Streams of Income and I must say it’s a must read book about different money making machines. My curiosity to learn more about the author lead me to opting-in from his website’s squeeze page.
I got a call from an American speaking guy from Taiwan and I thought it was Robert Allen. I was super pessimistic when he told me it was network marketing. I got a very bad impression about the MLM from the media and friends when I was still staying and working from my country, the Philippines. I was impressed how he was able to handle my objections by throwing with another question after question. So in short he became my upline sponsor after spending sometime studying the online videos that he sent me. I did my own research and found the credibility of the company, products and the leaders as the best in the industry.
Here are some of the lessons that I learned:
1. Communication – this is the foundation of the training. We have complete set of materials like audio books from most of the top sales and mlm gurus. The lessons that I learned was very invaluable such that I never had the chance to learn them in my formal schooling. Say for example, we should treat sales as a form of communication. Everyone of us are in some sort of selling whether we like it or not or we just simply didn’t realize it. You sell yourself to an employer so that you will get that coveted job. Before you got married, you sell yourself to your partner. You sell yourself when you performed your best in a basketball or any sports tryout .
2. Mental Attitude – I did learn how to handle and accept multiple rejections both from face to face and mostly cold calls. I can’t remember how many rejections I received and no answer from my follow-up calls. You must be able to deal with different personalities. There were some who were super skeptical about the industry.No matter how you would want to ask them in a polite and appreciative manner, they will just say unpleasant things about you. Having this mindset is very important since the business is a numbers game or a law of averages.
3. Healthy lifestyle – this is the most important lesson that I will carry with me even when I grow older. At present, I’m still taking the supplements to keep me going with my daily activities. This was further reinforced after attending Tony Robbins Unleashed the Power Within Seminar last 2009. What you eat is very crucial about what you become. As much as possible though I’m not that consistent yet, I eat vegetables and fruits with watermelon and grass jelly drink as my favorite. Though I seldom play basketball, I make sure to jog if not do some exercises or a bit of dancing every time I came home from work.
Lastly, I want to share with you some very valuable lessons that I learned from a great leader. Whenever you talk to prospects you need to ask these 3 questions:
1. Is this for Real?
2. Can I trust You?
3. Will You help me?
All objections are based and rooted on these questions. If the prospective client or customer answers all of them with YES then he/she just bought YOU. Yes, You need to sell Yourself even in other business in general.
How To Become An Entrepreneur – 3 Essential Truths You Need To Develop
Are entrepreneurs born or made? This had been an old battle of discussion. Everyone of us is an entrepreneur in one way or another. We just have to tap deep within us if we desire intensely. Let us define what does an entrepreneur means. The word entrepreneur is originally taken from the French word, etreprendre, which means ” to undertake.” In the business context this simply means to start a business. The Merriam- Webster dictionary defines an entrepreneur as one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. It looks to me that not everyone can become an entrepreneur based from this definition. The definition actually varies from which perspective you are referring be it either business, social, economics, political.
Entrepreneurship must be a very diverse subject to discuss. I must say that all entrepreneurs started deep within themselves. That’s the topic that I want to talk about here as I am on this journey of becoming an entrepreneur. Yes I am still working on a job as a mechanical engineer for over more than 10 years already. Its never too late for me to pursue and become a dreamer. I have quite experienced some sort of an entrepreneurial skills development in my past 3 years of working here in Singapore. I had my first taste of engaging in a business through forex trading. Then I got involved with multi-level marketing business until I committed to being an online entrepreneur as a search engine marketer.
Here are 3 Keys you need to develop to become an entrepreneur within.
1. Definiteness of Purpose – when I started a network marketing business, we were taught to write down our dreams and goals. Why do you want that dreams and goals? Why is that important to you? Its all about WHY? You need to develop to ask below the surface questions. In any kind of business this should be the starting point of where you want to be even one’s life purpose. Purpose is very powerful specially if you get emotional.
2. Passion – this is the driving force of your purpose. Passion gives you the energy to do what you love doing regardless of time. It drives me to learn things that I don’t know. To express myself openly and to be the best that I can be all the time.
3. Continuous Practice – I have to commit on practicing the necessary skills and traits of a great entrepreneur as much as I can. It took me more than 5 years to become a mechanical engineer and more than 10 years to be an impeccable expert on 3D CAD Modeling. This same practice should also apply to becoming an entrepreneur. I played and practice a lot of times playing basketball almost everyday before. I even imagined making the shots while I am in my dreams. What distinguishes a star from the other performers is the number of hours of practice. A 10,000-Hour Rule was the norm based in Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success.
My take is everyone can learn to become an entrepreneur. Read books about entrepreneurship, meet people who are entrepreneur, enroll in a course or even hire a coach.
I need to act like one, dress like them, talk like an entrepreneur, be like one. Then in time entrepreneurship will find me.
“Being an entrepreneur is not a group effort. You have to trust yourself.” – Donald Trump
Inspired from Michael Gerber E Myth Mastery
E Myth Mastery
