Hedgehog Concept
HEDGEHOG CONCEPT
“Foxes know many things; the hedgehog knows one thing very well”.
The Fox and the Hedgehog In his famous essay “The Hedgehog and the Fox,” Isaiah Berlin divided the world into hedgehogs and foxes, based upon an ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks upon the hedgehog. Day in and day out, the fox circles around the hedgehog’s den, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty—the fox looks
like the sure winner. The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between a porcupine and a small armadillo. He waddles along, going about his simple day, searching for lunch, and taking care of his home. The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own business, wanders right into the path of the fox. “Aha, I’ve got you now!” thinks the fox. He leaps out, bounding across the ground, lightning fast. The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up and thinks, “Here we go again. Will he ever learn?” Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the hedgehog
becomes a sphere of sharp spikes, pointing outward in all directions. The fox, bounding toward
his prey, sees the hedgehog defense and calls off the attack. Retreating to the forest, the fox begins
to calculate a new line of attack. Each day, some version of this battle between the hedgehog and
the fox takes place, and despite the greater cunning of the fox, the hedgehog always wins. Berlin
extrapolated from this little parable to divide people into two basic groups: foxes and hedgehogs.
Foxes pursue many ends at the same time and see the world in all its complexity. They are
“scattered or diffused, moving on many levels,” says Berlin, never integrating their thinking into
one overall concept or unifying vision. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a complex world
into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything. It
doesn’t matter how complex the world; a hedgehog reduces all challenges and dilemmas to
simple—indeed almost simplistic— hedgehog ideas. For a hedgehog, anything that does not
somehow relate to the hedgehog idea holds no relevance. Princeton professor Marvin Bressler
pointed out the power of the hedgehog during one of our long conversations: “You want to know
what separates those who make the biggest impact t from all the others who are just as smart?
They’re hedgehogs.” From the book Good to Great
The Hedgehog Concept is developed in the book Good to Great. A simple, crystalline concept that
flows from deep understanding
about the intersection of three circles: what you are deeply passionate about?
Our Hedgehog Concept is developed is our simple, crystalline concepts understood by all members of our team. Our three circles are:
- What you are deeply passionate about – Growing People – We focus on how we can help individuals GROW- not just participants, but educators as well. We do this through teaching LIFE SKILLS*, focusing on mentorship, and through constant professional development.
- What you can be the best in the world at- Building A Community Of Growth – It is our goal for TOPP KIDS to become connected to each community we serve and become a hub for the youth in that community. We encourage children, families and community stakeholders to participate, learn, mentor, and support the children’s development as much as possible and create positive impact wherever we can.
- What best drives your economic or resource engine- Dollars per program/ enrollments
(bums in seats). We focus on maximizing the amount of participants in our program so
that the program and community can benefit and grow from the financial gain of those
participants attending. This does not ever mean sacrificing quality. With the growth of the
number of participants, so too should the support for those participants and must be
budgeted for accordingly, maintaining and exceeding TOPP KIDS Quality Standards.
It is important for every employee at TOPP KIDS to understand these fundamental concepts.
They will help guide our decisions and our direction forward. Every idea and initiative
undertaken at TOPP KIDS must align with these concepts.