How Hedgehog Concept Can Help Students?

The Hedgehog Concept refers to focusing on one thing. When you focus on one particular aspect, you tend to give your hundred per cent. Utilizing full energies to achieve a specific goal gives you better results.

The Formula of Success Lies in Simplicity

The concept is useful for students. As a student, you first need to identify your passion, and then work wholeheartedly to perform well in the area you have chosen. If you think you are good at a particular subject, then work hard to become the best in that. 

Students can utilize the Hedgehog Concept with the help of three different assessments. Firstly, understand your genuine passion. Secondly, identify the areas of your strength and think of what you can do better than others. Thirdly, determine Your Economic Engine.

The Hedgehog ideology suggests that “The fox knows several things, but the hedgehog knows one major thing.”

The folktale contains a lesson for the students. For example, the fox employs several strategies to trap the hedgehog; it sneaks, runs, and pretends to be dead. However, always, the fox remains defeated, its tender nose pierced by spines. The fox never understands that the hedgehog can do one big thing with perfection, which is self-defence.

Application of the Hedgehog Concept

According to the arguments of Philosopher Isaiah Berlin, the foxes set several goals, and they may have interests. Resultantly, they spread their focus and struggle to focus on one particular element exclusively. Subsequently, they are unable to achieve something substantial.

On the other hand, hedgehogs work on a single and simple strategy to achieve the goal. Therefore, students should keep in mind the importance of focusing on one target at a time.

How Can Students Effectively Use the Hedgehog Concept?

As a student, you can utilize the Hedgehog Concept with the help of three different assessments:

1. Understand what you are genuinely passionate about.
2. Identify what you do better than anyone else.
3. Determine Your Economic Engine

The answer to the question, what is the hedgehog concept lies in the following steps.

Step 1: Discover Your Passion

Discover what you feel passionate about. For what, you get up early in the morning and keep working late?

Consider what makes you excited more? Which particular element inspires you the most? And what motivations and values do you seek when you become a team member or hire a team?

Step 2: Realize What You Do Best 

As a student, your objective is to understand what you can do better than others. If you cannot do something correctly, then that should not be your Hedgehog Concept.

To excel in the future, it is essential to know the things you will never be best at. Honesty is the fundamental element when you analyze your weaknesses. Be mindful that not being perfect in some particular areas is exceptional. Complete understanding of your capabilities will help you in every walk of life.

Methods such as SWOT Analysis and Core Competencies Analysis will indicate what you already do well. Also, these strategies will help you to determine your future actions. Generally, organizations use these methods. However, as an individual, you can also employ these approaches to determine your set of steps.

Step 3: Determine Your Economic Engine

If you run an organization, you would like to have a robust economic engine. Also, your organization should know how to earn sustainable profit and maintain cash flow. As a decision-maker, you should have an insight into the single “economic indicator. A few economic indicators are:

• Profit per client
• Profit per worker
• Profit per area
• Profit per geographic location
• Profit per brand
• Profit per component made
• Profit per sale

The single economic indicator may serve as a specific element for your industry or business. For instance, airline industry traditionally used the approach: “revenue per available seat mile.” Southwest Airlines of the United States employed the system: “profit per plane” as a denominator.

In this way, the airline focused on aeroplanes, instead of available seat miles. This indicates that Southwest used a different strategic approach as compared to its competitors. Therefore, the airline generated a profit consistently.

Step 4: Analyze the Overlap

When you have thoroughly considered the model’s three elements, then analyze where they intersect or overlap. This will be the point where you will find your Hedgehog Idea: the core vision, which should drive your organizational strategy.

For instance, think that individuals in your organization are committed to innovation, and they want to benefit vulnerable people. In this situation, you realize that you can develop an affordable water filtration system and you also think that you are best at it.

In this case, a plausible Hedgehog Concept would be to make a portable water filtration system. This project will facilitate the people of developing countries to use your filtration system. You could sell the products in large quantity to charities.

As a student, you do not need to worry if your Hedgehog Concept is not clear right now. You can perform some additional analysis or try various combinations to find the basic vision for your better future.

Step 5: Evaluate and Communicate Your Plan

Analyze your existing plan and think about whether it is in line with your Hedgehog Ideology. You may realize that you could take advantage of developing a revised plan based on your learning.

If you are leading a team, take all your team members on board about the new plan. First, explain to them the Hedgehog Concept, and then convey its importance for achieving the goal. With the help of this concept, the team will be able to reflect its true commitment, potential and economic capabilities. Your explanation may create motivation and values among your team members.

Your analysis may cause a significant change in your team. It is significant to make strategies and manage the change effectively. Once applied, your new, comprehensively aligned plan will give a complete direction to your team members, customer and other relevant people. Proper evaluation and communication of the plan provide the results with ineffective management, performance and sustainable profitability.

You need to evaluate your strategy to ensure its alignment with the Hedgehog concept. If it is not in line with your policy, then consider revising it. As a team leader, you can effectively communicate your plan to your team members. In this way, you will be transferring your passion to your team.