Book: Good to Great: Step-2
Published: 2010 & Pages: 280
10x Step Learning
Step-2
SIMPLICITY:
The Hedge Hog Concept
Think of a hedgehog, a small, spiky animal, and a clever fox trying to catch it. The fox tries different tricks every day, but the hedgehog’s defense is simple – it rolls into a ball with its sharp spines, and the fox can’t get to it. The hedgehog keeps doing this, and that’s why it survives.
Now, good-to-great companies are like hedgehogs. They become amazing by answering three important questions:
- What can we be the best in the world at?
- What are we really passionate about?
- What’s the most important thing to focus on to make money?
After a lot of thinking and talking, these companies find their own simple plan, like the hedgehog’s strategy. Once they have it, every decision they make follows this plan, and they become very successful.
For example, Walgreens, a drugstore, decided they would be the best and most convenient drugstore, making a lot of money from each customer visit. This was their plan, and they stuck to it. As a result, they did seven times better than the stock market. But their competitor, Eckerd Pharmacy, didn’t have a clear plan like Walgreens. They tried different things and didn’t do well, and eventually, they couldn’t stay in business.
10x Short Questions
1. What does the hedgehog do when the fox tries to catch it?
The hedgehog curls up into a spiky ball.
2. How do good-to-great companies find success, like the hedgehog?
They find a simple plan to follow.
3. What are the three important questions these companies ask themselves?
- What can we be the best in the world at?
- What are we passionate about?
- What’s the most important thing to make money?
4. What happens when good-to-great companies find their simple plan?
They make every decision based on that plan and become successful.
5. What was Walgreens' simple plan or Hedgehog concept?
Being the best and most convenient drugstore with high customer profits per visit.
6. How did Walgreens perform in the stock market compared to their plan?
They did seven times better than the stock market.
7. What happened to Eckerd Pharmacy, their competitor?
Eckerd Pharmacy didn’t have a clear plan like Walgreens, so they struggled and eventually went out of business.
8. What's the key to the hedgehog's success in dealing with the fox?
The hedgehog sticks to its simple strategy.
9. Why are good-to-great companies compared to hedgehogs?
They both have a simple, successful plan they stick to.
10. Why is finding a simple plan important for companies?
It helps them make better decisions and become more successful, like Walgreens.
Check Your Learning 10x MCQs
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