The biggest enemy to executing your business strategy and meeting the goals of your start-up business is not what many people think. Procrastination is the enemy that keeps new businesses from launching in the first place, but there is another enemy
that lurks around the corner waiting to pounce on you after you’ve overcome the hurdle of getting started.
That enemy attacks in the area of staying focused and it often appears in the unsuspecting guise of multiple good ideas.
Initially you’d think that the bandit that steals the momentum of your launch and highjacks your agreed-upon milestones in the process would be more evident in bad ideas or concepts. But in many cases the ideas that sound great but steals our focus away from the intended target are the ones that get in the way. It’s the good idea that would be great to pursue …but not now, or the one that someone needs to do…but not you…those are the ones to beware of.
To prevent this from happening, something I learned from the book Good to Great by author Jim Collins is what I stand by. It’s called the “Hedgehog Concept.” It’s reminiscent to the age old “tortoise versus the hare” tale and it goes like this: There are two different types of business leaders, foxes or hedgehogs.
Although a clearly defined objective or goal is defined for his business, the fox is easily distracted, especially when adversity hits. The fox is seen as always running back and forth at every new scheme that is introduced. Just like in the tale of the tortoise and the hare, the fox is picked to win because of a few short term successes, but loses in the long run because each good sounding idea had no relevance in reaching the intended endgame target.
The hedgehog has a much different business approach. A hedgehog in the real world only has one effective method of defense. When threatened, the hedgehog curls into ball, allowing the spikes of its fur to protrude to keep attackers at bay. It then rolls in a direct path forward to get out of the dangerous situation.
The hedgehog exemplifies sticking to focused, specific tasks. He is an expert in what works, thus the reason why he’s consistent. Like the tortoise, the hedgehog may not be picked to win at the beginning, but he comes out the winner because of a focused strategy.
Both of these business types are approached with good ideas during the course of their growth, but the hedgehog filters out ideas that don’t align with the intended end-game target.
How to Avoid Getting Off Track
Keep it simple: Make sure that your business target at the end of the term is a simple, achievable goal.
Any new idea should directly or indirectly help achieve that strategic goal. If it doesn’t, toss it or at least table it.
Finish what you start before branching off to start something new, especially if the new idea does not line up with reaching the target.
I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.
Strange this post is totaly unrelated to what I was searching google for, but it was listed on the first page. I guess your doing something right if Google likes you enough to put you on the first page of a non related search.