Managing Leadership^®

The depiction of people as either foxes or hedgehogs was originally intended to describe their distinct methods for interpreting the meaning and direction of events in the world. A “hedgehog” tends to see everything as fitting within a single, philosophical framework, expressing its manifestation in History. A “fox,” on the other hand, does not believe that all of life’s phenomena can be encapsulated in a single idea, however comprehensive it may appear; accordingly, it draws on an eclectic range of concepts and views to understand the diverse unfolding of life.

The terms have become common in the business world, recently; but here they have taken on different meanings. The hedgehog, for example, does not integrate discrete events within a unifying world-view; rather, it simply has a single compelling idea or goal, which it pursues to the exclusion of all others, undeterred by distracting obstacles. Conversely, the fox is not so focused on one opportunity that it fails to observe and pursue others.

Many observers have strained to discover a compelling virtue in the fox. But it typically winds up being used as a cautionary tale of dissipated thinking and distracted effort that comes to nothing in the end.

This, in contrast with the unlikelier hero of the two, the hedgehog. Some of the world’s most spectacularly successful entrepreneurs are used to illustrate the irresistible force of a passionately-held idea, inspiring enthusiastic followership among investors, employees, venders, and consumers alike. You can easily recognize in this many of the most cherished elements coveted by modern leadership gurus.

Unfortunately, it is greatly – even dangerously -misleading. There are two serious problems.

First, the moral is based on “studies” of only the successful hedgehogs. The sad truth is that for every one of those, there are countless others who doggedly drive their dreams – and their followers – right into the ground. Single-minded focus of this sort may inspire our admiration and best wishes for its “damn-the-torpedoes” commitment and daring, but absent any input from the fox, it usually becomes increasingly divorced from reality.

This suggests the second problem: how did the successful hedgehogs succeed? Some will argue that they were especially prescient and astute. But that is not the lesson drawn from them – their example isn’t recommended for the exhibition of data and trend analysis, but for the display of inspirational boldness and “laser-like” focus.

So, how did they succeed? Well, probably, largely by luck. They clearly had the right ideas at the right time. But had the vastly complex array of demographic and economic trends, commercial and technological developments, and human and capital resource availability converged in even a slightly different combination, an entirely different pantheon of hedgehogs could have emerged from this different soil – or none at all.

The hedgehog, then, as depicted in much leadership literature, is hardly a model to be thoughtlessly celebrated. Its success is at least as much the product of good fortune as of heroic fortitude. Leadership of such uncertain provenance is neither to be emulated nor followed.

Does that mean we should be hunting the fox? We’ll consider that tomorrow, and hope see you then.

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Today’s tip: Speaking of unifying big ideas with an open, inquiring mind, no one casts a wider net and a more discerning eye for the nature of the catch than Wally Bock. Today sees the 1000th post on his Three Star Leadership Blog, and he has invited some guests to the celebration of this wonderful milestone. Please be sure to stop over and join in – you’ll enjoy it!

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