Let's take the fox and the hedgehog. The former strives to curb the latter and turns to selected methods to do so. He tries to catch the hedgehog without being hurt by the prickles. The latter, when it detects danger, curls up. It is a simple move. He doesn't chop his energies, he just pays attention to that one move and does it when the situation demands it.
It is familiar to me from Brasilian Jiu-Jitsu training. I often meet opponents in the club, who are stronger and more trained than me, and dominant play has no effect. That's why I decided to choose a unique half-guard technique, which I can build up relatively quickly, even from a lost position. I have tried it thousands of times, so I can use it efficiently to stop even faster, more massive, and more suited opponents. I am quite good at this so that I can compensate for my incompleteness.
Jim Collins calls it 'The hedgehog concept', when a company is conscious about what they are best at, what they are passionate about and what drives their economic engine. These three dimensions point to the zone where they can perform the best. It is our company's half-guard technique.
Competency
We are skilled in developing and maintaining systems where the content is more important than the process. Where the main focus is on how content can be organized and shown in a standard way, or even integrated with other systems, besides that we are aware of our main competency, we also know what does not belong to it. It is an essential aspect when we decide whether a customer request is relevant or not.
For example, we can develop webshops, but this is not our focus area, so we do not undertake projects where this is the primary function. But if the webshop is just a piece of the product range, and the emphasis is on introducing the product, then it is visible that the main demand is on presenting the products, and supporting the shopping progress has secondary importance.
Passion
The human factor is our priority since we established our company. The most important is that we do not see ourselves as machines or resources but as autonomous human beings. This approach has an impact on everything: customers, future colleagues, our workload, and how we proceed.
The agile contract frame is essential, and so is the value that the project adds to our company, and the person who represents the client. In the next period, we will work together and create the application we signed on. We need correspondence and commitment.
Income
We are looking for those opportunities where there is a need for a long-term partnership besides the one-time development. We produce income for nearly twenty people without having a dedicated salesperson in the team. We pay attention to our current relationships and projects in progress; this way, the stable, long term cases cover our monthly expenses.
We are aware of which project size is ideal for us. We only accept smaller or larger orders in case of peculiar reasons.
What is a hedgehog suitable for?
When we decide about a new opportunity, we consider the three aspects above. The direct result of this behavior is that we decline quite a few requests. It is our interest to be acquainted with the market and our competitors, so we can recommend an appropriate company if we see that they better correspond to the customer needs. We cooperate with companies having a mentality similar to ours, so everyone can work on projects that suit them best.
Reference
Jim Collins: Good to Great
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