How to make it: your business needs hedgehogs as well as foxes
The fox is endlessly dashing around, pursuing new things to do and then wanting to do them at speed. The hedgehog is far more methodical and focused. They don’t get distracted by adding too many new responsibilities. If you’re not a hedgehog, then hire one, says Richard Harpin
I’m the first to admit that, as an entrepreneur, I juggle a little too much. Too many new ideas, plans and exciting opportunities. Ever since I launched my first business at school (selling conkers in plastic bags), I’ve always thrived on that restless energy and am a firm believer that in life, there is always more to do.
Sometimes, however, I’m reminded that success is doing the exact opposite. Growth from doing less. That’s what happened at one of my regular Business Leader growth workshops, where entrepreneurs from across the country gather at my London home to discuss how you can build a billion-pound business in nine steps.
There I met Ian Johnson, who wants to expand his successful company, Johnsons Leisure, into Europe. Great, I said. There’s a huge market for the kind of high-quality hot tubs, saunas, cold plunge pools and garden rooms that he sells both online and at more than 20 garden centres across the UK. But instead of replicating his business model by selling the entire range in new territories, he told me that his ambition is much more focused – and that was music to my ears.
Because there are a few occasions in the life of a business when, in order to take three steps forward, you need to take one step back to simplify and refocus. Sometimes, the more that you try to do, the less impactful you are.
The jewel in the Johnsons Leisure crown is the garden room range with its summer houses and garden offices, and that’s what the international venture will be. It’s the kind of disciplined decision-making that more entrepreneurs should emulate. I meet so many who want to build an empire of multiple businesses to conquer the world, rather than concentrating on what they already do exceptionally well. Ian has done his research, knows his best product, what the competition lacks and the market needs. I’m convinced his singlemindedness will make the expansion work.
Hire a hedgehog
He is what’s known in the business world as a hedgehog, whilst I’m the fox. The fox is endlessly dashing around, pursuing new things to do and then wanting to do them at speed. The hedgehog is far more methodical and focused. They don’t get distracted by adding too many new responsibilities. If you’re not a hedgehog, then hire one. They may well end up being your saviour and successor. As a fox, you might have the ideas, but they know which will add value.
In my new book, How To Make A Billion In Nine Steps, Number 7 is ‘Evolution, not Revolution’. Hedgehogs need to encourage foxes to evolve gradually. If you’re constantly in revolution-mode, you’ll end up doing too much and straying too far from what made you a success in the first place. Instead, evolve a business by listening, learning and then improving. Remember, outside investors get involved because they like two key elements of a business – the person running it and the stand-out product. Keeping doing what you’re doing is, for them, the best way to achieve growth and build long-term value.
Now, I’m evolving that rule. Sometimes, you need de-evolution. If you keep evolving you might end up adding too much to your model, even if it’s still just a step away from what you were originally doing. To grow a business, especially abroad, you may need to streamline or de-evolve.
The first secret of de-evolution is to have the humility to know how and when to prioritise. When leaders and their companies are brave enough to focus on fewer, higher-value offerings, growth can happen in more accelerated and sustainable ways. Not everything will work so don’t force it. This will also give your teams an incentive to concentrate on the most strategically important projects, those which will add real value to expansion plans. With a sharpened focus, they can amplify their impact.
Second, set aside your emotions. As an entrepreneur, CEO and investor, I’ve always been cautious of not becoming too emotionally-attached to an underperforming pet project. Be ready to challenge your decisions and, if necessary, pivot when the evidence is there.
Third, keep testing. The best thing about starting small when expanding abroad is that it’s easier to assess progress. Every three to four months, a founder should be poring over the data, preferably alongside an in-country CEO who has a better instinct for the local market. If, after a year, things are underwhelming, face the brutal facts and don’t throw good money after bad, That’s known as the sunk-cost trap, when you’ve already spent so much that you feel obliged to spend even more, under the often-incorrect assumption that success is just around the corner.
Finally, follow my son’s advice and read Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. It was written a decade ago as a book for personal development and when Tom recommended it to me, I was convinced he got the title wrong. ‘Tom, don’t you mean the disciplined pursuit of more?’ To which his withering response was: ‘Dad, just read it.’ And he was right because much of the advice is just as useful for running businesses. ‘You can do anything but not everything’ is the central mantra and the book provides a framework for how you select and execute the things that matter most. First, focus on what you’re most passionate about and what you do truly well. Spend some time thinking and listening to others rather than making rash hasty decisions. Then, eliminate what doesn’t come top of the list, decluttering your responsibilities.
Entrepreneurs are the engine of growth in this country. But sometimes, in the excitement of launching new products and finding new markets, we stretch ourselves and our businesses too thinly. Resources are diluted, decision-making slows down and teams get distracted by competing priorities.
We need to rediscover that focus by de-evolving. And instead of asking “What shall we do now”, ask something much more valuable: “What can we do better?”
Richard Harpin is an entrepreneur