Going Deep and Narrow

In business, the trick is to do one thing really well.

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, talks about what he calls the 'hedgehog principle'.

The hedgehog principle involves three, interrelated, critical elements:

• Knowing what you are passionate about
• Identifying what you can be the best in the world at
• Having the financial engine that can fuel the other two elements
  

Pursuing this end requires dogged determination, resilience and persistence, endless practice and a commitment to ongoing learning.

In a recent conversation that I had with a top CEO this week, he talked to me about the need to go 'deep and narrow'. This phrase really captured it for me. Know yourself and what you are passionate about, and be relentless in your drive to achieve it.

Peter Drucker once said, "Where something is being achieved, there is a monomaniac at work."

How about you? What is the one thing that you must do?

Deep Change

I picked up a book this week by Robert E Quinn in a second-hand bookshop entitled Deep Change.

It is a well written book that focuses on the transformation required in ourselves if we are to bring about the change necessary to achieve excellence in our organizational life.

I believe this inside out approach is the only way to bring about the value-based business that has a clear sense of purpose and aligns all of its activities around this core.

I found it both affirming and challenging to read a book that resonates so deeply in my own experience and in the lives of the small business people that I have the privilege of coaching.

It provides thought provoking ideas in and around the topic of change, with exercises for reflection and discussion.

You can also visit his website on www.deepchange.com

He has a brief workbook on his site that captures in a few pages what his approach is all about. Check it out today.