Foxes and Hedgehogs.
During the break, I was able to do some reading. Outside of the latest book in the Michael Vey and the Electro Clan series, I was also able to read some excerpts from Jim Collins’ Good to Great. In this text, Collins relays a parable of the fox and the hedgehog. For those who are unfamiliar, I will briefly summarize. In the battle of fox versus hedgehog, the fox appears to have the upper hand. He is cunning, fast, and crafty. “Able to devise a myriad of complex strategies.” The hedgehog is smart but simple. “They understand that the essence of profound insight is simplicity.” Essentially, anything that does not further the hedgehog idea is of no relevance. So, every time the fox devises a complex plan to attack the hedgehog, the hedgehog merely rolls up in a ball and the fox retreats defeated once again.
Collins introduced this parable in the idea of moving from good to great because he recognized this principle in the workings of many successful companies. Walgreens was able to surpass and overtake Eckerd Drug because Walgreens understood what it could do well. They capitalized on convenience. With the development of drive-thru pharmacies and a location on just about every corner, they significantly increased their profit. Eckerd, on the other hand, leapt at one opportunity after another only to fail. They had no unifying theme or concept.
At Cherokee, we do have a unifying theme. And, I think it is more than just being an A-rated district. Our motto is “Striving to make the best better,” which entails so much more than a test. It is excellence in all things. And, to do so, we must understand the Hedgehog Concept. We must know our “one big thing,” our area of strength or, said another way, what we are the best at and stick to it.
So, what is our “one big thing?” Since my day one, I have always been impressed by our sense of community or more simply put, we are a family. With that understanding, we can capitalize on our collective strengths and work together to overcome individual areas of weakness. We can collaborate in order to devise strategies for addressing different issues that we face in our classrooms or on the court or just in managing our day-to-day responsibilities. The fact that we are a family means we never have to do anything alone.