Success in Work 5: He Found His Own Hedgehog Concept

I share success stories to inspire you to achieve your own success

Bob discovered the benefits of focusing on one concept, long before Jim Collins outlined The Hedgehog Concept as a key element of transforming good companies into great ones. Bob’s story highlights two concepts: 1) doing one thing exceptionally well, and doing it over and over breeds success; and 2) you can succeed in work without upward promotions.

Bob’s Story

Bob, in the twilight of his career, managed a branch of a nonprofit employment service in Idaho. He wanted to give something back to society after a successful career in procurement and accounting for institutions of higher education. The nonprofit’s strategy included using volunteers in local congregations to help people find jobs.

Bob recognized the power the volunteers could add to productivity. He realized that adding 20-30 additional job coaches in 6 communities—at no cost—could exponentially increase results. He concentrated his entire efforts to enhancing the volunteers ability and motivation to help people find jobs. He restructured the entire operation to share job leads found by the volunteers quickly. Where other managers viewed the volunteers as secondary to the professional staff, he elevated their importance above the paid staff and rewarded them with justified recognition and praise.

Productivity of his branch soon exceeded other branches by 10, then 50 times. Some jealous managers decried his efforts and questioned his integrity. Many more listened to him, asked him questions, and tried to copy what he did. A younger generation of managers, using Bob’s ideas, carried the nonprofit to worldwide recognition. Productivity of the entire service increased from 23,000 people finding jobs a year to 225,000.

Bob never accepted a promotion. He loved his little community in Idaho. His tenacious focus on training volunteers extremely well—over and over—however, influenced an entire generation of managers.

What Did You Learn?

• Why did Bob see what others didn’t?
• Why did his idea increase productivity?
• How did he achieve his results?
• What opportunities exist in your organization that others cannot see?

Monday we will begin a series examining finding funding for college—let someone else pay