A Fox/Hedgehog on A Mission for God
Elegant, streamline, sophisticated, yet beautiful in simplicity with such creativity and realism that it transports you to a place of hopeful expectations of great things. No, it is not a visual piece of art work such that David Morgan or William A. Dyrness would write about, but no less compelling in its craftsmanship and design. I am referring to the book Good To Great by Jim Collins. Collins and his team sculpted their work into three main section with each section having two subsections peppered with illustrations, and imagery that have become iconic business terminology and time enduring principles not just for business but for life itself.
Often books are produced out of the thoughts of one or two writers inscribing their thoughts, at times brilliant, and other times, not so brilliant. I appreciate the depths of research that was conducted to produce this great work by Jim Collins. Although his name is on the book as the author, he will be quick to state that Good To Great was undertaken by a team of 20 people working something in the order of 15,000 hours to produce the results that make up this 260 page piece of art.
It is in following these consistent, deliberate, and methodical principles that if applied with both humility and tenacity could, would, and have made companies rise from good to great. Success, as a corporation would measure success, does not happen overnight. All of the 11 companies that Collins and his research team placed in the great category were not over night successes. Most of them were in “the egg” for years quietly applying their strengths in a deliberate and methodical focus to the principles, that Collins and his team recognized repeatedly in great companies, until they cracked through their shell and rose to greatness. This same good to great transformation can take place in more than just businesses.
Jim states, “That Good is the enemy of the great is not just a business problem. It is a human problem.”[1] Indeed truth speaks and we listen. Or do we? How many times have each of us not done the simple truths that we know we ought to live by? We ignore the truth only to realize that we have done so to our own harm and the good has become the enemy of the great? I want to be a great husband, a great father, a great leader, a great missionary, and a great disciple of Jesus. Good is just not good enough. But alas, the very things that have derailed major corporations in the public world, I have done in my own private world.
Collins shares many memorable antidotes such as the flywheel vs. the doom loop, the egg, the bus, the Stockdale paradox, and the three circles. Yet it was the Hedgehog vs. the Fox illustration that captured my attention the most. For you see, I feel like I have always been a Fox. I have always been one to pursue many ends at the same time. I see the world in all its complexity and I enjoy and know many things. As the saying goes, I am a jack of all trades but a master of none. I am scattered and diffused, moving on many levels all at once.[2] The Hedgehog on the other hand, knows one big thing. Hedgehogs “simplify a complex world into a single organizing idea, a basic principle or concept that unifies and guides everything.”[3] These Hedgehogs have a piercing insight that allows them to see through complexity and discern underlying patters. They see what is essential, and ignore the rest.[4]
As a fox I tend to be inconsistent. At least this is how I see myself. Typical of the fox, I have difficulty completing things, I possess a large library with only a few books completely read. I have half completed projects around the house, and the list could go on and on. I was bemoaning the realties of my personality knowing that a Hedgehog I was not. But my wife challenged my foxy analysis with another round of her own observations. She looked at my fox fur and gave me a different perspective. She began a list of her own, “You stayed in the leadership of a struggling church much longer than you should have, 11 ½ years to be exact. You have continued in pursuit of God going on 28 years this January 27th. You earned a BS, a M.Div., and you are now working on a D.Min. degree. You have been in ministry coming up on 25 years and involved in international missions close to 20 years. You have provided for a family of 6 having never to put our kids to bed hungry. You are an Eagle scout. And most important of all, you have been married to the same woman for 24 years this January 4th!” With that she kissed this fox and helped me to see that indeed I do have some hedgehog in me after all. For you see, it takes one to know one. Indeed, if there has been any one successful essential that I have accomplish in my life it was in marrying this fine hedgehog of a woman. She always seems to pull the greatness out of me. What does this fox say? Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!!!
[1] Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t (New York: Harper Collins, 2001), 16.
[2] Ibid., 91.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
About the Author
Mitch Arbelaez
International Mission Mobilizers with Go To Nations Living and traveling the world from Jacksonville Florida9 responses to “A Fox/Hedgehog on A Mission for God”
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Mitch, this is the best post I’ve ever read! Isn’t it amazing how opposites attract? Or rather how those who complement us bring out the best in us? I’d say I most definitely agree with your better half… You absolutely have some hedgehog in you!
Wow, Ashley! I am humbled by your reply. I often joke with my wife that she is converting me to the dark side of “C” personality on the DISC scale and now she is helping me to shed my fox coat and learn to focus like she does. Jesus and her are slowly transforming me into the best that I can be. 🙂
Hey Mitch, what a testimony! Thanks for baring our soul here. As I finished reading your post, I couldn’t help but think: God really does bless us confused, mediocre and direction-less guys with great women. I am totally blessed by my wife, who is one of the smartest and hardest working persons I’ve ever met. And, even from the beginning of our dating life, her influence on me was amazing – I went from an average student to an 4.0 student the last two years of college. And everything I’ve accomplished, it has been because of her…her love, support, encouragement and example. I would be nowhere today if not for Gwen. So, I AMEN your comment that the “one successful essential that I have accomplish in my life…was in marrying this fine hedgehog of a woman.” I am with you brother!
Mitch …
It might just be that you are hedgehog that occasionally has the uncanny ability to operate as a fox. Foxes are clever (and we do need clever people), but they can also be wise and capable of applying that wisdom in clever ways that help others recognize their own capabilities. You see a hedgehog in action. 🙂
Thank you for your self-awareness and for receiving the reminder that though we do all have shortcomings (I relate to your unread books, your master of none confusion more than you might realize) … or what we think are shortcomings, those same “shortcomings” spark so much good in you, for others and in the world.
Safe travels … see you next week!
Mitch –
I completely resonated with your post. I see something Shiny and I want to go do that. I’m a started, not a completer, and not a sustainer. And I have all those books on my shelf too.
But here’s a thought, as your wife pointed out: there’s personality, and there is character. Your character is loyal. Humble. Faithful. I think what can be the challenge for someone like me is finding the thing to focus on. I need people around me who help me to clarify. One of my colleagues, Christie, is a thoughtful, analytic, and insightful person. I will come bouncing into her office all excited about some conference or lecture or book I just took in, and she will smile. We’ll sit around and talk for a while and I will find myself pulling the nuggets out that tie back to my focus. I think that’s a key part for the leader too – we surround ourselves with people who will question us, challenge us, and push us. In that we all grow. In that way we build on one another’s strengths and we all are far more successful.
Mitch, really well done on the post. I was familiar with Jim Collin’s ideas prior to reading his book for this week’s post and love his work particularly for the same reason you mentioned, the research is just solid. I am not a fun of certain self help “you can make it and become great” stuff. But there was something truth based and scientific in Collins’ work, I am drawn to. Your questions “How many times have each of us not done the simple truths that we know we ought to live by? We ignore the truth only to realize that we have done so to our own harm and the good has become the enemy of the great?we ignore the truth only to realize that we have done so to our own harm and the good has become the enemy of the great?” is so timely. I’ll share more in person, other this will be such a long response to your post.
I also loved the testimony of your marriage and how the hedgehog and the fox characters are at play. It is encouraging to know that even in our places of inadequacy God is there to encourage us, even through friendships in your case through your wife.
Thanks
Thanks for sharing your inside story Mitch. We’re all on a journey and God is faithful. It’s definitely beneficial to have someone, like your wife, to bring perspective. That is a blessing, to be sure. You also said this: “Most of them were in “the egg” for years quietly applying their strengths in a deliberate and methodical focus to the principles, that Collins and his team recognized repeatedly in great companies, until they cracked through their shell and rose to greatness.” This was an excellent observation, which leads me to this question (you may need your wife’s help for this): What’s in your “egg”? What have you been preparing for or what so occupies your thoughts that if you had the chance to do it, you would?
Mitch,
This is an insightful and fun post! 🙂
I think it’s so important that we realize that we all are intermixed. None of us is completely Hedgehog or completely Fox. That is dangerous thinking when we begin to think so either/or.
Thank you for the reminder that we all are many things and that other’s do not always see us the way we see ourselves.
There is safety in a company of counselors (at least most of the time… 🙂 )!
Mitch,
Your post was delightful to read! By the end of the post I had a smile on my face. Thank you for your openness. I echo Clint’s words, I think we all have a little bit of hedgehog and fox in us—and that’s a good thing. Go Mitch! Nos vemos pronto!