Hedgehogs - Public Works Academy

The Hedgehog
and the Fox
Isaiah Berlin
Distance Learning
Lesson #9011
The fox knows many things, but the
hedgehog knows one big thing.
The fox is a cunning creature, able to devise a
myriad of complex strategies for sneak attacks
upon the hedgehog.
Day in and day out, the fox circles around the
hedgehog's den, waiting for the perfect
moment to pounce.
Fast, sleek, beautiful, fleet of foot, and crafty—
the fox looks like the sure winner.
The hedgehog, on the other hand, is a dowdier
creature, looking like a genetic mix-up between
a porcupine and a small armadillo.
He waddles along, going about his simple day,
searching for lunch and taking care of his home.
Aha, I’ve
got you
now!
The fox waits in cunning silence at the juncture
in the trail. The hedgehog, minding his own
business, wanders right into the path of the fox.
Here we go
again. Will he
ever learn?
The little hedgehog, sensing danger, looks up.
Rolling up into a perfect little ball, the
hedgehog becomes a sphere of sharp spikes,
pointing outward in all directions.
The fox, bounding toward his prey, sees the
hedgehog defense and calls off the attack.
Retreating back to the forest, the fox begins to
calculate a new line of attack.
Each day, some version of this battle between
the hedgehog and the fox takes place, and
despite the greater cunning of the fox, the
hedgehog always wins.
Are you a hedgehog
or a fox?
People can be dived
into two basic groups:
foxes and hedgehogs.
Foxes pursue many
ends at the same
time and see the
world in all its
complexity.
Foxes are scattered
or diffused, moving
on many levels,
never integrating
their thinking into
one overall concept
or unifying vision.
Hedgehogs, on the other hand, simplify a
complex world into a single organizing idea,
a basic principle or concept that unifies and
guides everything.
It doesn't matter how complex the world,
a hedgehog reduces all challenges and
dilemmas to simple—indeed almost
simplistic—hedgehog ideas.
For a hedgehog, anything that does not
somehow relate to the hedgehog idea
holds no relevance.
You want to know what separates those who
make the biggest impact from all the others
who are just as smart? They're hedgehogs. They
are the ones who took a complex world and
simplified it.
To be clear, hedgehogs are not stupid. Quite the
contrary. They understand that the essence of
profound insight is simplicity.
E = mc2
No, the hedgehogs aren’t simpletons; they have
a piercing insight that allows them to see
through complexity and discern underlying
patterns.
Hedgehogs see what is
essential, and ignore the rest.
Understand what you can be best at.
Clarify your advantages.
A Crisis of Priorities
The biggest
concern we face
is not a fiscal
crisis. The true
crisis we face is
a crisis of
priorities.
Fiscal trends and
conditions are by
and large out of our
control and simply
represent a reality
with which we need
to cope.
The real crisis on
our hands is
whether we have
the capabilities to
address current
fiscal realities…
and still meet
the expectations
of our
constituents.
We need to be
more strategic, as
leaders, about
understanding
what we do, why
we do it…
and how we
should invest
our resources to
achieve the
needed results.
While focusing
on priorities
sometimes takes
a back seat to
other issues
during times of
fiscal stress…
it’s actually
even more
critical to make
prioritization a
top priority.
Prioritization is a
way to provide
clarity about how
we should invest
resources in order
to meet stated
objectives…
and about what
services could be
funded at a
reduced level
without impacting
those objectives.
Prioritization as a
process helps us
better articulate
why the programs
we offer exist, what
value they offer to
customers…
how they benefit
the community,
what price we pay
for them, and what
objectives and
customer demands
they are achieving.
We need to
take action
now, because
delay will only
make the
problems
worse.
Changes in
spending or
revenue
accumulate
over time.
The earlier
changes are
made in the
budget cycle,
the more they
contribute to a
solution.
Clear the Decks
We must work
with Staff to
eliminate
programs or
activities that are
not central to our
core purposes…
or are no longer
valuable to
customers.
Divesting will
almost certainly
mean
disruption, but
in return…
we will have
resources we
can invest in
results that
matter to
customers.
We need to
establish
priorities, and
start saying
“No” for the
broader good.
First, we must
work to
evaluate the
services we
provide, one
versus another.
We identify the
“must do’s”. With
that list compiled,
we must proceed
to identify the
“can live without”.
Once this is done,
we must work to
articulate to the
workers and to our
customers how we
value our services...
how we invest in
our priorities,
and how we
divest ourselves
of lower-priority
services.
We cannot
operate as
we did five
years ago.
The services we
provide must
reflect the
opportunities and
constraints placed
on us as they exist
today.
We must change
based on our
projections for
what the world
will look like 10
years from now.
Results Driven
Instead of
Complaint Driven
Although
listening and
responding is
necessary, it’s
not good
enough.
Too often, a
response is
reactionary and we
can easily find
ourselves reacting
over and over again
to the same
complaint.
We need to
listen and
PROACT.
That means
listening to the
voice of our
customers…
and making process
improvements
based on that
feedback so that
the same
complaints don’t
recur.
Putting out fires
results in an
obsession with
activity rather
than result,
bureaucratic
paralysis…
lack of
innovation, and
high overhead.
When we take
care of the
squeaky wheel
and are
complaint
driven…
we lose focus of
broader
priorities.
Questions to Ask
What are we
doing right?
What should
we stop doing?
What should
we start doing?
In order of importance,
what are the most
important problems or
projects that needs to be
addressed?
Don't tell me where
your priorities are.
Show me how you
spend your money
and I'll tell you what
they are.