The Hedgehog Concept is another analogy found in Jim Collins' book, Good to Great.

He takes the idea from the Isaiah Berlin essay, 'The Hedgehog and the Fox', which offers a modern application of the ancient Greek parable: 'The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.'

Collins applies this little insight to organisations. The great ones are those that know and are able to focus clearly and relentlessly on the one thing they do best. They are the hedgehogs of the parable. The foxes, on the other hand, rush from one enthusiasm to another.

The Hedgehog Concept, then, is not a goal or a strategy or a plan or even an intention. It is an understanding of our central strength.

In expanding on this, Collins suggests that the Hedgehog Concept is a key understanding that results from the intersection of three big ideas:

• What can we be best in the world at?
  (And equally important, what can't we be very effective at?)
• What drives our economic engine?
• What are we deeply passionate about?

Let's apply this framework to the work of Catholic schools.

What is the particular contribution that a Catholic school makes when operating at its very best? (Think of its core work, its special charism.)

What resources does it need? And how can these are managed most effectively in service of the school's particular contribution? (Think about sources of funding, budgeting processes, priorities and accountabilities.)

What motivates and energises our learning communities? (Think about our understanding of vocation, of our guiding metaphors, of our commitment to the growth of our students and our relationships with them.)

Associated with this idea is Collins' advice to leaders to have a 'stop-doing list'. Elsewhere, this is referred to as 'purposeful abandonment'.

Pruning the agenda is a discipline of leadership that we cannot avoid if we are to focus our energies on what we do best in our journey to greatness.