Thread by @mattschnuck

Jim Collins coached Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

He estimates that only 3% of the world has figured out their “Ikagai” or “Hedgehog”.

Here’s what they are and how you find yours:

Most people don’t get clear about their purpose because they suck at asking for help.

I know because I did too.

Articulating your “reason for being” isn’t to be done alone.

Most of us need some structure & help from others.

Let’s get into it.

The Japanese term “Ikigai” or "reason for being" is the intersection of:

1. That which you love
2. That which you are good at
3. That which the world needs
4. That which you can be paid for

The Hedgehog is from researcher and business author Jim Collins and is the intersection of:

1. What you are deeply passionate about
2. What you are encoded for
3. What drives your economic engine

After decades of research, Jim found that MAYBE 3% of people take the time to define this for themselves, whether they use Ikigai, Hedgehog or some other framework.

From my experience coaching entrepreneurs, I’d say 3% is a generous estimate.

The best leaders in the world are excellent at distilling the complexity of their life or business into a simple hedgehog concept.

But how do you find and articulate your own personal sweet spot?

Easy - you just need 3 sheets of paper and some trusted advisors who will tell you the truth.

Let’s do a quick exercise using the Hedgehog model.

Step 1:

On the first sheet of paper, explore your passion.

Step 2:

On the second sheet of paper, reflect on your energy and results as you work. Explore what you are encoded for.

🚨ALERT 🚨 - there is a BIG difference between being passionate or good at something & being ENCODED for it.

Example: Collins thought he was good at math until he got to Stanford & met fellow students who were encoded for it.

He would later discover his encoding was in teaching

Step 3:

On the third sheet of paper, write all the things you can think of that would allow you to have an economic engine.

Step 4:

Give copies of these three sheets to your personal board of advisors.

These are people whom you admire & whom can provide perspective to you with brutal honesty.

Ask them: where do they see the overlaps?

What do they think is the right intersection for you?

Step 5

Edit, revise and INTEGRATE the feedback from your advisors.

Adopt the Hedgehog as your own.

Psychologist Abraham Maslow defined self-actualization as:

1. “Discovering what you are meant to do"

And

2. "Committing to the ardor of pursuing it with excellence.”

Don’t skip #1 and don’t try to do it alone.

As we start 2023, before pursuing anything with ardor...

If your direction could be more clear, run this simple exercise to bring into focus what you are meant to do.

If you enjoyed this thread:

• Follow me @mattschnuck for more threads on EQ, entrepreneurship, and growth.
• Retweet the first tweet to share with someone looking to refine their Hedgehog or Ikigai

https://twitter.com/mattschnuck/status/1610661063439314944

Credit to @SlowwCo for the great images.

Please check out their work on the topic
sloww.co/hedgehog-conce…