Sokanu: The Blog

There is a concept in the book Good to Great by Jim Collins (a must read for any business person) that is intended for business use, yet is an amazing concept for everyone around the world. Basically, in business, when great companies are analyzed and researched, there is a distinct formula that they follow that allows them to be great, not just good.  Remember, good is the enemy of great, not just in business but in life.

So what is this formula?  Jim Collins calls it the hedgehog concept, and it is extremely simple. It is a concept that comes from the understanding of the intersection of three circles.  Take a look at the circles below:

1. What Can You Be The Best In The World At?

Remember, this formula is for producing great, not good companies.  If we adjust this saying down to everyday life we can say what do you have a natural aptitude towards?  In order to have a chance in a specific career field, you must first have a natural aptitude towards it.  For example, if I wanted to be a world class actor, I'm pretty sure I should give up now.  I don't have any natural acting talent whatsoever, and there is no way, come hell or high water, that I can be the best in the world at it. 

This is one of the first mistakes people enter into, whether it be in business or their personal lives. A high school student may be forced into taking classes that they know they aren't good at, just because of the pressure from parents and peers.  Many people are highly artistic and terrible at math, yet those ideals are squashed and they are forced to take four years of math with limited arts.  And when it comes time to apply for university, parents will "guide" them into taking the most prestigious professionals, regardless of the caliber of the child.  Even though that child might thrive in a welding class, they are instead forced to study law.

Students, like businesses, will not become great at something they can't be the best in the world at.

2. What Drives Your Economic Engine?

Once again, this is mostly a business title, and we can rephrase it into: how can you make money?  Simple.  Once you determine what you have a natural aptitude towards, you can then determine whether or not it is economically viable.  Now, keep in mind, very often if you do what you love, the money will follow.  And you should never be guided primarily by the luster of riches. However, remember that this is a business book, and thus it makes sense.  But if we look at it a bit further, we can see that it also makes sense for individuals.

If you have a natural aptitude towards becoming a professor of history at a local college, but want a 2000 square foot condo overlooking Central Park, it may not happen.  Now, if you decide to pursue another venture to supplement that income, that's awesome.  But the love that you have won't always drive your economic engine to the highest tax bracket.  But if you truly love what you do, this should not matter.  You should be thinking "wow I can't believe I am getting paid to do something that I love!", which brings us to our next point.

3. What Are You Deeply Passionate About?

The last and most important thing is finding something that you are deeply passionate about. It's all fine and dandy that you are good at history, you know that you can make decent money becoming a professor, but do you love it?  I mean really love it?  What do you stop and watch when the TV is on?  Is it whenever someone mentions the word history?  What do you read day in and day out.  What blogs do you read on the internet for pleasure?  Usually all of these things point to the same idea.  If so, you have probably found your passion.

To me, to be deeply passionate about something means to try and find success in your life. And as I have said before, success = happiness.  So understanding what you are passionate about will essentially lead to your happiness.  It is extremely important.  In business, Jim Collins references this because if you do not understand the deeper purpose behind your company, you will never become a great company.  This is the problem with so many of the companies today.

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So how does Sokanu help with all of this?  We usually pitch Sokanu as "a place to discover your passion in life" but it is more like "a place to discover your personal hedgehog concept".  This concept is so simple, yet really holds the secret intersection to success in life.  We think this is the key to overcoming the huge problem of globalization and the pace of change present in today's society.

Sokanu aims to be the place where someone can come to determine what they want to do with the rest of their life.  We will be combining all three elements of the hedgehog concept in order to give people the highest chance of becoming great.  We will be revealing more details as we get closer and closer to an alpha launch.  Stay tuned.