The Hedgehog Concept
Staying True to What We Do Best
Jim Collins teaches us that great companies (the enduring ones) focus relentlessly on the intersection of three simple circles:
What you can be the best in the world at
What you are deeply passionate about
What drives your economic engine
He calls this the Hedgehog Concept, a framework that’s stuck with me for years. It was originally designed to help massive corporations develop strategy—but like much of Collins’s work, I’ve found it equally powerful when applied to a small but growing hospitality business.
At The 601 Group, we’ve spent the last few years figuring out what’s at the center of our three circles.
In the beginning, our energy was focused on survival - navigating COVID, rebuilding, relocating, expanding. But now, as we stabilize and look toward growth, we’ve spent time stepping back to ask the right questions:
What can we be the best at?
What do we love doing?
And where is the real flywheel of profit that makes this sustainable?
Here’s where we’ve landed. It’s still a work in progress, as we’re always learning, but with growing clarity.
What can we be the best at?
We’re not trying to be the best at fast casual. Or franchising at scale. Or efficiency through automation.
We believe we can be the best at creating immersive, handcrafted, high-quality food experiences—the kind that bring people together, slow them down, and leave them talking about it for days.
That shows up in our Crepe Cafés, where everything is made from scratch and where you feel the difference the moment you walk in. It shows up at The Local Epicurean, where a pasta class turns into a night out, a memory, a story.
We’re not in the business of table turns or mass volume. We’re in the business of moments. And we can be the best at that.
What are we deeply passionate about?
We believe in food as connection.
We believe in gathering, not just eating.
We believe in hospitality that feels like someone thought about it. Because we did.
There’s something magical about strangers sharing a meal they just learned to make together. About a couple learning to cook something new on a date night. About a company team doing something hands-on instead of another happy hour.
We’re passionate about creating spaces that make those moments happen—again and again.
What drives our economic engine?
This one took time to figure out. As I shared in a past post, we didn’t always have a clear handle on the financial side of things. But we’ve gotten sharper.
Today, we know our most profitable and high-margin offering is our immersive classes. That’s where people experience the magic. And that’s what drives the flywheel.
From there, they explore the market, grab a bottle of wine, tell their friends, come back again. That drives the bar. That drives retail. That drives repeat.
And when we deliver that experience right, the financials follow.
Clarity, Not Complexity
The beauty of the Hedgehog Concept is that it doesn’t ask you to chase trends. Or jump into everything. Or overcomplicate your strategy.
It asks you to find the core of who you are, and do it with consistency, quality, and focus.
That’s what we’re trying to do at The 601 Group. We’re not perfect. We’re still learning. But this lens helps guide our decisions on hiring, on expansion, on what we say yes to and what we don’t.
If you’re building something, whether it’s a company, a team, or even a career, I’d encourage you to ask yourself the same three questions. The answers won’t come all at once, but the clarity they bring is worth it.
-Mike