Unicorns, Foxes, and Hedgehogs: Why You Need Diversity on Your UX Team

Foxes and Hedgehogs

In Present Shock, Douglas Rushkoff uses an example from the real world to illustrate each mindset:

“In evaluating the intelligence failures surrounding the U.S. overthrow of Iraq, University of Pennsylvania psychologist and decision theorist Philip Tetlock concluded that people with more wide-ranging and less specific interests are better at predicting the future than experts in the very fields being studied.

“Using Isaiah Berlin’s prototypes of the fox and the hedgehog, Tetlock studied hundreds of different decisions and determined that foxes—people with wider and less specific interests—saw patterns more accurately than hedgehogs, who used their knowledge of history and their prior experiences to predict future outcomes. Hedgehogs, Tetlock learned, were too eager for closure to be able to sit with the uncertainty of not knowing. They attempted to use their fixed ideas to determine where things were going.

“Foxes had less at stake in conventional wisdom, so they were much more likely to use probability in making their assessments. While hedgehogs were locked into their own disciplines, foxes could think laterally, applying the insights from one field to another. Knowledge had handicapped the hedgehogs, while the wide-ranging curiosity of the foxes gave them the edge.”

In this example, it sounds like Foxes win—and indeed, there’s something to be said for their ability to adapt and leverage a wider view of the world in different situations. Adapting to diverse challenges is one of the most important aspects of our work in the design world and helps us to solve problems for people on a daily basis.

If you’re more inclined to see the world as a Hedgehog would, there’s a lesson for you to learn from this. Having deep knowledge in one field is valuable, but it can also handicap you if you let your belief in being an expert in your field limit your potential. As a Hedgehog, it would be healthy for you to explore the world with more curiosity and push yourself to embrace risks, challenges, and new experiences.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.”—Shunryu Suzuki

The Value of Having Both Foxes and Hedgehogs on Your Team

But let’s consider another way of looking at the nature of both of these UX creatures—a way that lets us clearly perceive that one isn’t better than the other. What if these archetypes simply have different perspectives—and sometimes one or the other is more applicable to a particular situation or challenge at hand?

Rather than getting locked into just one of these mindsets, there’s something we can learn from both views of the world. Sometimes we need someone who can quickly switch mindsets to help break us out of our limited view of a problem and synthesize insightful solutions from other disciplines. Yet, at other times, we really need the deep experience of someone who can keep us focused on a challenge or a proven process that works. It’s incredible to see someone at work who has honed their craft and polished their process, making it look almost effortless.

I believe it’s best to have both UX Foxes and UX Hedgehogs on your team. While there are some who can switch between the mindset of a Fox and a Hedgehog when necessary, having both of these perspectives and approaches on your team may offer the best blend to set your work—and your clients—up for success. So, hire both UX Foxes and UX Hedgehogs. And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a Unicorn, too, if you can lure one in. Just watch out for the horn.