Part 2: Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal

Last month, as well as a brief introduction to the management practices that really work, I covered Core Purpose, one of three elements of a good vision. This month, I’ll cover off another vision element, the Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (or BHAG). The remaining vision element, Core Values, will be covered later on in a series on culture.
 
The BHAG, normally pronounced “Bee Hag”, is a huge, very challenging goal, designed to stimulate progress. If your Core Purpose is the “why,” your BHAG is the “what.” It should be:

• A measurable goal, with a deadline at least 10 years out
• In alignment with your Core Purpose
• Clear, compelling, and easy to grasp for you and your staff
• Beyond your business’ current capabilities. On the other hand, it shouldn’t be so totally impossible that your staff start treating it like a Tui’s ad.

 
Perhaps the most quoted BHAG is J F Kennedy’s challenge to NASA in 1961, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” Brilliant. Clear and compelling. Certainly beyond their capabilities (especially the bit about returning him safely to earth, hence a distinct lack of volunteers). Nearly 10 years out, and it definitely stimulated progress at NASA, because they achieved it in 1969.
 
Other cool BHAGs:

• Department of Conservation: New Zealand, predator free by 2050
• Stanford University (1940s): To be the Harvard of the West
• Volvo: By 2020, no-one will die in a new Volvo
• Elon Musk: I would like to die on Mars, just not on impact

 
“How do I find my BHAG?” you might ask. Jim Collins, the co-author of last month’s book Built to Last, followed up with a solo effort Good to Great. According to Collins, one of the characteristics of great companies is that they all boil everything down into one idea – land on the moon, predator-free, car safety.

​Collins provides further assistance by suggesting that your one overarching concept can be found at the intersection of three circles:

• What are you deeply passionate about?
• What can your business be the best in the world at?
• What drives your economic engine? Is it profit per customer? Profit per metre? Profit per shipment? What is your “x” in “profit per x”?

When you deeply understand these circles and find your single organising concept at their intersection, your BHAG will be somewhere nearby.
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In the next issue of the Beacon I’ll start looking at some key elements of strategy, which is the art of making a cohesive set of decisions that enable you to achieve your BHAG.