BHAGs [Big Hairy Audacious Goal] have animated great leaders throughout history, who have used them to stimulate progress and galvanize people. It doesnât really matter whether you call it âmissionâ or âBHAGâ or anything else that works for you. What matters is that you commit to something that meets the tests of a BHAG. Ask yourself the following questions about any BHAG:
- Do you and your people find the BHAG exciting?
- Is the BHAG clear, compelling, and easy to grasp?
- Does the BHAG connect to the purpose of the enterprise?
- Is the BHAG undeniably a goal, not a verbose, hard-to-understand, convoluted, impossible-to-remember mission or vision âstatementâ?
- Do you have substantially less than a 100 percent chance of achieving the BHAG yet at the same time believe your company can achieve the BHAG if fully committed?
- Would you be able to clearly tell if youâve achieved the BHAG?
The best BHAGs make you think big. They force you to engage in both long-term building and short-term intensity. The only way to achieve a BHAG is with a relentless sense of urgency, day after day, week after week, month after month, for years. What do you need to do today, with monomaniacal focus, and tomorrow and the next day and the day after that to defy the probabilities and ultimately achieve your BHAG? If youâre going to put a powerful computer in every pocket, or eradicate malaria, or give every kid a solid Kâ12 education, or cut crime rates by 80 percent, or render impotent the dark forces of terrorism, or build the most admired company in your industry, or accomplish whatever the goal might be, you cannot possibly achieve the BHAG in mere days or weeks or months. The best corporate BHAGs require 10 to 25 years of relentless intensity to achieve.