What's Your BHAG?

Jim Collins and Jerry Porras (Built to Last and Good to Great) first talked about BHAGs in the Harvard Business Review in 1996 in an article titled, "Building Your Company's Vision". They proposed that an organization needs a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) to strive toward. Specifically, they said, "A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines."

I think people, even more than organizations, need BHAGs. You can say that you plan to lose ten pounds, pay off your credit cards or get that promotion. Those are respectable goals that require planning and effort to achieve. You'll feel great when you reach any one of those goals, and anything you want to achieve is more likely to happen if you have a clear goal.

When you decide on your personal Big Hairy Audacious Goal, you are admitting that you can do more than change your own life. You can change the world.

My BHAG is to change the way people think about their role in the workplace. I'm starting with consultants.