Well, friends, don't be misled by the title, its definitely not a typo error that you are seeing. I am talking about BHAG - Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals.
Lets do a quick look around of history to search for the origins of this queer term. The term Big Hairy Audacious Goal ("BHAG") was proposed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1996 article entitled Building Your Company's Vision. A BHAG encourages companies to define visionary goals that are more strategic and emotionally compelling. In the article, the authors define a BHAG (pronounced BEE-hag) as a form of vision statement "...an audacious 10-to-30-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future."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 - so say the authors in that landmark article.
Ok, now that we are clear about history, why are we talking about it in the first place? Is it that important? Many businesses often set goals that they hope to accomplish over the coming days, months or years. These goals are different from the standard mission and vision statements in that they are action-oriented, clear (who, what, where, by when), compelling and gripping and also bold enough so as to border on the unattainable. It is such bold visions that motivate employees and organizations to chart new steps in corporate landscape. Because a BHAG is not only a statement of where we want to be, its compelling nature introduces such a zeal within the organizational structure to achieve what has been proclaimed, that ideas and innovations start flowing freely. That entire 7S framework, that Mckinsey gave us, changes itself to align with the major initiatives that are being taken to reach that goal. Plus what organizations have is a set of motivated staff who may not currently possess the desired skill set, but who are ready to take on the world to make their organization the numero uno in that particular business. Strategies are designed with a single focus of attaining the BHAG and systems put in place to that effect. What actually happens is that BHAG's present in front of organizations a dream so powerful, a vision so gripping that it catches the fancy of the entire setup. It may appear unattainable to those outside its grip, but to those who are part of it, it becomes a part of the organization's DNA. And, that is when we have miraculous innovations in the corporate milieu.
Now, let us look at some BHAG's adopted by organizations around the globe. Well, Porras and Collins identified four types of BHAG's centred on the following motives - Target, Common Foe, Internal Transformation, Role Model. We will look at examples of BHAG's belonging to each of these four groups.
In the end, we need to not only speak out and form a BHAG but also internalize it and take concrete steps to turn it into reality. It should be like -
visitor could drop into your organization from another planet and infer the vision without
having to read it on paper”
Well, that's all for today. Until next time.
Cheers!!!
Signing off,
Shauvik.
Lets do a quick look around of history to search for the origins of this queer term. The term Big Hairy Audacious Goal ("BHAG") was proposed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1996 article entitled Building Your Company's Vision. A BHAG encourages companies to define visionary goals that are more strategic and emotionally compelling. In the article, the authors define a BHAG (pronounced BEE-hag) as a form of vision statement "...an audacious 10-to-30-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future."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 - so say the authors in that landmark article.
Ok, now that we are clear about history, why are we talking about it in the first place? Is it that important? Many businesses often set goals that they hope to accomplish over the coming days, months or years. These goals are different from the standard mission and vision statements in that they are action-oriented, clear (who, what, where, by when), compelling and gripping and also bold enough so as to border on the unattainable. It is such bold visions that motivate employees and organizations to chart new steps in corporate landscape. Because a BHAG is not only a statement of where we want to be, its compelling nature introduces such a zeal within the organizational structure to achieve what has been proclaimed, that ideas and innovations start flowing freely. That entire 7S framework, that Mckinsey gave us, changes itself to align with the major initiatives that are being taken to reach that goal. Plus what organizations have is a set of motivated staff who may not currently possess the desired skill set, but who are ready to take on the world to make their organization the numero uno in that particular business. Strategies are designed with a single focus of attaining the BHAG and systems put in place to that effect. What actually happens is that BHAG's present in front of organizations a dream so powerful, a vision so gripping that it catches the fancy of the entire setup. It may appear unattainable to those outside its grip, but to those who are part of it, it becomes a part of the organization's DNA. And, that is when we have miraculous innovations in the corporate milieu.
Now, let us look at some BHAG's adopted by organizations around the globe. Well, Porras and Collins identified four types of BHAG's centred on the following motives - Target, Common Foe, Internal Transformation, Role Model. We will look at examples of BHAG's belonging to each of these four groups.
- Target: The BHAG represents some sort of a target or goal that the company hopes to achieve in the near future. Examples include Ford's BHAG in the early 1900's - Democratize the automobile or Sony's BHAG in the 1950's - Become the company that changes the reputation of Japanese products of being poor quality.
- Common Foe: The BHAG is centred around how to tackle and overpower the biggest competitor and gain, in most cases, a leadership position in the industry. Examples include the BHAG adopted by Phillip Morris in the 1950's - Knock off R.J. Reynolds as the number one tobacco company in the world or Nike's BHAG in the 1960's - Crush Adidas
- Role Model: The BHAG focuses on a target company which is like the benchmark in terms of reputation and brand equity and then aim to be a company of similar reputation in its respective industry. Examples include Giro Sport Design which adopted in 1986 as its BHAG to - Become the Nike of the cycling industry or Watkins-Johnson's BHAG in 1996 - Become as respected in 20 years as Hewlett-Packard is today
- Internal Transformation: This is also a kind of Target BHAG, but its aim is inward and not outward. The BHAG aims to introduce some long term changes within the organization which it believes will give it a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Examples include Rockwell in 1995 - Transform this company from a defense contractor into the best diversified high-technology company in the world or General Electric in the 1980s - Become number one or two in every market we serve and revolutionize this company to have the strengths of a big company combined with the leanness and agility of a small company
In the end, we need to not only speak out and form a BHAG but also internalize it and take concrete steps to turn it into reality. It should be like -
"Keep in mind that there is a big difference between being an organization with a vision
statement and becoming a truly visionary organization. When you have superb alignment, avisitor could drop into your organization from another planet and infer the vision without
having to read it on paper”
Well, that's all for today. Until next time.
Cheers!!!
Signing off,
Shauvik.
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