Looking Forward
The BHAG. The Big. Hairy. Audacious. Goal. This term, coined by James Collins and Jerry Porras, refers to a long-term goal that will "change the very nature of a business' existence". In simpler terms, it's a near-impossible goal that, if accomplished, will completely change the future of your business. The BHAG, for some, may change over time, and may grow and expand as your business does as well. A startup's BHAG may be as simple as making their first sale, or perhaps getting ten steady clients. A small company might have a financial goal in mind, such as earning $100,000.00 in one year. Larger companies may have BHAG's that refer to assets or company growth, such as having one hundred employees, or purchasing a sizable office space. And multinational corporations' BHAG's may be more along the lines of reaching a billion, or even a trillion, dollars in revenue or assets. Everyone will have a different BHAG to fit their niche and industry. But what about you?
As individuals, it is vastly important to set goals for ourselves in order to accomplish the things we want to succeed in. But, while we may have short term goals and resolutions, we rarely, if ever, set long term goals (long term being defined as five years or longer). And even if you do make one or two long-term goals for success, it is unlikely that these goals would "change the very nature of your existence" if you accomplish them. For some, living life in the limbo of routine is perfectly okay, and may bring them sincere happiness. If this is you, congratulations! There is no shame in living that life whatsoever, and if you choose to remain where you are, more power to you. But if you see this as a wake up call, as many often do upon learning what a BHAG is, then take this as your sign to take action.
Take the time right now, at this very moment, to write out a list of goals you have for yourself. It can be a list as short as zero, or as high as a million. Go, make that list right now, these words will wait. Got it? Good. Now, read that list to yourself, and decide on the ones most important to you. Want money? How do you plan on accomplishing that? Do you want to gain a social media presence? What platforms are you planning on using? You've now entered the planning phase. Whether these goals are BHAG's or just ordinary goals, now is the time to plan out your most important goals, and devise a system that will enable you to accomplish them.
Once you've planned your goals, and decided on a method for accomplishing them, go do them! Gary Vaynerchuk, an investor and business mogul (seriously, Google him), is a major proponent of taking action when inspiration strikes, and even when it doesn't. Two quotes of his resonate particularly well with the subject:
 |
| Photo by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash |
Take the time right now, at this very moment, to write out a list of goals you have for yourself. It can be a list as short as zero, or as high as a million. Go, make that list right now, these words will wait. Got it? Good. Now, read that list to yourself, and decide on the ones most important to you. Want money? How do you plan on accomplishing that? Do you want to gain a social media presence? What platforms are you planning on using? You've now entered the planning phase. Whether these goals are BHAG's or just ordinary goals, now is the time to plan out your most important goals, and devise a system that will enable you to accomplish them.
Once you've planned your goals, and decided on a method for accomplishing them, go do them! Gary Vaynerchuk, an investor and business mogul (seriously, Google him), is a major proponent of taking action when inspiration strikes, and even when it doesn't. Two quotes of his resonate particularly well with the subject:
- "It's what you don't do that will screw you later on." This resonates particularly well within this topic because of the accuracy behind it. Too many people fear failure so much that they refuse to entertain the possibility of success. It would genuinely be better to fail a hundred times at something in order to succeed at something than to assume that failure is inevitable. Entrepreneurship and business are both worlds full of false starts, and it is absolutely crucial to see things through.
- "Do the work. Everyone wants to be successful, but nobody wants to do the work." Hustling, putting in the time and effort and sacrifice, is all part of building a business and making your life better. That is a constant in any aspect of life. You only will ever get out what you put in, and if you put in only the bare bones of effort, you can expect a pretty similar reciprocation from the world.
The future is inevitable, and it is increasingly necessary to embrace it fully and completely, to meet it head on, rather than to shrink away from it and fear it. So now, look towards that future, as it crawls closer with each day, and decide what your BHAG is, and how you intend to make it a reality.
