Do you know what a BHAG is and who coined the phrase?
BHAG stands for “Big Hairy Audacious Goal” and was created by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.
“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.”
— Collins and Porras
Goal setting is essential for living on purpose and helps motivate me in everything that I do. Not only do I get motivated by setting the goal but building the plan, exceeding the clearly defined goals and working on the plan daily are the most important. As 2013 quickly comes to a close, it makes me realize how important goal setting is and that I am behind in planning for 2014.
As I think about my 2014 goals I am asking myself these questions:
What did I accomplish this year?
What held me back from accomplishing more?
What do I not want to give up?
What am I comfortable forfeiting in the future?
What do I need in order to accomplish more?
If I accomplish more, what will that create or look like?
How can my goals be measured?
After answering these questions, I’ve developed a few personal and professional goals for 2014, including:
Complete in all three Spartan Race distances and earn a Trifecta medal.
Get deeply involved in a charity.
Get involved in a mentorship program.
Build and train as a team to compete in a Tough Mudder event.
Buy a new house and keep our condo as a rental property.
Goals help me be who I want to be rather then letting fate and others determine what is possible. If you haven’t read Built to Last then stop what you are doing and order it now. To learn more about BHAGs take a look at his Jim Collins blog. Then I challenge you to sit down and create your own BHAG and share them so we can all live with purpose.
