Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)

What Is Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG)?

A big hairy audacious goal, or BHAG, is a clear and compelling target for an organization to strive for.

The term was coined in the book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras.

Understanding Big Hairy Audacious Goals

A BHAG — pronounced “bee hag” — is a long-term goal that everyone in a company can understand and rally behind. BHAGs are meant to excite and energize people in a way that quarterly targets and lengthy missions statements often fail to.

The litmus test of a true BHAG is how it answers questions like:

If the answers to these questions trend toward the affirmative, you may have a potential BHAG.

BHAGs have a proven record of motivating businesses to reach for success.

Collins and Porras point to a number of well-known mission statements — BHAGs that galvanized organizations to achieve incredible results. The most powerful example is President Kennedy’s 1961 famous declaration: “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” The result, of course, was a historic moon landing in 1969.

Collins has expounded on the concept of a BHAG, laying out criteria for creating one. Because BHAGs are supposed to pull people out of short-term thinking, the time frame for a BHAG is supposed to be at least ten years, if not more. The BHAG should have a reasonable chance of being achieved — ideally, it should have at least a 50% chance of success. It should also be action-oriented and exciting.

Special Considerations

The BHAG is meant to pull a team together, upgrade its desire and capabilities, and push it to achieve something that wouldn't have been possible without the shared commitment.

There are four broad categories of BHAG:

1. Role model: seek to emulate the success of a well-known company. This has been overdone a bit, with many companies seeking to be “the Uber" of their industry.
2. Common enemy: focus on overtaking their competitors, often aiming at beating the top companies in the industry.
3. Targeting: refer to things such as becoming a billion-dollar company or ranking #1 in the industry.
4. Internal transformation: are generally used by large, established companies to remain competitive by revitalizing their people and their business.

BHAG Examples

Unlike many mission statements, BHAGs do seem to catch on even with people outside the companies setting them. For example, SpaceX’s goal to “enable human exploration and settlement of Mars” caught international attention. Facebook (FB) has set a few BHAGs over time, including to “make the world more open and connected” and “give everyone the power to share anything with anyone.”

Google (GOOGL) wants to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Given what these companies have achieved already, it seems that setting BHAGs does work.

Why Is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) Useful?

A big hairy audacious goal (BHAG — pronounced “bee hag”) is useful in that it's a long-term goal that everyone in a company can understand and rally behind. The term was coined in the book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. Simply put, a well thought out BHAG shifts the focus to the bigger picture. It is meant to excite and energize people in a way that quarterly targets and lengthy missions statements often fail to, and if executed successfully, can prove to be the cornerstone for tremendous achievement.

What Are the Categories of BHAG?

According to Collins and Porras, there are four broad categories of BHAG. The 'role model' seeks to emulate the success of a well-known company. 'Common enemy' focuses on overtaking the competitors. 'Targeting' sets a specific objective such as becoming a billion-dollar company and 'internal transformation' seeks to remain competitive by revitalizing employees and business.

What Are Some Notable BHAGs?

One of the most notable and iconic BHAGs is President Kennedy’s 1961 famous declaration: “This nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth.” The result, of course, was a historic moon landing in 1969. More current BHAGs include Facebook's “make the world more open and connected” and Google's “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”