Success doesn’t just happen. If you want your company to reach the next level, you need to focus on creating and achieving a BHAG – a big, hairy, audacious goal.
- Go Big: If you find that you always achieve your goals easily, you might be setting the bar too low. Goals should be challenging. They should make us push ourselves to do better and to be better.
- Get Hairy: No, you don’t need to change your grooming habits. We’re talking about hairy as in a hairy situation – something that’s exciting but maybe also stressful or even frightening. Your goals should scare you, at least a little. They should make you nervous and excited. If they don’t, go bigger.
- Be Audacious: Modesty has its place, but that place isn’t here. If you want to be the best, you need to be confident and daring – and so do your goals.
A Four-Step Process
Dreaming is easy. Actually achieving your dreams takes elbow grease. Here are some tips to get you there:
- Set your goal. Think about where you want your company to be in three years and write down the details. Get specific. Be realistic but also bold.
- Determine what it will take. Once you have a goal, break it down. For example, if you want to achieve a certain revenue target, how many sales will that require per year, per month and per day?
- Create your plan. Once you know what you need to do, you need to figure out how you’re going to do it. Your plan should be as detailed as possible. Determine exactly what your company needs to do, who’s going to do it, when they’re going to do it, and what resources they’re going to need.
- Motivate your team. Your company can’t achieve big goals without having everyone on board. Make sure your employees are motivated – and make sure they stay that way. Big goals take time to achieve, and it’s easy to lose steam. You need to stop that from happening.
Here at RIG, we’ve set our own big, hairy, audacious goal. We gave our goal a name and logo – its own branding, in a sense – and we focus on it every day. Team members are surrounded with reminders of the company goal with themed mousepads, coffee cups, lock screens and Zoom screens. We meet monthly so everyone can report on their progress. Twice a week, we sent team members a motivational email with a tip to help them move toward the goal.
It might sound like overkill, but it isn’t. Big goals require big effort. You have to fight hard to overcome inertia. Achieving a BHAG requires top-of-mind awareness, continual follow up, and a shared belief that success is within reach. I encourage you to try it!
For more leadership inspiration, be sure to check out our LX Leadership videos, where I interview successful leaders to learn how their life experiences have shaped their leadership styles.