Three Weeks for Dreamwidth: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
Wednesday, April 30th, 2025 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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goals_on_dwThis year during Three Weeks for Dreamwidth, I'm writing about goal-setting frameworks for goals_on_dw. Read Part 1: Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks, Part 2: The 1-3-5 Rule, Part 3: The 12-week Year, Part 4: ABCS (Achievable, Believable, Committed, Specific), Part 5: Backward Goal, Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).
Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
The BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) approach is for people who can't stand making small bets. You still have to break the whole thing down to actionable steps, but you're aiming big. This method is mainly about choosing the most ambitious goal you possibly could. It's exactly the opposite of methods based on choosing attainable goals that just require you to stretch a bit. Among the more famous examples is putting a man on the Moon.
A good BHAG is about action. It drives people to do something grand. It must be clear about who will do what, where, and by when. For a team effort, it needs to be compelling enough that people get it instantly and yearn to get involved. Forget humility. This goal needs to be bold and audacious, pushing the limit of where confidence turns into hubris. It should be almost unattainable, a long shot, but not quite impossible. Grab for the brass ring!
Such goals come in various types. One is a target, like "A car in every garage and a chicken in every pot." People can also unite against a common enemy, like the fight against an oil pipeline that would pose a hazard. Conversely, you might want to follow a role model and try to accomplish something like that in your own field. Then there is internal transformation, like shifting a company from relying on fossil fuelds to relying on renewable resources.
To create a BHAG, start by brainstorming ideas. Don't settle for the obvious, the easily attainable, the things that have been done before. Go wild. Once you have a list of ideas, then go through and examine them. Throw out anything that's not big enough or seems so impossible that you can't figure out a path toward it. Whittle down until you have something that is exciting and just barely doable if you pull out all the stops. Finally, develop your BHAG into an actual mission statement.
goals_on_dw. Read Part 1: Introduction to Goal-Setting Frameworks, Part 2: The 1-3-5 Rule, Part 3: The 12-week Year, Part 4: ABCS (Achievable, Believable, Committed, Specific), Part 5: Backward Goal, Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).Part 6: BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals)
The BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) approach is for people who can't stand making small bets. You still have to break the whole thing down to actionable steps, but you're aiming big. This method is mainly about choosing the most ambitious goal you possibly could. It's exactly the opposite of methods based on choosing attainable goals that just require you to stretch a bit. Among the more famous examples is putting a man on the Moon.
A good BHAG is about action. It drives people to do something grand. It must be clear about who will do what, where, and by when. For a team effort, it needs to be compelling enough that people get it instantly and yearn to get involved. Forget humility. This goal needs to be bold and audacious, pushing the limit of where confidence turns into hubris. It should be almost unattainable, a long shot, but not quite impossible. Grab for the brass ring!
Such goals come in various types. One is a target, like "A car in every garage and a chicken in every pot." People can also unite against a common enemy, like the fight against an oil pipeline that would pose a hazard. Conversely, you might want to follow a role model and try to accomplish something like that in your own field. Then there is internal transformation, like shifting a company from relying on fossil fuelds to relying on renewable resources.
To create a BHAG, start by brainstorming ideas. Don't settle for the obvious, the easily attainable, the things that have been done before. Go wild. Once you have a list of ideas, then go through and examine them. Throw out anything that's not big enough or seems so impossible that you can't figure out a path toward it. Whittle down until you have something that is exciting and just barely doable if you pull out all the stops. Finally, develop your BHAG into an actual mission statement.
