How to Create a Corporate BHAG in 2023

In today's ever-changing business landscape, having a long-term goal for your organization is crucial. Creating a clear vision of where your business will be in the future provides a sense of focus, direction, and alignment among your entire team. One effective way of setting a long-term goal is by creating a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG). A BHAG is a powerful tool for inspiring your team, driving innovation, and ensuring your company remains competitive. In this article, we'll examine why BHAGs are essential for up-and-coming organizations and how you can develop a BHAG for your company that aligns with your business strategies.

What Is a BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal)?

A BHAG is a long-term, ambitious goal that galvanizes a company and serves as a unifying force. It’s a target-oriented approach that gives the entire team a sense of urgency and purpose. It should be a quantum leap forward, not a small incremental step. It’s challenging yet attainable in a 10 to 25-year time frame.

A BHAG is a powerful tool that successful companies use to create a common goal to focus their efforts towards. Creating a BHAG allows a company to align its leadership team, employees, and customers with a compelling vision. This helps create focus and direction and generates excitement and determination for everyone involved.

To create a BHAG, a company must consider its business strategies, long-term strategies, and current business model. The BHAG should be consistent with the company’s mission and core values. It should also consider the market share the company intends to capture.

A BHAG is a compelling, long-term goal that creates alignment, focus, and urgency for the entire team. It’s a powerful tool that successful companies use to measure progress and inspire their teams. By setting a clear BHAG, a company can create a sense of purpose and mission to drive it toward success.

Why A BHAG Is Critical For Your Business

In the fast-paced business world, achieving success can often feel like an uphill battle. Finding a clear direction amidst the constant noise of competition and changing market trends can be challenging. That’s why having a BHAG - a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal - is critical for your business.

A BHAG is a long-term goal that transcends the business's day-to-day operations. It’s an exciting, challenging goal that galvanizes your team. A BHAG isn’t just an arbitrary goal - it’s a goal that aligns with your company’s mission and values. It’s a goal that defines a clear path toward achieving your strategic vision and your company’s purpose.

Establishing a BHAG can be beneficial as it grants a clear sense of direction. A unified team working towards a shared objective can aid in maintaining concentration. By avoiding becoming consumed by the small details of daily responsibilities, your group can dedicate their energy towards accomplishing the BHAG.

A BHAG also serves as a powerful tool for aligning your team. Creating a sense of teamwork and shared responsibility is much easier when everyone is working towards the same goal. The BHAG becomes the rallying point for your company, and everyone feels invested in achieving it. This sense of alignment leads to greater productivity, more vital teamwork, and higher morale.

Four Types of BHAGs

When it comes to creating a BHAG, there are four types of goals that companies can consider. Each type serves a different purpose and can help your company achieve other objectives. Let's take a closer look at each kind of BHAG:

1) The Moon mission BHAG - This BHAG is focused on achieving something that seems impossible but could ultimately transform the company. For example, a software company may set a goal of creating a new platform that will disrupt the industry, much like the moon landing seemed impossible at the time.

2) The innovative product BHAG - This BHAG is focused on creating a new product or service that will revolutionize the industry. For example, a tech company may set a goal of creating the next big communication tool that will make all other products obsolete.

3) The market domineer BHAG - This BHAG is focused on market share and becoming the dominant player in the industry. For example, a retail company may aim to increase its market share by 50% within the next three years.

4) The economic engine BHAG - This BHAG is focused on profitability and financial stability. For example, a manufacturer may set a goal of increasing their net profits by 25% within the next five years.

Each type of BHAG serves a different purpose, and choosing one that aligns with your company's mission and values is essential. Setting measurable goals to track progress toward achieving the BHAG is also important. By selecting a BHAG that aligns with your company's purpose and values, you can create a clear vision and align your team around a common goal. Check out this great list of BHAG examples.

Rhythm Systems Helps You Create and Execute Your BHAG

Creating and executing a good BHAG can be daunting for any business executive. It requires a clear goal, goal setting, a sense of urgency, and a long-term time frame to focus on achieving the objective. However, with the right tools and a dedicated team, developing and executing a BHAG can be a powerful tool for aligning the entire organization.

At Rhythm Systems, we specialize in helping companies create and execute their BHAGs. We understand the importance of setting measurable and qualitative goals that can challenge your team members to achieve ambitious targets in the long term. Our customized approach to BHAG creation helps you define your ultimate goal, break it down into smaller, time-bound objectives, and set a clear roadmap toward achieving success.

Our team of experienced consultants will help you identify a compelling BHAG that will inspire and motivate your team, along with a set of SMART goals that can be tracked and leveraged to monitor progress toward achieving your vision. We focus on creating target-oriented BHAGs that help you maximize your potential and drive up performance, regardless of your industry.

At Rhythm Systems, we believe in the power of a BHAG to bring your entire team together to achieve a common purpose. We work with your leadership team to inspire and motivate your workforce to embrace your BHAG with a shared purpose and direction. Developing a team spirit around your BHAG is critical to building momentum and driving up organizational engagement levels.

Our seasoned approach to true BHAG creation and execution has helped many up-and-coming organizations redefine their strategic vision and take a quantum leap toward achieving their goals. We have worked with businesses in various industries ranging from billion-dollar companies to fast-growing start-ups. We understand what it takes to create a successful BHAG, execute long-term strategies, stretch your comfort zone, and transform your business model.

Rhythm Systems empowers executives to develop and execute BHAGs that are ambitious, compelling, and achievable. Our proven methodology involves setting measurable, time-bound objectives to challenge your organization to maximize its potential. We believe that a well-crafted BHAG can be a powerful tool for creating a sense of urgency, aligning your team, and driving your company toward achieving its ultimate goal. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create and start the climb to your Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

Ted Skinner

Looking for some more information on BHAG to help get you started? Check out our additional Big Hairy Audacious Goal resources:

How To Create Your BHAG: 3 Steps to Discovering, Creating and Putting Your BHAG to Work

What Drives Your Financial Engine? Profit/X Examples

Do You Have a Personal BHAG?

Does Your Company's BHAG Connect to Your Hedgehog?

Why Having a BHAG Matters

How to Reach Your BHAG (Infographic)