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Episode 160 - BHAGs and 3HAGs Re-Release : Turning Vision into Action
In this week’s episode, re-released from the heady early days of the podcast in 2023, we tackle a question that sits at the heart of leadership and management: how do you move from a bold vision to meaningful action? It is easy to talk about strategy. It is much harder to create a clear destination that inspires people and then connect it to what people are actually doing on a Monday morning.
We explore the concept of the Big Hairy Audacious Goal, first introduced by Jim Collins in Built to Last. A BHAG is not a polite target or a marginal improvement. It is a statement of intent that feels almost out of reach. It should be compelling, energising and transformative. Think of enabling human settlement on Mars, or putting a computer on every desk at a time when computers filled entire rooms. If you already know exactly how to achieve it, it is probably not bold enough.
But vision without execution is theatre. So we introduce the idea of the Three Year Highly Achievable Goal. This is where long term ambition meets operational reality. What does the organisation look like in three years if we are genuinely on track? What capabilities must exist? What numbers must be true? What would customers say about us? By breaking the audacious goal into achievable stages, leaders create a golden thread that links strategy to quarterly focus and even weekly priorities.
Along the way we compare business thinking with military concepts such as operational art and mission command. We discuss how leaders generate the moral energy that motivates people to contribute to something bigger than themselves. We also confront the risk of becoming obsessed with managing the plan rather than delivering the outcome.
If you have ever felt that your organisation has a strategy on paper but no clear sense of direction in practice, this episode is for you. We move beyond abstract discussion and offer a practical framework you can apply immediately. Listen in if you want to connect bold ambition with disciplined execution and give your team a destination worth striving for.
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By Battling With BusinessIn this week’s episode, re-released from the heady early days of the podcast in 2023, we tackle a question that sits at the heart of leadership and management: how do you move from a bold vision to meaningful action? It is easy to talk about strategy. It is much harder to create a clear destination that inspires people and then connect it to what people are actually doing on a Monday morning.
We explore the concept of the Big Hairy Audacious Goal, first introduced by Jim Collins in Built to Last. A BHAG is not a polite target or a marginal improvement. It is a statement of intent that feels almost out of reach. It should be compelling, energising and transformative. Think of enabling human settlement on Mars, or putting a computer on every desk at a time when computers filled entire rooms. If you already know exactly how to achieve it, it is probably not bold enough.
But vision without execution is theatre. So we introduce the idea of the Three Year Highly Achievable Goal. This is where long term ambition meets operational reality. What does the organisation look like in three years if we are genuinely on track? What capabilities must exist? What numbers must be true? What would customers say about us? By breaking the audacious goal into achievable stages, leaders create a golden thread that links strategy to quarterly focus and even weekly priorities.
Along the way we compare business thinking with military concepts such as operational art and mission command. We discuss how leaders generate the moral energy that motivates people to contribute to something bigger than themselves. We also confront the risk of becoming obsessed with managing the plan rather than delivering the outcome.
If you have ever felt that your organisation has a strategy on paper but no clear sense of direction in practice, this episode is for you. We move beyond abstract discussion and offer a practical framework you can apply immediately. Listen in if you want to connect bold ambition with disciplined execution and give your team a destination worth striving for.