What the BHAG

While reading the book Built to Last by Jim Collins, a great book that talks about why certain companies have been successful over a long period of time, I came across an interesting chapter with an even more interesting quote. The quote is from President Teddy Roosevelt, a man well known for famous quotes, and goes like this:

“Far better to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory, not defeat.”

For those of you unfamiliar with Built to Last, you may be wondering what Teddy Roosevelt has to do with long lasting, successful companies, or what the heck is a BHAG?! So, let’s start there. A BHAG is a big hairy audacious goal. It is a goal a company sets that seems impossible at the time. It is a goal that challenges all levels of the company to work together to achieve it. And for these reasons the quote was chosen.

In his quote, President Roosevelt is celebrating those who try to achieve greatness because if they succeed, they will be great. But even if they fail, they will know that they have tried. If you do not try to achieve greatness it will be extremely difficult to become great, and you may be left regretting opportunities you were too scared to take.

My suggestion to you: spend some time today to think about something you would like to achieve. It could be anything - think of something that you feel is unattainable, something that seems like a dream. With that BHAG in hand, set a plan to achieve it and start working towards that plan. Everyone enjoys success, failure can be painful, but regret is hard to get over.

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Colin: Colin Whitney is a Solutions Architect with Advoco and looks forward to helping others achieve their EAM goals. He is a graduate of both the University of Iowa and the University of Georgia. When he is not working he enjoys getting outside and watching college football. Questions? Send Colin an email!

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