Many of you are aware I’m a big fan of goal setting. In July 2021 I wrote an article – Is goal setting useful? Drawing on the research I did with some colleagues in our Master of Business Coaching degree, I concluded that goal setting is very useful when done well. In September 2021 I wrote an article sharing three models to help you set goals. If you’ve not read these already please click on the hyperlinks and have a look now.
For me the period from late December through to mid January is my peak goal setting time. As part of my Christmas New Year break I like to put my feet up a bit and ponder. Then, as I go into 2023 I have some clear goals for the year. Truth is one or two had been set earlier, such as having two separate trips to Europe of 5 weeks each. With travel being so popular again, you have to plan along way ahead to get the bookings you want!
As part of my pondering I update my business plan which includes identification of both personal and business goals. That’s where those trips to Europe come in. For Kate and I our travel is so important – we just love exploring other parts of the world and seeing how other people live and the many amazing natural and human created sights around the world. I want a business that supports this, not get in the way of it!
As an aside, my by business is small but my business plan is 44 pages, which I then distil to a single page summary which is what I look at most often. I enjoy the discipline that the longer plan forces on me. It gives me a structure to methodically assess and reassess different elements of my business and the environment I work in.
I’m sharing this background with you as part of encouraging you to do something similar, if you haven’t already. Think about what you’d like to achieve in 2023 both personally and business wise. Set some goals, (a small number) write them down, tell key people about them and then get on with achieving them. As part of this you might also like to set yourself one or two Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs).
Many accountants are familiar with this idea via Verne Harnish who is the author of The Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up. He has spoken a number of times in Australia. Verne defines a BHAG as “the 10-to-25-year goal that provides constant context for all of the decisions made throughout the organisation”.
The idea of a BHAG is originally from Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. They said this about a BHAG:
“A true BHAG is clear and compelling, it serves as a unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines.
A BHAG engages people – it reaches out and grabs them. It is tangible, energizing, highly focused. People get it right away; it takes little or no explanation.”
I have two BHAGs:
- To have completed a detailed review of 50 firms using my unique Success Ready Review™ methodology
- To have 500 people complete my Manager Development Program
I’m currently at 25 firm reviews completed and 204 people through the program.
Is there a BHAG you could identify for yourself and/or your firm?
And what goals can you identify specifically for 2023?