BIHAG - Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals!

byLouiseBT

8.4K followers

Updated 5 years ago

Yesterday was the first time I heard of BIHAG - it really resonated with me. We ALL need BIHAG in our lives. I heard this in Church - yip, where I go we are practical and just "a bit out there", can you tell?

So what exactly are we talking about, what is BIHAG? BIHAG - BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOALS - I just love this!

Do YOU Have Big Hairy Audacious Goals For 2019?

BIHAG involves the following:

• The goals' must be BIG and HAIRY enough to scare you
• The goals' must be AUDACIOUS enough to motivate you!

Having goals' is important - actually, in the online business world - goals' are part of our lifeblood, without them, it would be just too easy to lose traction and ultimately fail.

Failure is NOT an option!

Let's Get Smart!

I am sure we have all heard of SMART goals', in case you haven't, this is what SMART is all about, the word "SMART:" is an acronym for what your goals' should be, as following:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Acheiveable
• Realistic
• Timebound

The really great thing about SMART goals' is that you can test your goals' against the concept. Here is an example that fails the SMART test:

"My goal is to earn a lot of money this year"

• Is not specific enough - how much is "a lot of money"?
• Is not measurable - we do not know how much money we are talking about
• Could be achievable - if we knew how much money we were talking about
• Again, without a number on the amount, this goal would not be considered realistic
• We have one aspect under control - "this year" could be considered timebound. Though I suspect absolute dates, i.e. by 31 December 2019 would work better. For me personally, by 25 October is best - means I can plan for 2020 before heading out for a break in December!

So what does a SMART goal look like?

Example: "My goal is to earn $600 000 by 31 December 2019"

Does this goal tick all the boxes? Let's check

• It is specific, we know we are talking about $600 000
• It is measurable, we know exactly how much money we want to earn and by what date
• Is it achievable? Well, that depends on the goal setter. If the goal setter knows they have the right product to sell at the right price at the right place, with the right promotions (yes, the reliable 4 P's of the marketing mix), then they have likely done their research and will meet their targets. If there is no research to back up whether it is achievable or not, well, let's just say you could be in for a disappointing year. It is not enough to have these 4 P's met in online marketing - you also have to bring the right work ethic, commitment, dedication and determination, perhaps that is a whole other blog. I believe that a few have been written, here's a link to one of my favourites: by RoopeKiuttu.
• Is it realistic? As with being achievable, if the market research has been done and the work ethic etc is in place, then yes, it could be considerable to be realistic.
• We have an absolute date committed to this goal, 31 December 2019 - which means it is Timebound, we know we have 11 months and 4 weeks left until 31 December 2019. We could go further and break the $600 000 down into the months, the weeks and the days.

Let's Get Even Smarter

I found this in an online blog by Smartgoals.co.uk, too, a bit more detail than what I was taught, I prefer this one by far:

"The acronym SMART has several slightly different variations, which can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition of goal setting:

S - specific, significant, stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, time-bound, timely, tangible, trackable"

Now we are seeing more synergy between BIHAG and SMARTER

Goals setting for me becomes exciting when taking an expanded SMARTER and BIHAG options both into the equation. Being a bit of an optimist and risk taker, the combination of the two creates those butterflies in my belly. For me, creating goals' that are just SMART in the first sense above, is not challenging enough. I am excited by the idea of goals' being more than just Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound. I rise better to the option goals' being :

S - Significant and stretching

M - Meaningful and motivational

A - Action-oriented

R - Results-oriented and rewarding

T - Time-based and trackable

E - Ethical

R - Recorded

These challenge me more, they give me the clarity and drive I thrive on to get up in the morning and work late at night. I want to be challenged, knowing that everything is absolutely in place for me to achieve my goals' just doesn't do it for me somehow. Is anyone else in this with me? Not only do I feel challenged, I also have a clear path, a direction in which to head.

Knowing that I need more than just SMART goals', I need to stretch further towards something that is significant, that is meaningful - now, that motivates me. It gears me towards being action oriented, and the results are keenly in my focus, with the reward dangling alongside. I relish the idea of everything being time-based and trackable, it feels competitive - I love the idea of competing for something, not necessarily with someone, but for something.

The Ethical goals' are those always worth striving for, when you have a clear conscience and know that your values are not being compromised by your actions, sleeping at night is so much easier. Not only that, it becomes a noble cause, something that has your heart and passions involved. Now we are talking!

Finally, Recorded goals' means that you have them committed in black and white (paper or computer - see what I did there :-)) This way you can break everything down into bite sizes, you know that your book needs to be written by this date, you can commit each task to a time period which means you can monitor and review everything as you progress.

I love this image - not necessarily recommending that you put pen to paper literally, there is something about writing the "old-fashioned way" that really works well for me. I remember it even better am not reliant on technology or electricity to access the information. The majority of what I do is with the assistance of technology, taking a break from it is pretty special too.

I wrote some BIHAG's before I even knew what a BIHAG was. You can read about them here.

Writing this article today has nudged me again though, the goals I have set out for myself meet all the SMARTER requirements except for "T" - yip, I have been "wandering a bit aimlessly" in this respect. Not anymore, tonight I set up the timeline to achieve every, single, aspect of my BIHAGs.

So that's it folks, my not as little as intended, article on BIHAG! What are your thoughts? Share what your BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOALS are for 2019 - I would LOVE to hear them!

Blessings