Goals: Smart and Audacious

By Cedar Pruitt, Charlesbank Consulting

My teenage daughter stopped me mid-sentence. It was January and I was talking through my goals. But she wasn’t having it. “Those goals need to be SMART,” she said, and went on to decrypt: “Specific, Measurable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.” I looked at my list. Maybe I could—

“Oh,” she added, “and Achievable.”

“What?” I yelped. “Then some of my goals won’t even make it on here! Do I just throw this list away?”

I was having a little crisis of faith. After all, I understand the need for SMART goals. But this time, I wanted to capture something bigger. After all, as much as I believe in specificity and achievability, I also believe in the power of dreams. Big dreams.

Those dreams that change your brain a little, just by sticking the words “I want to…” in front of the idea. As a coach, I’ve seen executives change their lives by voicing the dreams they once kept to themselves.

As a facilitator, I know that this is also the way to change the organizational “brain.” When we build a new vision together, we begin to shift that diverse set of underlying assumptions about what the organization could or should do.

But before any of our brains change, let’s make sure we know the why behind goal-setting.

Q: Why do we set goals in the first place?

A: In order to live the life we want, and contribute with greater purpose, with an approach that is creative, not reactive. This same thinking applies to companies, too. Organizational goals enable everyone to work toward the same purpose, and require the SMART paradigm, too. But if goal setters only focus on the Achievable, they can’t break through to the next level. People and organizations can’t become visionary by remaining in place.

Enter BHAGs. In his excellent book Built to Last, Jim Collins outlines the visionary power of Big Hairy Audacious Goals. He’s named them that precisely because they push the boundaries of what we think is possible. They aren’t just big – they are audacious.

He writes, “…a true BHAG is clear and compelling and serves as a unifying focal point of effort—often creating immense 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 in the gut. It is tangible, energizing, highly focused. People “get it” right away; it takes little or no explanation.”

Write your BHAGs. Start with a list just for you.

And then dream big with your executive team. Find a facilitator, from inside or outside of your organization, and free up the space and time to truly brainstorm where you could go as a company. Be bold and articulate the possibilities.

Once you’ve done that, prioritize them as a group. Talk through your top three. Do they excite you? Could they change the organizational brain?

Finally, it’s time to bring in those SMART goals. Break down the top BHAGs into the steps you’d need to take to get there.

Assign this structure to each step:

Make it Specific: What will you accomplish?

Make it Measurable. How will you know if you’ve met the goal?

Make it Achievable. How can you attain this goal?

Make it Relevant. Does it make sense with your broader goals?

Make it Time-bound. Write down your target dates for deliverables.

You’ll need regular contact with the goals – either through visual proximity or regular checkpoints or both.

That brings us to the A that enables both the Audacious and the Achievable: Accountability. The use of accountability partners, processes and practices is crucial to harnessing forward momentum and staying on target even when surrounded by distractions.

In telling my loved ones about my list, I created a little accountability for my goals, even as I risked some pushback.

No matter how wild, audacious and impossible our goals might seem today, they can only happen if we voice them.

Whether it’s facilitating a board meeting, coaching executives, supporting directors in goal setting or more, I can help you set big goals that are grounded in reality. This article is the first step on that path, and your contact will continue the conversation.

Yes, set those SMART goals. But first, make them audacious.