What I hope your stretch goals feel like
Have you ever had a professional goal come true? And not just any goal, but a big, hairy, audacious one? We’re not talking about a goal like crossing everything off your to-do list (seriously though, if anything were going to be big and hairy, that would be it). More like a goal for something you wanted but didn’t know quite how to get. Something that took time, energy, and resources outside of your 9 to 5 and 5 to 9. Something that feels almost impossible.
A big, hairy, audacious goal, or BHAG if you will, is a popular business term used to help define a stretch goal. It’s also just fun to say. While the term was first coined in 1994 by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their book, “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,” I first learned of the term while I was with Mortarr. Each employee was encouraged to have a BHAG. It kept us from thinking too small, too inside the box.
My BHAG was to have a podcast. My team and I had recently launched the Forum by Mortarr, a digital publication covering the commercial design industry. I knew in my bones that the most impactful way to tell stories about that industry would be to hear firsthand from the individuals doing the work. I wanted my stories about those people and their work to appear like we were friends chatting over coffee. And as hard as I worked to have my articles come across that way, I always knew they could be so much more.
Fast forward a couple of years, and we came up with a name, secured the Instagram handle, and invested in some equipment to ensure our audio was on point. But even after a few recordings, it still wasn’t quite right, and we couldn’t get it off the ground.
Fast forward a few more years — our team had changed a little, and we still had that unused Instagram handle, but now we had a slightly different idea. Our new CEO had tasked our team with creating an industry-agnostic award honoring individuals whose work in sustainability had been instrumental in progressing our world forward. What started as a green cape award turned into Impact Icons, and I knew (again, I could feel it in my bones) that this was our podcast opportunity. To hear first-hand from people passionate about their work, where that passion comes from, and what that passion means to them.
So I Googled how to pitch a podcast (seriously) and reached out to an industry friend, Doug Shapiro, with the pitch. Doug is the host of the Imagine a Place Podcast, part of OFS’ Imagine a Place Productions, and such a fantastic interviewer, storyteller, and human being. I knew if we were going to be successful with any podcast endeavor, we needed to do it as a part of a network and with people whose values aligned with ours. Five months later Impact Icons launched in January 2023 on Apple, Spotify, Audible, Google, and all the other places you can get podcasts. Three episodes have been released, and the remainder of season one will be released in full later this year.
The whole process of this podcast, read the entire process of achieving my BHAG, has been life-changing, as it should be. The confidence I’ve gained through this has triggered a seismic shift in how I approach my work, relationships, and everything else. I know I’m a good writer and storyteller (yes, I can feel it in my bones). And I know the types of stories we were telling about this industry were special. This industry is full of incredible people doing incredible things, and I’m so proud to be able to tell their stories because everyone should know these people and their work. Honestly, everyone should feel that way about themselves and their work. Think about all the biographies that won’t be written, the stories that will go untold. How dare anyone not think about themselves in this way, right?
So regardless of what your goal is, whether it unfolds how you want it to or not, the true impact of a BHAG isn’t just in the outcome; it’s ultimately in the process of defining what it is you actually want and then having the guts to believe in yourself strongly enough to go after it.
Jen Levisen is a writer, editor, and content strategist passionate about connecting and storytelling and using both to highlight impact. She recently joined the non-profit mindful MATERIALS as its Director of Communications and is also the host of the Impact Icons podcast, an Imagine a Place Production. Impact Icons celebrates leaders within the built environment who are instrumental in creating a more sustainable tomorrow. Connect with Jen (digital high-fives abound!)