There are several key elements that are required for implementation to be successful. Doing this well requires plenty of complex thought, a variety of perspectives, and a hefty dose of leadership. Even though implementation is the greater challenge, top level planning sessions still set the height of the ceiling. Before this ceiling is established, it is worth challenging assumptions on which this view of the future has been established to ensure that they are correct as well as universally accepted.

And before you accept the future as you see it, know that your potential future is almost always greater than the one you are willing to acknowledge and pursue.

Now, before you move on to rattling off the company line, spend a couple weeks observing.

How much time gets dedicated to ACTIVELY guiding strategy and observing it from a macro level… all of the pieces? And by whom?
In meetings, what % of the senior 2-3 levels of leadership actively connect the conversation back to strategic objectives?
Who guides the direction of the strategy – does it come from the middle or the top?
When push comes to shove, does your financial budget reflect strategic priorities?
Do the people that guide the strategy have a direct link to the CEO?

There are many terms to describe what a grand vision is. Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or ‘BHAG’, is arguably the top industry term used to describe a truly compelling vision that sits atop your strategic plan. Since it was coined in the mid 90’s by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, its’ use has spread around the world and is commonly used by top strategy management organizations and Harvard strategy professors alike. It’s certainly one of the least ‘professional’ sounding industry terms related to strategy, but that seems to be what makes people pay attention. It’s unusual and bold, just like the statement is intended to be.

It blows by all of the questions of why what your organization is doing may be important. Not to be mistaken for the boring “vision” statements that most organizations write and then ignore, a bold vision (BHAG) carried by bold and capable leaders inspires employees and engages the best they have to offer. Visions are meant to impact decisions people make all year long.

What makes a BHAG powerful is that if it’s matched with equally capable leadership, it mobilizes engaged employees in a way that elicits their discretionary effort. The combination of:
• The reach of the vision
• The culture of the organization
• Employee confidence in the leadership, and
• The sense of opportunity this creates
… ultimately sets the temperature for everything related to strategy and planning within an organization. If the leaders are trusted, and capable, employees will gladly follow them down the path toward something great and exciting.

All of the other components of a well-articulated strategy management system (value discipline, strategy map, balanced scorecard, accountability framework, etc…) require a compelling vision to drive them. They are mechanisms, this is the path. Inevitably, decisions made outside of the context of a well-articulated strategy and compelling vision are always challenging (as it should be), because there’s no context.

“A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear 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.” — Jim Collins and Porras

BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOALS ARE:
• Action-oriented
• Clear (who, what, where, by when)
• Compelling and gripping – people “get it” right away
• Bold; bordering on hubris and the unattainable

Here’s a fact: if your employees are focused only on “doing their jobs,” your organization isn’t progressing in its market. Rather, you need them “doing their part,” which is significantly different. Doing their part means doing their jobs within the context of the strategy. My favorite example of this is a WestJet employee. Typically, they understand that their job isn’t just to sell you a ticket, or show you how to put a seatbelt on. They understand that their job is to serve up the strategy (brand). Without them, the strategy doesn’t work. Sometimes this happens because executives think that strategy is supposed to only exist at their level, and other times its because there is no clearly accepted strategy and future focus for the organization. The reality is that your competitive strategy is always carried to your customers by your employees.

To that end, you need gaps. Gaps tell people where you’re focusing. The extent of the gap tells us how important closing it is. Gaps also indicate leadership, because when most leaders want to focus on making things look as positive as they can, real leadership is being brave enough to acknowledge where things aren’t perfect.

Make friends with the concept of performance gaps.

I love the concept of the Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG), which was proposed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their book “Built to last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.” A BHAG is used to define goals that are strategic and compelling on an emotional level. Here are a couple of my favorites:

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Google: Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

AIESEC: Engage and develop every young person in the world.

Amazon: Every book, ever printed, in any language, all available in less than 60 seconds. Also: Earth’s most customer centric company.

Disney: Build Disneyland – and build it to our image, not industry standards. To be the best company in the world for all fields of family entertainment.

Microsoft: “A computer on every desk and in every home.”

Sony: Change the worldwide image of Japanese products as poor quality; create a pocketable transistor radio.

Twitter: To become “the pulse of the planet.”

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Anything is possible once you define and describe it.

Here’s the reality check: All of that great work is for nothing if you don’t bring your people along. Here are two truths:

1) Strategy can’t travel to your clients without first going through your employees (competitive strategy actualization, customer experience)
2) Culture trumps strategy every time

Employees may not live in the blue sky realm with your executive and OSM, but they are the ones delivering on the brand and the value discipline. Their actions create the brand, because a brand actually exists in the hearts and minds of your customers and potential customers. Culture, employee engagement and leadership are the keys to making your strategy work. Coming up with the strategy is actually the easier part, it’s making it real that only 1 out of 5 companies succeed in.

Here are a couple base questions you need to answer to get your bearings:

Is the common view of how you’re performing truly accurate? (don’t take anyone’s word for it)
Is the vision of where you’re going compelling, and is it big enough? (are people driven by it and understand it consistently)
Is there a central competitive strategy that everyone understands and is aligning to? (everyone has a plan in place)
Are people meaningfully connected to it? (people truly get it)
Do your leaders truly lead alignment to strategy? (they act as strategy advocates)

Moving forward before you answer these questions could be a mistake. Sometimes your greatest challenge is the lack of defined direction and strategic clarity. Other times it’s a lack of real leaders. And yet other times it’s a lack of the processes that create the right conversations. But defining the issue before you proceed will set you up for success.

“It’s never crowded along the extra mile.”
- Wayne Dyer

Take heart: For those willing to go that extra mile to undertake the complex and challenging work of driving progress, you are not alone. If it’s a personal challenge, there is a community of like-minded people out there who will happily accept you into their fold, and teach you what they know. In almost every organization, there are those who are either ready to band together, or can be co-opted to the cause of progress.

Whichever path you choose, do it consciously. At the end of the year, it’s worth reflecting upon what is truly important to you, and to what extent you have been true to your own dreams. What things have you talked about this year and not acted on? Were they worth acting on, or not worth talking about? There’s not much in the middle.

“You must be the change you want to see in the world”
- Gandhi

As you go into 2012, be purposeful about your life and the things you do with it. Every day brings the gift of 86,400 seconds that can’t be re-spent once they’re gone.

Top performers bring things to the table that less engaged or inspired employees does not. They create. They take pride in what they create. And sometimes, when their talent is overlooked for long enough, they stop self-identifying as an artist.

Not everyone is an artist in what they do, nor do they aspire to be… but some people are. It doesn’t matter what function someone serves, be it a strategist, a hair stylist, an accountant or a writer. Being an artist isn’t about the form, it’s about the creativity and individual brilliance. When people know the results of their discretionary effort and unique talent brings a smile to someone else’s face, they’ll show you their best every time.

• Work with brilliant people
• Let them know you appreciate their unique talent and artistry
• And get the hell out of their way

Wind #1 – Security

Those that push for security tend to be more tactical in nature, their priority to is to maintain the safe environment that they have created or have acquired. These organizations may have even gotten to their current position by being high performers, and then became satisfied with what they accomplished. It’s human nature to look for information that supports our current paradigm, so inevitably, this group looks for information that supports why dramatic change is not required. Following suit, communication tends to focus on how positive things are today.

Wind #2 – Driven to continuously improve

The second pushes to create their own destiny, they are strategic in nature and they look for information to help them continuously improve. This group’s core belief is that they haven’t captured all of their potential. This drives them to look for information to hint at where the next opportunity to improve exists. Discovery of an area where performance is challenged excites those that ascribe to this thinking, because it represents opportunity to take things to the next level. These employees literally demand leadership. The focus of communication within this environment is more around creating a compelling view of the future, and progression.

When comparing these two environments, the differences in focus are interesting:

Hard working vs. high performing
Tactical vs. strategic
Satisfied vs. engaged
Focus on effort vs. focus on impact

The irony here is that the drive to pursue security can easily create a stronger view that you are safe in your market, when in fact those who demonstrate a continuous improvement are often much safer in reality.

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy