The idea of a BHAG, or ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goal’ was proposed by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book entitled Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.
Aviation people are all about BHAGs.
David McCullough outlines Orville & Wilbur Wright’s nearly obsessive pursuit of a BHAG that led to their famous flight at Kitty Hawk.
There were plenty of BHAGs in evidence at NBAA – including remote-controlled tugs and supersonic business jets.
It’s great to see the innovation.
In this podcast, we talk about creating a big, hairy audacious goal for your business for next year.
There are many forms of success.
I was catching up with a friend who is a long-time aviation professional, who is currently working retail in a Brookstone store in a mall for the Christmas season.
“I was brought up to believe that there is no shame in any kind of meaningful work – as long as you’re doing honest work and getting paid for it. So I don’t mind taking a job I’m ‘overqualified for.’ Beats doing nothing!” He said. “And this is what I need to do to support my family right now.”
He’s in one of those strange situations – qualified in the wrong aircraft at the wrong time for the wrong company and living in the wrong place geographically to easily find another job. He’s got parents to care for and kids in school and has made the choices he’s made for reasons other than professional ones.
It’s times like this that make me REALLY grateful for our clients and colleagues who work so hard to do what they do. We know why you do it. And we know that success looks different to everyone.
I haven’t seen any studies, but I believe that there are more family businesses in aviation than in other industries. And the ones that aren’t biologically family businesses BECOME “family businesses” over time, simply because we pour so much time, energy, and resources into our teams and our customers.
This industry doesn’t have many “launch and sell” companies built for short-term profit. The ones that succeed are those that have strong ties to their best customers and are there to support customers for the long haul.
Our clients have many different ideas of success, and for many, the idea of success changes over time. It’s our job to understand where they are, to be sensitive to their timing issues, and to help them support their dreams by selling more products and services.
Success for us, in part, is getting as many of these people as possible together for a great meal and great conversation. We realize our clients help us do that, and we’re grateful to you!
ABCI’s Mission for 2016
We achieve our goals only by helping others achieve theirs. We’re making this particularly obvious in 2016.
There is space on my white board for 20 individuals and five companies. The companies and people that get written on this white board we see and think about and strategize about every single day.
- We want to help these five companies double their revenues in 2016.
- We want to make these 20 individuals the best-known “rock stars” in their particular niche and role by the end of 2016.
These two goals are intertwined – some of the individuals will belong to the companies we choose – we achieve these results for companies without developing their “rock stars.” And this won’t work for just anybody. Some folks are at a time in 2016 when they’re devoting their time and energy to something outside of their professional life and their company; or their resources are otherwise engaged.
We totally get that.
For others, now is the right time to hit the throttle.
The folks on my white board need to be able to devote the time, energy, courage and resources to improve their brand, their product or service, their relationships with customers, and their marketing systems. They are people who are willing to meet with us regularly, collaborate with us, argue with us, make connections, pick up the phone, send letters and emails, visit clients and prospects, and go the extra mile.
It’s an admittedly tiny percentage of the aviation industry. But we’ve chosen quality over quantity, and our time is the limiting factor.
We know that some of these will be existing clients, and some will be new folks we haven’t met yet. If you’re interested in being one of these individuals and/or companies, we’d love to talk with you before the end of the year. Call our office at 702-987-1679 and make an appointment for a 30 minute conversation to get started, or help yourself to an open time on our calendar.
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