In The BHAG

BHAGs came out of Collins' classes at Stanford University in the late 1980s. Collins, a professor of entrepreneurship and small business, often presented Apple Computer as an entrepreneurial success story for students to study. But soon he began wondering what, exactly, made Apple successful and whether those elements could be singled out by looking at other prosperous companies. The research he undertook to answer that question spawned Built To Last--and the concept of BHAGs.

Since then, this unlikely phrase has entered the business lexicon. Articles in The New York Times and Harvard Business Review have examined BHAGs as serious tools for businesses. Today, Collins admits he never envisioned the term BHAG taking its place alongside empowerment, reengineering and other buzzwords of modern management, but he feels the concept has intrinsic value.

The main benefit of a BHAG, according to Collins, is to inspire and focus organizations on achieving long-term objectives that are consistent with its purpose. One of the most famous BHAGs was the goal of landing a man on the moon before 1970. This BHAG, which was set by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, energized NASA, captured the attention of the American public, and resulted in one of the most impressive accomplishments by any organization.

This article was originally published in the August 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: In The BHAG.