the
innovative LEDGER
An e-Newsletter from The Innovative Edge™ Inc.
Vol.
7, No. 6- June 2007
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Of BHAG's and Laptops
By Jeff Govendo
One
of my favorite concepts that Jim Collins writes about in his two bestsellers
- Built to Last and Good to Great - is the BHAG (bee-hag),
short for "Big Hairy Audacious Goal."
A
BHAG is a huge, “stretch” goal; a grand intention. Monumental
in scope. Difficult to achieve. At the same time, it is easy to
understand and compelling. People "get it" right away
and are drawn to it. A BHAG is a distant beacon in the night; though
far away, it stands out clearly and gives direction and purpose to
those trying to reach it.
It’s
like a mission, only harder to ignore.
Most
importantly, a BHAG is worth striving toward; for shareholder enrichment,
for the betterment of humanity, or preferably both.
In
March of 2006 I reported on the BHAG of Dr. Nicholas Negroponte of
the MIT Media Lab. It was, simply stated, to provide One Laptop
per Child, which became the name of the non-profit company he
founded. His idea was to put a fully functional computer in the hands
of every child throughout the developing world, as a way of connecting
them to the digital world of learning. Education is the great equalizer
– a key to eradicating hunger and poverty. The computer and Internet
can provide access to knowledge and information for children that
would have been impossible less than a decade ago.
The
problem is, conventional laptops cost too much, require a power source
and are rather skittish about being used on a dirt floor or left out
in a monsoon. OLPC’s machine has been designed to address
all of these obstacles. For juice, it can be plugged in, but also
has a solar panel, or can be powered by a pull cord or crank. It is
nearly impervious to the elements; it will run following a complete
dunking. And, it will cost $100 at full production.
Of
course, it has wireless access capability.
While
a good BHAG needs to have an aura of credibility, it is not for the
cynical or faint-of-heart. Skeptics and naysayers tend to look
down on BHAG’s, or avoid them altogether. They want to put the
brakes on, and immediately let the BHAG’er know all the reasons
why it won’t work out. As Negroponte told his audience at a recent
graduation ceremony, “When somebody tells you to get real, that
is, for me, a code word for ‘Go for it.’ Try it.”
You
can be sure that when Negroponte first shared his dream, plenty of
people told him to get real. Yet as of today, OLPC’s laptop
is being tested in seven countries on three continents. The initial
production run is expected to be 3 million over the first year and
then continue at 400,000 per month. It has gotten rave reviews –
not just from young, third world users, but from many sophisticated
laptop veterans who marvel at the tiny machine’s capabilities.
Yes,
this BHAG is really happening.
Will
every child in every developing nation get one? Maybe, maybe not.
Certainly, a lot of kids who never dreamed of owning a computer will
soon have one. For many, their lives will change. And it’s
safe to say that without the audacity of his grand objective, Negroponte’s
project would be nowhere. Little goals beget little results.
What
is your organization’s BHAG? Does it have one? Does everyone
know what it is? Or, is it simply assumed that people’s dreams
won’t be taken seriously and be automatically dismissed?
I
suspect that across this great land there are millions of unexpressed
BHAG’s, their authors waiting endlessly for just the right conditions
to reveal them to others. They know that in the absence of a receptive
and nurturing climate, they’ll just be blown away.
For
unlike the $100 laptop, BHAG’s do not do well in bad weather.
