Small achievements may be hurting your success

I first heard the phrase while on a job interview. The owner of the company had very non-discreetly parked his fancy Audi R8 by the entrance to the building, and his license plate read, "BHAGS." When inside, the interviewer asked me if I knew what it stood for, and proceeded to explain the meaning: Big Hairy Audacious Goals. Some time later, I was reading Fast Company magazine which mentioned BHAG and referenced it to the original source in Jim Collins' book, "Built to Last." So, I finally knew where it was from, and added it to my reading list. (And you should read it, too!)

I usually read Fast Company and Inc Magazine at the same time, since they usually arrive at my mailbox together, and Joel Spolsky's column rang a bell in my brain. His main idea in the article was that if a company grows too slowly, it will be overtaken by the competition who is more aggressively pushing for growth, even if the competition has an inferior product. At some point, a company can reach critical mass, whereby people will say, "well, they have the market share. They must be the best."

Joel's words echoed in my heart, and the connection was made between having BHAGs and achieving success. Many people are complacent when they see themselves achieving things, but is that enough?

What's your big crazy goal?