Welcome to Friday 411, issue #142. In 4 minutes, with 1 insight and 1 action, you’ll learn why most teams DON’T need more people.
1 Insight
Clarity is the most underrated leadership trait. When everyone knows the single most important goal, everything else gets easier.
We asked 15 executives to write down their company’s single highest priority on a Post-it note.
They responded with 14 different answers.
Only two people in the room agreed.
This was a fast-growing company. Smart people. Plenty of resources. For six months, they had hired aggressively, convinced they had a Capacity problem. Not enough employees. Not enough bandwidth. They were guided by a simple belief: they needed to out-hire the workload.
They asked us to help tackle their most pressing problem: working 80-hour weeks. In an attempt to solve what they had diagnosed as a Capacity issue, they had hired dozens of new people. But the long hours remained.
We began by pulling out a pack of Post-it notes and asking each person to write down the company’s most important priority. They could only write down one answer.
Of course it felt like they needed more people. Fifteen people were peddling as hard as they could in 14 different directions. They didn’t have a Capacity issue. They had a Clarity issue.
We see this story repeated over and over again. Leaders solving the wrong problem. Not because they’re bad leaders, but because the real issues hide beneath the symptoms.
Here’s what most leaders miss: when your team lacks Clarity, everything feels like a Capacity problem. Too many emails. Too many meetings. Too many fires to put out. So you hire more people, add more meetings, and create more systems. But it doesn’t get better.
It doesn’t get better because you’re treating the symptom, not the cause.
Clarity is Kindness
When we handed those 15 executives a Post-it note and asked them to write down the single most important goal for the organization, we expected some variation. We didn’t expect 14 different answers from 15 people.
But that one exercise changed everything for them.
They spent the next couple of hours productively arguing about what mattered most. Not politely nodding. Not avoiding conflict. Actually wrestling with the question: What is the one thing we must accomplish in the next one to three years?
Once they agreed, they made a bold decision. They committed to a 90-day hiring freeze. Instead of adding headcount, they aligned the entire organization around that single priority.
Within three months:
- They stopped hiring and still hit their targets.
- The 80-hour weeks started diminishing.
- They reached agreement on decisions faster because everyone knew what mattered.
They didn’t need more people. They needed enough clarity to guide the decisions and actions of everyone in the company.
Jim Collins calls this kind of goal a BHAG — a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal. It’s the one defining target that tells your entire organization where you’re headed. Without it, people fill the void with their own priorities. And those priorities rarely line up.
You don’t have to be the CEO of a company to use a BHAG. Create one for your team or department or division. Whatever size team you’re leading, you can still use the BHAG to focus your team and accomplish more in less time.
Ten Types of BHAGs
A BHAG can take different forms. Here are several types, including what each might look like in an operationally complex, people-driven organization.
1. Quantitative BHAG
Definition: A goal built around a specific number.
Example: “Our division will generate $50 million in revenue by December 2028.”
Hint: Works best when your team has clear financial targets. The number gives everyone a scoreboard.
2. Competitive BHAG
Definition: A goal aimed at overtaking a rival.
Example: “We will beat Acme, Inc. within three years.”
Hint: Creates a shared opponent and a reason to push together.
3. Qualitative BHAG
Definition: A goal focused on reputation or standard of excellence.
Example: “We will be known as the company that delivers the best customer experience in our industry.”
Hint: Shifts focus from speed and volume to the standard people experience.
4. Size-Based BHAG
Definition: A goal defined by growth in scope or scale.
Example: “We will expand from 12 locations to 40 across four states by 2030.”
Hint: Tangible and easy to picture. People can “see it” on a map or org chart.
5. Transformation BHAG
Definition: A goal that changes what you are, not just how big you get.
Example: “We will shift from reactive, urgent work to a proactive, planned operating system within two years.”
Hint: Perfect for teams stuck in firefighting mode. It reimagines how the work gets done.
6. Impact/Mission BHAG
Definition: A goal measured by the difference you make.
Example: “Our safety program will achieve zero recordable incidents for 12 consecutive months.”
Hint: Connects daily behavior to something people genuinely care about.
7. Innovation BHAG
Definition: A goal to create something that doesn’t exist yet.
Example: “We will develop a process that cuts cycle time by 40%.”
Hint: Energizes teams who are tired of “how we’ve always done it.”
8. Speed/Time-Based BHAG
Definition: A goal built around doing what you already do, dramatically faster.
Example: “We will reduce our average response time from 48 hours to same-day within 18 months.”
Hint: Measurable and practical where every role can contribute.
9. Culture/Reputation BHAG
Definition: A goal about how people experience working with you or for you.
Example: “We will become the #1 employer of choice in our market within three years, measured by retention, referrals, and Glassdoor ratings.”
Hint: If you’re battling turnover, this becomes a rallying cry: “We’re building something people don’t want to leave.”
10. Customer Experience BHAG
Definition: A goal that rallies the team around how the customer feels.
Example: “Every customer will rate their experience nine out of ten or higher within two years.”
Hint: Creates a shared standard for the entire customer journey.
The type doesn’t matter as much as the alignment it creates. Pick the one that fits your team. Write it down. Say it out loud. Make sure everyone on your team can say it back to you.
If they can’t, you don’t have a BHAG yet. You have a wish.
1 Action
This week, try the Post-it Note Test. Ask every person on your leadership team to write down the single highest priority for your team or organization. Don’t coach them. Don’t give hints. Just let them write.
Then compare answers.