What is a 10-Year Target in EOS®?
The 10-Year Target™ is the EOS long-range goal that gives your company a single inspiring direction to run toward. It is big, hairy, audacious, and measurable. It sits on page one of the V/TO™ and answers one question: where does the company want to be a decade from now? The 10-Year Target is what gives every quarter, every Rock, and every day its ultimate purpose.
Jim Collins called these BHAGs in Built to Last: Big Hairy Audacious Goals that define greatness. EOS calls them 10-Year Targets because 10 years is the right horizon for most companies.
Why the 10-Year Target exists
Every company has short-term goals. Quarterly revenue. Annual profit. Next year’s hiring plan. These are essential, but none of them tell anyone where the company is going long-term.
Without a long-range target, the leadership team makes decisions one quarter at a time. Strategy becomes reactive. Priorities shift with every passing trend. The company drifts.
The 10-Year Target solves this. It gives the leadership team a stable, long-horizon anchor that every near-term decision must serve. When the 10-Year Target is clear, quarterly decisions become easier. Does this move us closer to the Target? Yes or no.
What makes a good 10-Year Target
A strong 10-Year Target has four characteristics:
It is big
If it does not scare the leadership team a little, it is too small. A 10-Year Target should require the company to become something bigger, better, or different from what it is today. A target that you can already see the path to is not a Target, it is a plan.
It is hairy
It is ambitious, not safe. It is the kind of goal that, when you say it out loud, someone in the room says “really?” Hairy means the Target pushes beyond the comfortable extrapolation of current trends.
It is audacious
It dares. It excites. It creates energy. A 10-Year Target that feels like a corporate forecast is not audacious.
It is measurable
At the end of ten years, anyone can answer yes or no: did the company hit it?
Examples of 10-Year Targets
From real companies:
- Reach $100 million in revenue
- Be the #1 provider of our service in North America
- Help 10,000 companies run on our system
- Serve 1 million customers
- Be the employer of choice in our industry
- Open 500 locations globally
- Achieve $50M EBITDA
Each is specific enough that you know whether you hit it. Each is ambitious enough to require the company to transform.
How to set a 10-Year Target
Step 1: Get the leadership team together
The 10-Year Target cannot be set alone. The whole leadership team has to own it. Block three to four hours.
Step 2: Start with the Core Focus
The 10-Year Target must flow from the Core Focus™. If your Core Focus is helping entrepreneurs run better businesses, your 10-Year Target should be a specific, ambitious expression of that Core Focus at scale.
Step 3: Pick the right metric
Revenue. Customer count. Market position. Employee count. Geographic footprint. Product units. Choose the metric that best captures what the company is trying to become.
Do not use profit alone. Profit is a result, not a direction.
Step 4: Set the number
Think about where the company could realistically be in ten years if things go well. Then stretch it. The right 10-Year Target is just beyond what feels plausible.
Step 5: Test it
Ask:
- Does this number inspire the leadership team?
- If we hit this, does it change what the company is?
- Can every employee understand it and repeat it?
- Does it align with our Core Focus?
If any test fails, keep working.
Step 6: Document it on the V/TO
The 10-Year Target lives on page one of the V/TO, question three. It gets communicated at every State of the Company meeting.
The 10-Year Target is not a forecast
The most common mistake is setting a 10-Year Target that is really a 10-year forecast. A forecast extrapolates current trends. A Target demands a transformation.
If the leadership team can see exactly how to get there by doing what they are doing, the Target is too small. A real 10-Year Target requires the company to become different, not just bigger.
How the 10-Year Target cascades
The 10-Year Target sits at the top of a cascade:
- 10-Year Target gives the long-range direction.
- 3-Year Picture™ describes what the company looks like in three years on the way to the Target.
- 1-Year Plan™ sets the specific goals for this year that move toward the 3-Year Picture.
- Quarterly Rocks™ break the 1-Year Plan into 90-day priorities.
- Weekly Level 10 Meeting™ tracks the Rocks.
Every layer serves the one above.
Common 10-Year Target mistakes
- Setting it alone. A Target the leadership team does not own is dead on arrival.
- Too small. If it does not scare you, it is not a 10-Year Target. It is a forecast.
- Too vague. “Be great” is not measurable. “Be the #1 provider in our region with $100M revenue” is.
- Not communicated. A Target that lives only on the V/TO and never in employees’ minds does not shape culture.
- Changing it too often. A 10-Year Target should stand for years. Revisit it at every Annual. Change it rarely.
- Confusing it with a Mission Statement. Mission Statements are philosophical. 10-Year Targets are measurable outcomes.
How the 10-Year Target connects to the rest of EOS
- V/TO. Question three on page one.
- Core Focus. The 10-Year Target is the ambitious expression of the Core Focus.
- 3-Year Picture. The next checkpoint on the way to the 10-Year Target.
- 1-Year Plan. This year’s progress toward the 3-Year Picture.
- Rocks. Each quarter’s priorities that move the company toward the Target.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a 10-Year Target in EOS?
The 10-Year Target is the long-range goal on page one of the V/TO that answers where the company wants to be a decade from now. It is big, hairy, audacious, and measurable.
Does it have to be exactly 10 years?
Most companies use 10 years. Ninety percent of EOS clients have selected that timeframe. Some prefer a five-year horizon, while others go as high as 20 years. The length is entirely up to you.
What is the difference between a 10-Year Target and a BHAG?
They are essentially the same concept. Jim Collins coined BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) in Built to Last. EOS uses 10-Year Target because the timeframe is specific and the name is clearer for most teams.
How do you know if the 10-Year Target is too big or too small?
Too small: if the path to get there is already obvious, it is a forecast, not a Target. Too big: if no one on the leadership team believes it is possible even with everything going right, it is a fantasy. The sweet spot is beyond plausible but not impossible.
How often should the 10-Year Target change?
Rarely. A strong 10-Year Target stands for years. Refresh it annually at the Annual Planning session. Change it only if the company fundamentally shifts direction.
Is 10-Year Target trademarked?
Yes. 10-Year Target is a trademark of EOS Worldwide.
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Written by EOS Worldwide
Reviewed by Mark O'Donnell, Visionary & CEO, EOS Worldwide
EOS Worldwide is the organization behind the Entrepreneurial Operating System®. Content reflects official EOS® doctrine.