Why your studio needs a vision (even if you think it doesn't)
Most leaders I talk to don’t have an explicit long-term vision for their studio.
They don’t think they need one.
After all, startups thrive on agility—chasing opportunities, pivoting fast, reacting to market shifts. Right?
And in the cases where they do have a vision, it’s often in their heads, and they assume everyone else knows it… more or less.
But here’s the catch: if your vision isn’t clear, explicit, and shared by everyone in your studio, it’s only a matter of time before misalignment creeps in.
At first, the problems are small: more meetings, more misunderstandings, and decisions that pull your team in different directions.
But small problems grow larger, and you might realize far too late that one co-founder is aiming for AAA, while the other is passionate about staying triple-I.
In fact, I’ve worked with teams where just the act of trying to define a unified vision surfaced unspoken disagreements. Disagreements that then led to people leaving the studio to pursue opportunities closer to their own vision.
And this is exactly why it is so critical to align on a vision from the outset:
A studio that is pulled in different directions will eventually be pulled apart.
So how do you rally your team around a single direction?
Enter: the BHAG.
The BHAG: your studio’s North Star
Coined by Jim Collins in Built to Last, a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is a bold, long-term vision that aligns and inspires your team.
Think NASA’s 1960s moon mission: simple, vivid, and so compelling it fueled an entire organization through years of effort and innovation.
A good BHAG is more than just motivational fluff, or some pleasant sounding lines about changing the world.
A good BHAG anchors your studio strategy, focuses your team’s efforts, and becomes a source of resilience when things get tough.
In the short run, the promise of a great game can absolutely push your team through crunch. But in the long run, your people need something bigger to believe in.
What makes a great BHAG?
A good BHAG checks these boxes:
- 50–70% achievable.
Too easy? Nobody cares. Too impossible? Nobody believes.
- Clear and compelling.
No jargon. No buzzwords. Just a vivid, ambitious goal your team can see.
- It demands growth.
You can’t hit your BHAG by staying the same. It forces your studio to evolve.
- It’s measurable. At the end of the timeline, you’ll know whether you hit it. No spin required.
- It connects to long-term strategy.
Your BHAG shouldn’t be a side quest. It should be the main story arc.
Here are some examples from studios that I’ve coached:
- Hosting platform: Have 1 billion users by 2025
- Indie studio: Become the biggest independent Dutch studio
- Indie studio: Self-publish a game at 100K steam reviews @ 95+% positive
- Mobile studio: Have 1 breakout title, and 1M+ monthly revenue
How to define your BHAG
Here’s a practical team exercise to craft yours:
1. Write a future news article
Each leadership team member writes a fictional article about your company 5–10 years in the future. Include:
- Who published it?
- Why was it written?
- What has your company achieved?
2. Share and compare
Read the articles aloud. What themes emerge? What stories resonate?
3. Find common threads
Group similar ideas. Discuss what truly reflects your studio’s success in the future.
4. Draft and wordsmith
Choose a direction. Assign someone to polish the language until it’s clear, bold, and accurate.
Besides the punchy one-liner, draft at least one paragraph of text that describes what your studio’s future will look like when that goal has been reached.
The more tangible the vision, the easier it will be for people to get it, and work towards it.
5. Test it
Have everyone answer YES or NO:
- Is this BHAG exciting?
- Is it clear and compelling?
- Will the whole studio rally behind it?
- Is it truly audacious, not just a vague mission?
- Is it hard enough to require real change?
- Will we know for sure if we’ve achieved it?
If 66% say yes to all—congrats, you’ve got your BHAG.
And then… get to work
Because let’s face it: success demands sacrifice. Somewhere along the journey, things will get hard. That’s inevitable.
But with a bold, shared vision, your team has something real to strive toward. Something that keeps them moving forward, even when the going gets tough.
And when you finally reach that audacious goal?
You set the next one. 👊
P.S. Defining a bold studio vision is just one of the things I help studios with when we implement the Long Game Operating System for better studio management. Curious to hear what else it includes, and how it can help you lead your studio with more confidence, better results, and less friction? Let's talk!
If you liked this article, consider giving it some love on LinkedIn by liking it or reposting it to share with your network.
Press "S" to support!
Right Now
Playing - The Blue Prince
I don't know how they did it, but this game has its hooks in me so completely, I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming about it. The layering of all the hidden puzzles and mysteries is fantastic, and the roguelite of it all is interesting even if I can see it becoming a source of frustration for me later in the game. Even then, this is likely a top 5 game for me this year.
Reading - The 5th Discipline
Reading has been slow! Between the increase in client work and the slew of great games coming out, I've been inching my way through this book for months even though it's right up my alley.
Watching - Lazarus
While not as iconic as Cowboy Bebop, Ishiro Watanabe's latest show is still amazing in all the right ways: fantastic soundtrack, tightly choreographed fight scenes and an impossibly cool main character.
See you in two weeks!
Martijn
Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:
Get smart 🤓
Join 1000+ subscribers to The Long Game newsletter
Get started 💪
Take the Long Game Performance Assessment to find out the areas where your studio shines, and where you could stand to improve.
Get serious 🔥
Work with me to level up your management structures and processes
