NCOA has reached its goal of improving the lives of 40 million older adults. This is an extraordinary accomplishment whose story began in 2010, when NCOA was turning 60. Wanting to dramatically increase our social impact, we established a BHAG—a big, hairy, audacious goal—that we would improve the lives of 10 million older adults by 2020.

How we improved 10 million lives

We decided to aim high, figuring that even if we failed and reached 8 million people, that would still be better than setting a lower bar and celebrating too early.

When we introduced the goal, many people thought it was impossible. Others thought it was the flavor of the month and that we would forget about it. But we didn’t. We announced it publicly, kept talking about it, and held ourselves accountable.

What’s powerful about a BHAG is that it is bold, measurable, and galvanizing. It invites people to say, “I want to be part of that, too.”

Each year, we published a public accounting of what we were going to do and challenged ourselves to meet the goal. In 2019—one year early—we celebrated achieving our first BHAG. We improved the lives of 10 million older adults.

The next big goal: Improve 40 million lives

We then asked ourselves: what’s next?

We upped our game and committed to improving the lives of 40 million older adults by 2030—a goal that NCOA and its partners have now achieved five years ahead of schedule.

When we set this new goal, it was daunting. But BHAGs force organizations to think and act differently. They challenge complacency and require us to ask hard questions: What more can we do? How can we improve our policies, our programs, and our partnerships?

Over my career, I’ve learned that BHAGs work not because they are aspirational slogans, but because they demand clarity, alignment, partnership, and disciplined execution at scale. BHAGs also force organizations to think and act differently, continually looking for new opportunities to increase social impact.

We were quietly confident we could succeed for three reasons. First, we had proven we could set and achieve a bold goal. Second, NCOA’s vision, mission, and core values guided our decisions. Third, we had an extraordinary network of national, state, and local partners committed to improving the lives of older adults.

We made the goal public and reported on progress every year. Over time, people understood that we were serious—and that belief freed them to think creatively and act boldly.

Challenges, opportunities, and the road ahead

Every BHAG comes with challenges. Ours was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, when more than one million older adults lost their lives. Everything changed, and NCOA had to adapt quickly. The organization did—finding new ways to reach and serve older adults when they needed it most.

Soon after the 40-million goal was set, I moved on to my next life chapter, confident that NCOA’s leadership, staff, and partners had the clarity and momentum to carry it forward. I am deeply proud of the leaders, Board, staff, and partners who embraced this ambitious goal and delivered on it.

Achieving this BHAG means that 40 million older adults are better off because of the efforts of NCOA and its partners. It also demonstrates what is possible when organizations commit to bold, meaningful goals and lead with discipline.

This achievement continues the legacy of NCOA’s founders, who believed that the private sector and government could work together to meet the challenges of an aging society.

Looking ahead, we face significant challenges:

At the same time, we have powerful opportunities:

Every person has the right to age well. NCOA has shown what’s possible when bold vision is matched with disciplined execution. I look forward to seeing what NCOA’s next big, hairy, audacious goal will be!