Reef Reads: How 3HAG Makes Your Strategy Bulletproof

Most business owners have a one-year plan and a maybe-someday vision — but nothing clear in between. Shannon Susko, in her book The 3HAG Way , closes that gap with a system so practical and visual that it turns strategy from a fuzzy wish into a confident, data-backed march forward. If you’re tired of guessing, reacting, or hoping, this book shows you how to see ahead with certainty. The 3HAG Way builds confidence, alignment, and predictability.

1. A 3-Year Highly Achievable Goal Bridges Strategy and Execution

Your BHAG is your North Star. Your annual plan is your next step. The 3HAG is the missing middle — the concrete roadmap that ensures your daily actions lead exactly where you intend to go.

2. “Confidence” Is the Real Strategy Test

Strategy isn’t just a document — it’s the level of confidence your team has in winning. The 3HAG process exposes weak assumptions so you can fix them before they turn into problems.

3. Data Makes Strategy Real

Susko pushes you to map your market, competitors, swim lanes, differentiators, and win–loss patterns. When you see it visually, strategy stops being theory and becomes math.

4. Cadence Creates Line-of-Sight

Daily huddles, weekly meetings, monthly reviews, and quarterly resets provide what most companies lack: tight alignment and early course corrections. With this cadence, surprises become rare.

5. A 3HAG Creates a Team That Knows Exactly How to Win

When your team sees the same picture for the next three years, they move with confidence, accountability, and speed. Confusion disappears. Execution accelerates.

Call to Action

If you want 2026 to be a year of clarity instead of chaos, start building your 3HAG now. Map your differentiators. Pressure-test your assumptions. Create a visual path to your three-year win.

If you’d like help building your own 3HAG for 2026, reach out — I’d be happy to walk you through the first steps.