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Excitant > Articles > Fourth Generation Balanced Scorecards > Strategic Learning Model

Becoming an Agile, Learning organisation:
The Benefits of making the way you manage Strategy a Learning Process

If, like many organisations, you want a more responsive and agile organisation that is sensitive to the changing demands of your environment, then the answer lies in the way your strategy and plans are managed: Your Strategic Management and Planning Processes.

When you get your strategic management process focused on learning and agility, then the operational processes can naturally follow.

Improving Strategic Performance Management means the organisation's attention is focused on the strategic themes, drivers and objectives so they happen. Improving Operational Performance Management ensures the tactical and operational details and executed. Together they give you a complete system to manage and improve performance.

We go further and help organisations to become more agile and responsive by adopting an approach to strategy as a process of learning. Our Fourth generation Stratgeic Balanced Scorecard approach provides some of the tools and techniques to support a more agile and responsive strategic management process.

As the video below shows, strategic performance management links strategic planning and operational management as a coherent pair within the Strategic Learning Model: how the model promotes agility and learning from your strategy..



Strategy need not be an annual process: Supporting rolling budgets and planning

You will have noticed that this model does not assume that strategic planning is an annual process. Rather it is a continuous process, where strategy gets refined and developed as it is implemented and management learn from that implementation.

This means the approach naturally supports rolling forecasting, rolling budgets and planning.

Of course when significant events happen, a more significant update to the strategy can be implemented. All we are talking about is spending more time in the strategic thinking and alignment area before the processes restart. That does not need to be at a particular timeof the year.

Strategy can be bottom up, or an emergent process

Unlike many strategic management models you will notice that there is no assumption in this Startegic Learning Model of top down strategy.

On the contrary, this model supports strategy emerging, as it naturally does, from lower down that organisation. This in itself supports agility making it easier to assimilate new ideas into the overall strategy and direction.

Connected to the environment to avoid surprises

Our Fourth Generation Strategic Balanced Scorecard Approach

This is all a part of our Fourth generation approach supports Strategic management for more agile, responsive, learning organisations.

Hover your mouse over parts of this diagram
to see the benefits of the various aspects of our
strategic performance management approach.

Improved management of performance, line of sight and quality of execution. People understand what needs to be done. You have created a culture of performance. Better alignment between the strategy and the organisation, so it happens Learn about your strategy: You can tell whether you are making progress; You can refine your strategy as you learn from it. Greater understanding of the strategy. It gets into their heads, hearts and hands so they make it happen. A clear strategy that is being executed. You are able to tell the story consistently so people get it, and track progress to ensure it is happening. As things change you can refine your strategy and re-communicate it. Improved sensitivity to outside events, that also affect the strategy and performance A clearer sense of direction.. People understand what the organisation is trying to achieve and how they can contribute.

Hover your mouse over parts of this diagram
to see how different aspects of performance management
address different management and governance needs.

However, when performance management becomes too focused on risks and control, or operations, it can lead to you being swamped with measures that provide operational detail but that do not support the strategy. You can end up with "measure mania", "the tyranny of targets" and "feeding the beast". You don't want this, do you?

A properly designed and implemented Modern balanced scorecard approach (fourth generation) avoids these problems. It makes clear where you are going, articulates the strategy, and fills in the details of objectives, measures , targets, projects, investment and responsibility . You are clear. You can communicate it better. your Strategic performance management process ensures you deliver results.

How well do score on each of these characteristics? Statutory compliance and the management of risks: It is vital you satisfy statutory, legal and regulatory demands. Aspects such as financial reporting, compliance, health and safety are vital. You have to do these to stay in business. But they do not make a strategy. If you fail on these aspects you need to fix them. Once they are satisfied, there are othjer aspects of performance that need to be managed. Vision, purpose, values and beliefs: Organisations talk about their mission, vision, purpose and values, but these tend to not appear in performance management systems. However they are a vital control mechanism. What use are the organisation's values if they are simply a set of framed words on the wall. A vital element of performance management is to ensure that the actions, words and behaviours of people align. Also that peoiple understand the ambition so thay can contribute towards it. Operational performance management: Detailed operational performance information is the life blood of the organisation. It is necessary to coordinate activities, manage resources and understand activities and outputs. Without it you cannot make sensible decisions. However, get too much and you can get lost in the detail. Getting this right requires trust and delegation so you can focus on the few things that will make the biggest difference. Strategic choice and focus: The challenge with strategy is focus and choice: What are the few things we need to focus on that will make the biggest difference? Whilst operational performance is about the past and present, strategy is about the future. What will make the biggest difference going forward? If we make these changes will it ensure our strategy is implemented? This is where strategy maps play a vital part. Overall strategy: Effective strategy is a combination of these levers of control. An organistion needs to comply with statutory requirements, and manage operational performance. Yet at teh same time it needs to set vision, purpose and values. The choices made in the strategy are about closing this gap between today's operations and tomorrow's vision. Good performance management approaches recognise that these four aspects operate together and simultaneously. Poor ones are focused too much, or too little, on particular aspect. The trick is balance.

What do we do

We help you focus on the strategic issues and fix the operational problems. You can concentrate on what you want to manage and influence, rather than what you can measure. We help you ensure your people understand the strategy. We help you concentrate on what will make the biggest difference.

As a result you can ensure better results. You can find out more by visiting

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What our clients say:


More Client stories & Strategic Balanced Scorecard Case Studies

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Our Training Courses & Workshops

Strategy Mapping for Learning Organizations. Phil Jones

Communicating strategy book cover

"A driver's manual for anyone implementing a Balanced Scorecard performance management system...a must read book"
David Norton.

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Communicating Strategy.
Phil Jones

Communicating strategy book cover

A guide for all who communicate strategy in an organisation. "Everything in this book is common sense - after you have read it"

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