Balanced Scorecard Best Practice Articles and Tips

Articles on using the Balanced Scorecard, properly, to make your strategy happen and to manage performance more effectively.

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Key articles

Four generations of balanced scorecards: The evolution of the balanced scorecard and the distinguishing features of each generation. Two to avoid. Two to choose from.

10 Principles of a good balanced scorecard: Actually 11 but we needed the final one as that is most important. (web page)

Making the case for the balanced scorecard: An extensive article that will help you make the case for doing your balanced scorecard properly. Explains how many do more than measure: they also change the culture of performance. (pdf)

Balanced Scorecards for different uses: Different types of performance management demand differing styles and approaches to your balanced scorecard project. This article will help you understand which type you are dealing with. (Web page)

Early approaches to the balanced scorecard: This is the way some people still do it. Unfortunately, these early approaches had flaws which make it hard to use and implement. (web page)

Fourteen KPIs to help you avoid problems during the economic crisis and to prepare for recovery. This paper introduces fourteen KPIs for the economic climate. Nine Key Performance Indicators to avoid problems in your organisation. Five Key Predicting Indicators to help you anticipate change and recovery in the economic conditions.

pdf  What really makes a balanced scorecard balanced: It is not simply having measures in perspectives. This short history of early balanced scorecard developments explains what really makes a balanced scorecard balanced and how that makes a difference to performance and strategy implementation.

Balanced scorecard evolution & use

What you won't find in the Balanced Scorecard books: 11 topics we cover that you won't find explained in detail in the books. If you would like to find out more, talk to us.(Web page)

Why so many balanced scorecards fail: Things you should know before you start your balanced scorecard project or when you want to recover your balanced scorecard and make it useful. (Web page)

The shocking balanced scorecard dilemma: Why most balanced scorecards are not even balanced!

The balanced scorecard is and is not: Short brochure compressing what is and is not a balanced scorecard onto two pages (pdf)

Is your balanced scorecard strategic? Eighteen questions to ask, to find out if your balanced scorecard approach is really going to address your strategy and make a difference. (web page)

Balanced scorecards and organisational alignment Explains organisational alignment including how we saved £40m in one client. In another we help a group of companies align their strategy, (web page)

Environmental balanced scorecards: An explanation of how to represent environmental and sustainability issues on a strategy map and balanced scorecard. Why you should not simply introduce an "Environmental perspective" (web page)

Measurement & Balanced scorecards articles

How to measure performance: Short paper on measuring performance using the balanced scorecard. (pdf)

Measure what you want to manage: Short article. How to avoid measuring everything and having a few measures that will really make the difference (pdf)

Measure madness: Short article. Why you should never use a measure without explaining why. (web page)

Strategy mapping specific articles

Strategy mapping 1: The benefits of strategy mapping. The mechanism that moved balanced scorecards from operational detail to a tool of strategy. (web page)

Strategy mapping 2: Some examples of strategy maps. (web page)

Strategy mapping 3: Mistakes not to make when developing strategy maps. (web page)

Strategic thinking: Strategy is an often misused word. Yet you need a strategy to link your balanced scorecard to. We have identified at least 16 different ways in which the word is used. Find out more here (web page) and in out newsletter.

Balanced scorecard software

Balanced scorecard software: Things to think about when choosing balanced scorecard software (web page)

Balanced scorecards and budgeting

Integrating rolling budgets into the strategy planning and balanced scorecard process (web page)

Developing a culture of performance

What do we mean by a culture of Performance: Definition of a culture of performance and what it means in an organisation.(web page)

How to destroy a culture of performance: (overview) How starting with measures creates measure mania and a tyranny of targets. Why this hinders performance management and destroys a culture of performance. (web page)

How to destroy, or create, a culture of performance: (Detailed presentation). How starting with measures creates measure mania and a tyranny of targets. Why this hinders performance management and destroys a culture of performance. (pdf )

How a modern balanced scorecard approach can cure organisational illnesses

Strategic diseases: If the organisation were an organism, with a strategic illnesses, what would it be like?  Here are some examples of those diseases, their symptoms and some case studies of how we cured them. It is a light-hearted look, with a serious message. (set of web pages)

Communicating strategy and the balanced scorecard

Are you communicating your strategy effectively? Twenty questions to explore to see whether you are communicating your strategy effectively. (web page)

How to communicate strategy: How to buy our book, communicating strategy. (Opens new page to the book's dedicated web site)

Our balanced scorecard blog also has many balanced scorecard articles

Also visit our case studies or contact us directly if you want help in this area