The Balanced Scorecard and Hoshin Kanri approaches are often used alongside each other. We have encountered clients who have tried to implement both approaches and have had problems combining the two. These articles help you link these two approaches and untangle any confusion.
The Balanced Scorecard and Hoshin Kanri are closely related.
In part, the problems are because approaches such as Hoshin Kanri have actually taken parts of the Kaplan & Norton balanced scorecard approach and incorporated pieces, but not all, into their approach. Not realising or understanding this overlap can lead to confusion and conflicts. In this series of articles we look at what the originators of Hosin Kanri wrote about the balanced scorecard when they developed their approach. it is clear that the balanced scorecard and Hoshin Kanri are closely related.
The balanced scorecard and Hoshin Kanri: How to untangle the overlapping approaches
If you have a lean approach such as Hoshin Kanri, and an existing or new balanced scorecard, these articles will help you. They will help you to understand how these two approaches are related. They will help you untangle the overlap between the approaches, so you can get them to work together, using the strengths of each.
- This article provides an overview of how the two approaches have a common heritage, which can cause them to clash or work together, depending on how you approach them both as a set: Lean thinking, strategy and balanced scorecards: Making sense of a combined approach
- A central part of the Hoshin Kanri approach is the “Policy Deployment Matrix”. However when you look at how the originators developed the idea, and where they got it from, it is clear that it is closely related to the balanced scorecard approach. Lean thinking, The balanced scorecard and Hoshin Kanri: 1) The Policy deployment Matrix
- Hoshin Planning and the Strategic Planning process. Hoshin Kanri tries to capture the strategic alignment of measures and projects. However this is much more elegantly done using the strategy map and it is much easier to understand. This is especially true when you have strong strategic themes, which Hoshin Kanri does not support well.
- Both approaches are concerned with the underlying capability of the organisation, in different ways. This articles explains how they both work: Lean thinking and the Balanced Scorecard: 2) Developing the underlying capability
- Both the balanced scorecard and Hoshin Kanri focus on the customer. it is important you do this from the customers’ perspective, not from the perspective of what teh organisation thinks teh customer wants. This article explains Lean thinking and Balanced scorecards 3) Using the customer perspective
- Performance hubs are a great idea for bringing the reality of the conversations about performance and decision making alive. Here is an article that explains the links. Balanced Scorecards and Lean thinking: 4) Performance Hubs
If, despite reading these articles, you are still having problem with these two approaches, or any others, please get in touch. Our experience of many methods (and our study of methodology – the study of methods) will be able to help you.
