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Many organizations today have embraced the concept of the Balanced Scorecard. While many are finding it beneficial, many others are seeing it as a paper chase. It all depends on your organization's STRATEGY...keep in mind that a Balanced Scorecard tells the story of your organization's STRATEGY.

*DO YOU HAVE A STRATEGY?* If your organizations is using a balanced scorecard, I presume that your organization has developed a Strategy Map, which shows the VITAL FEW strategic initiatives and their intended customer and financial outcomes? If not, then your Balanced Scorecard will likely have too many measures, be mostly operational in nature, and the Internal Perspective (where all the action is) will try to measure everything of supposed importance to the organization.

*NOT A 'SEE ALL, MEASURE ALL' PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL* It should not be intended as a 'see all, measure all' tool for managing overall organizational performance. Many organizations that produce a Balanced Scorecard also produce 'off scorecard' measures that are of importance to them. Many do not, and fall into the trap of trying to fit everything on to the 'Balanced' Scorecard, which quickly becomes very unbalanced, unwieldy and unusable.

*FIVE QUESTIONS TO RESTORE YOUR BALANCE* With that said, here are a set of five questions you can ask to get at the 'vital few' measures:

1. What financial outcomes are we pursuing over the term (years) of our strategy? 2. What customer outcomes (satisfaction - delight - loyalty + market share, etc.) will deliver these financial outcomes? 3. What customer facing strategic initiatives (products/services/programs etc.) will deliver those customer and financial outcomes? 4. What changes will we need to make to ensure these initiatives succeed? (systems/processes/technology/skills etc.) 5. What measures will we need in place in order to track the four areas above, and how will they link together to 'tell the story' of our strategy?

*KEEP IT SIMPLE* Less really IS More! You should be able to describe your strategy to a raw recruit, within a few minutes, so that they 'get it'. If you have a new hire orientation program running, that would be a good place to test the clarity of your scorecard as a communications vehicle.

*MAKE IT AN ADVENTURE* Keep in mind that people will make your strategy happen, not measures. Nowadays, people demand much more from work than a paycheck and a pat on the back. They are demanding more fulfillment, more excitement, more involvement. They are demanding an adventure and a challenge.

In our work with groups, we use an organizational simulation called Klondike! The Workshop. In it, groups of people form natural alliances and plans to achieve a specific goal (get to the Klondike and mine as much gold as possible, within a specific timeframe, and use as little resources as possible). People in this simulation love to be challenged, and always rise to the challenge. We use the concepts of the balanced scorecard, without telling people about it, and they always 'get it' without being lectured on it, or without it appearing as an 'edict' - it appears as an adventure and a challenge. Ther's something about it that makes it simply irresistible.

Make your strategy and scorcard an adventure and a challenge, and see how people will naturally and positively respond to it.

(c) Copyright 2003 Affinity Consulting

About the author Brian Ward is a much sought after speaker, coach and trainer who helps organizations make sense of their Leadership, Strategy, and Teamwork challenges. His organization, Affinity Consulting, - http://www.affinitymc.com - specialises in experiential events that help leaders and their teams turn organizational challenges into an adventure. Visit the above website for more articles on Leadership, Strategy and Teamwork

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