What is the Balanced Scorecard and how can you use it to track your strategic goals?

When used well, BSC is a communication tool, where you clearly state the relations of cause and effect of an initiative on a given metric. Must be build by whom have a deep understanding on organizational leverages.

O Balanced Scorecard (BSC) é uma metodologia de gest?o que avalia o desempenho organizacional em quatro perspectivas: financeira, clientes, processos internos e aprendizado/crescimento. Para utilizar o BSC no acompanhamento de objetivos estratégicos, é necessário estabelecer indicadores de desempenho alinhados aos objetivos da organiza??o em cada perspectiva. Por exemplo, se o objetivo é aumentar a satisfa??o do cliente, indicadores como taxa de reten??o e pontua??o de satisfa??o podem ser definidos. Periodicamente, esses indicadores s?o analisados para medir o progresso e ajustar as estratégias conforme necessário.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic management tool that helps organizations measure and improve their performance in four key areas: learning and growth, business processes, customers, and finance. The BSC is widely used by businesses, governments, and nonprofits around the world. It has been recognized as one of the most influential business ideas of the past 75 years by the Harvard Business Review. The BSC can help organizations achieve better results, improve their decision making, and enhance their accountability. To use the BSC, organizations need to define their strategic objectives, measures (or key performance indicators), targets, and initiatives for each of the four perspectives.

O BSC é uma ferramenta de gest?o estratégica que ajuda as organiza??es a traduzir sua vis?o e estratégia em objetivos tangíveis e mensuráveis, abrangendo quatro perspectivas: financeira, cliente, processos internos e aprendizado e crescimento. Utilizando indicadores específicos em cada uma dessas áreas, o Balanced Scorecard permite que as empresas monitorem e avaliem seu desempenho em rela??o aos objetivos estratégicos estabelecidos. Ao acompanhar regularmente esses indicadores, os gestores podem identificar áreas de sucesso, bem como lacunas e oportunidades de melhoria, garantindo que a execu??o da estratégia esteja alinhada com os objetivos de longo prazo da organiza??o.

As a coach it is good to have a basis for developing a strategy. Like always on a personal level this has to be aligned with the purpose, vision and values of a person. Very often strategies and goals are often made in the brain and then we don’t follow up.

The balanced scorecard works by translating the organization’s vision and strategy into four perspectives: financial, customer, internal business process, and learning and growth. Each perspective has its own objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives that are aligned with the overall strategy. The balanced scorecard helps the organization monitor its performance, identify gaps, and take corrective actions. It also helps the organization balance its short-term and long-term goals, as well as its financial and non-financial outcomes.

The balanced scorecard works by translating the vision into: 1.financial 2.customer 3.internal business practices Each perspective has its own objectives, data and targets. The balanced scorecard helps the organization monitor its performance, identify gaps, and take corrective actions.

In my experience, a great contribution of the BSC is to be able to structure the types of objectives to work on in the Strategic Plan following an interesting relationship between them. Objectives: 1.- PEOPLE: these are the ones that really need to be acted upon if we want the rest of the objectives to be positive. 2.- OPERATIONS: people working well generate good operations. 3.- CUSTOMERS: only when we have people operating well, Lis customers arrive, who will be the ones who generate Lis income. 4.- FINANCIAL: these are "post-mortem" and are a consequence of the operation of the 3 previous ones.

Yo agregaría a esta categorización la RSC Responsabilidad Social Corporativa como una dimensión de la organización en la comunidad (es) donde opera

Thinking of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) as your strategic GPS, it links your business vision to specific goals and actions in four key areas: finances, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning/growth. It's like setting a roadmap for success. You define objectives, measures, and targets, and plan initiatives to reach your destination. The BSC acts as your guide, ensuring every decision and action aligns with your overall vision, helping you stay on track toward achieving your business goals. It's your personalized tool to navigate and succeed in the dynamic business landscape.

The Balanced Scorecard is used to align business activities to the vision and strategy, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organisation performance against strategic goals. Besides financial metrics, it includes four performance indicators: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Processes, and Learning and Growth. You can use it to 1. Break down abstract strategic goals into clear, actionable operational objectives. 2. Develop specific metrics that can be measured regularly. 3. Ensure that all departments and teams within the organisation are working towards the same strategic objectives.

As a coach, I can work with the client to identify specific goals and objectives that align with the different perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard. This ensures that the client's actions and strategies are directed towards achieving a balanced set of outcomes. Ultimately, we want to ensure client autonomy in designing the different aspects of the scorecard and keep the ownership with the client in developing plans on how to meet the objectives. Another value driver is that we can help clients ensure not to miss anything and not be biased towards certain elements of the scorecard. Having a coach as a sounding board can be really helpful in ensuring we stay true to its original intent.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) being like my strategic GPS, it helps me track and manage my goals with a clear view of performance. Monitoring progress, identifying gaps, and adjusting actions become seamless. The BSC aligns my team, ensuring everyone knows what's expected, fostering a culture of learning and improvement. Regular adjustments keep me focused on key objectives, delivering value, and achieving my vision. It's not just a tool; it's my dynamic companion, guiding me to success and constant improvement.

I see that the balanced scorecad is not the right tool to measure individual performance, because this is a company strategy in managing a whole team. However, it can give an overview of how much a person contributes in supporting the achievement of organizational goals. Therefore it still provides valuable feedback to individuals in a coaching process that reflects their ability to manage the company's strategy.

Al ser el BSC un marco de Gestión estratégica, nos dota de herramientas para traducir nuestra visión y la estrategia que queremos seguir en acciones concretas y objetivos medibles, con plazos que permitan establecer un adecuado seguimiento y ayuden a reestructurar en la medida que se vaya requiriendo. Es un cuadro de mando que da espacio para analizar el avance y promover un ambiente de mejora continua, donde podamos establecer hitos que permitan celebrar peque?os y grandes logros. Esto es importante en la medida que motiva a avanzar en el proceso.

Being hyper-focused on financials is a potential pitfall of executive teams, particularly in publicly traded companies that are asked to meet or exceed expected results each quarter. Private companies with a strong results-driven culture can also suffer from this problem. The value of using the BSC is it broadens leaders' views beyond financial results by incorporating some of the drivers that underpin these financials. The benefit of its use in Executive Coaching is that it provides a clear framework upon which to discuss individual and team goals to ensure they're aligned with overarching corporate objectives.

Fernández-Llano et al.'s research in the International Journal of Evidence-Based Coaching and Mentoring highlights the BSC as beneficial in executive coaching. The research finds that the BSC aligns individual goals with broader organizational objectives, providing a clear framework from the outset, enabling thorough evaluation and comparison of coaching methods, and combining analysis of results and the coaching process itself. Furthermore, the BSC incorporates business metrics aiding in communicating outcomes to managers and executives in a business-centric way.

Using the BSC allows you to better correlate all strategic objectives. It is very common that Mission, Vision and Strategy are not aligned. The use of a BSC can help to better order the Strategic Plan.

The Balanced Scorecard challenges organizations to think more strategically. Because the focus is not limited to financials, it can encourage longer term thinking in areas such as internal processes, growth, learning and satisfaction. At its best, it creates an improved mindset that filters through every area of the business. However, it’s not the complete answer. It’s one tool and the danger is if organizations become too focused on the numbers in the BSC and, ironically, miss the bigger picture.

Aunque hay más, los que considero más relevantes son: 1. Congruencia, al ver cómo se relacionan todos los esfuerzos. 2. Practicidad, porque tengo una vista general de todo el flujo que requiero para avanzar y puedo ver cómo encajan los mapas que me guían con los otros mapas relacionados. 3. Economía, ya que no tengo que utilizar mis capacidades y recursos en esfuerzos vanos. Y 4. Claridad, porque puedo entender qué significa para todos los que participan en la comunidad empresarial, cada uno de los elementos estratégicos (Visión, misión, objetivos estratégicos y valores)....

The data provided by the balanced scorecard and the interpretation of it are two very different matters. I've learned many times before in my corporate life that interpretation is typically biased, particularly with confirmation bias. Having an open discussion and simply asking, "What does this data mean?" rather than asking leading questions like, "How does this scorecard prove that we made progress?" makes a significant difference. You want to help clients explore the meaning of the scorecard results in an almost scientific manner to understand what developments in the business contribute to changing numbers.

The Balanced Scorecard isn't just about tracking outcomes; it's equally crucial to focus on input-driven measures. This approach ensures a comprehensive view of performance. For instance, while revenue growth (an outcome) is important, equally vital are the inputs driving this growth, like customer satisfaction or employee training programs. By balancing these metrics, we create a more holistic and actionable strategy. It's about understanding the 'why' behind the 'what', guiding us to adjust our strategies more effectively. Mark Moses (Make Big Happen) calls these your "root" measures and behaviours. Dig down to get to what really matters.

Because it is complex, you may struggle with the volume of data and metrics required. So focus on a limited number of key metrics that are most critical to your strategic goals. Simplify where possible to maintain clarity and focus. It can be too static in rapidly-changing business environments, so regularly review and update the objectives, metrics, and targets to reflect changes in the strategic landscape. It is sometimes hard to fully integrate into daily ops and decision-making processes, ensure the Scorecard is accessible and relevant to all team members.

A balanced scorecard is a strategic management performance metric that help companies identify and improve their internal operations to help their external outcomes. It can be used to track your strategic goal through measuring past performance data and provide organizations with feedback on how to make better decisions in the future.

The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) serves as a personal strategic GPS, aiding in goal tracking and achievement. However, it presents challenges such as the necessity for commitment, complex design, choosing pertinent measures, accurate data collection, effective communication, engagement, prioritization, and steering clear of misuse as a control tool. Achieving success with the BSC requires dedicated effort and careful navigation of its complexities to promote learning and improvement, emphasizing its role beyond mere control or reward.

A good way to ensure alignment and congruence between what each individual does and the execution of the organisation's strategy is through the Strategy Map; Norton and Kaplan's follow up to the balanced scorecard. What good is performance management if its not aligned to and support your organisation's goals?

The BSC is merely a Objectives tool, i.e. a SMART Goals tool. It's best to get a coach to support you in order to achieve these goals. The coach's role will to challenge you with powerful questions about the gaps and how you'll close and exceed them. Sure, you can coach yourself, but you'll go soft on yourself and excuse yourself.

Sorry but BSC in coaching making sense? I ask to all coaches, what they think about it. Maybe I’m wrong and I can change my opinion.

The purpose of BSC should be very clear. It cannot be done because other companies are doing it. Clear vision & goals are important. All the stakeholders should be involved during the design phase so there is no miscommunication. If the BSC is formulated, it becomes a road map for moving forward. Some minor changes can be accommodated but it gives a clarity on whether we are doing the right things in the right way or not. It not only serves the organization's growth but it helps employees, stakeholders & customers as well.

Balanced Scorecard is like a roadmap for tracking goals. Start by stating your objectives, like customer satisfaction or financial targets. Choose key indicators, set measurable targets, and link them to specific actions. Keep a close eye on progress, adjust strategies as needed, and communicate results across the team. It's a dynamic tool that helps everyone understand and work towards the big picture.