Balanced Scorecard Strategy For Dummies®

Chapter 2. Building and Balancing Scorecard Strategies

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• Linking your strategies and the four legs of the scorecard

• Balancing scorecards with a strategy map

• Fixing an un–Balanced Scorecard

• Dealing with change in your markets and business

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The problem with many companies — at least those that choose not to use the balanced-scorecard strategy to manage their businesses — is that they’re unbalanced. No, “unbalanced” doesn’t mean that their buildings are leaning over like the Tower of Pisa. When companies are unbalanced, they don’t pay attention to some very important aspects of their businesses. And like the town drunk trying to walk a straight line to get to the next bar, an unbalanced company will fall down and get hurt — sometimes seriously hurt.

For instance, they may pay attention to their financials and internal processes, but they may totally ignore their employees’ needs for learning and growth or do a haphazard job of finding out what their customers really want. As a result, unbalanced companies employ poor strategies and make a lot of wrong decisions. They get blindsided by things that seemingly come out of nowhere, and they spend time and money trying to figure out what went wrong and assessing blame. And after they fire the “culprits,” they keep on doing the same things that got them into trouble to begin with.

The bottom line: Balance is essential. But to achieve the balance your company needs, you first have to understand a few ...