Summary

This article deals with some of the key ingredients to a successful Balanced Scorecard implementation.

Highlights

• Putting in place the right team is vital for Balanced Scorecard success.
• Your Scorecard team should be composed of senior executives who possess a deep understanding of the system, and are committed to its success.

We don't care about what the plan says!   - Research indicates that 60% of corporations don’t link resource allocation (budgets) to their Strategic Plan. I am wondering how companies manage to execute strategy when strategic planning and resource allocation processes are not linked. To me it looks like the company is on "auto pilot" and does not respond to new strategic directions very well.

Summary

The Subordinate Courts of Singapore handles over 400,000 cases annually, amounting to 95% of the country’s judicial caseload. In 1997, the then Senior District Judge (equivalent to a CEO) was introduced to the Balanced Scorecard concept at a Harvard Business School program. The concept seemed tailor-made for developing a predictive and proactive measurement and management system.

In 1998, the Court launched a pilot project to assess the Balanced Scorecard. A Steering Committee reviewed and monitored the scorecard every month. Six months later, the Balanced Scorecard was helping the Court to see what they were doing and how they were doing it. As a two-way system, it was changing the paradigm of communication, performance, monitoring, measurement, and improvement. The leadership was convinced and decided to cascade the scorecard organization-wide.

Summary

When it comes to advice about choosing Balanced Scorecard software , most writers and practitioners tend to focus their examination on an organization’s perceived technical requirements, spending pages outlining what the prudent investor should look for in the way of analytics, compatibility with other systems, drill-down capabilities, and dozens of other intricate considerations. No one will dispute the importance of a robust technical environment, and, in fact many software vendors rely almost exclusively on their product’s technological functionality to win over new clients. But is a technologically advanced solution really what you need from a Scorecard software solution?

Summary

This interview features Bjarte Bogsnes, Project Manager Beyond Budgeting for Stavanger, Norway-based Statoil, an integrated oil and gas company with about 25,000 employees and activities in 32 countries. In this interview, drawing from his experience of facilitating the Balanced Scorecard program in Statoil, Bjarte Bogsnes presents a practitioner’s viewpoint regarding various aspects of the Balanced Scorecard concept.

Every person's vision bucket leaks!   - I attended last year’s Global Leadership Summit. It was a great conference which gave me a lot of insights into management which can be practiced in my own company.

Summary

Headquartered in Norway, Statoil is an integrated oil and gas company operating in 32 countries with 25,000 employees. Through 2006, Statoil ran a series of pilot initiatives to become a budget-free enterprise, following in the path of a previous daughter company, Borealis, which was a pioneer of the Beyond Budgeting movement.

With a clear understanding of extremely dynamic nature of today’s business environment and the limitations of a static budget concept, Statoil realized the need for tools that could help it address the key actions of target setting, forecasting and resource allocation. By focusing internal discussions on the key question of ensuring the best possible performance, the senior team got people to look beyond budgeting. A scorecard user from 1997, Statoil was already convinced about the tool’s strategic management capabilities and had developed over 700 scorecards. This made the Balanced Scorecard the central tool for Statoil’s approach to performance planning and performance management, as it moved to become a budget-free enterprise.

Summary

This interview features Barbara Possin, Vice-President for System Quality and Strategic Alignment of the Minnesota, USA-based St Mary’s/Duluth Clinic Health System (SMDC). The SMDC incorporates 20 clinics, four hospitals and an array of specialty care services  and was inducted into the prestigious Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Hall of Fame in 2002.

In this interview, drawing from her experience of having facilitated the Balanced Scorecard program in SMDC, Barbara Possin presents a practitioner’s viewpoint regarding various aspects of the Balanced Scorecard concept.