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Using the Balanced Scorecard

A dichotomy is discussed, between one who is a leader and one who is a manger. A manager strives to maintain order and stability, reacts to changes, focuses on processes, and conducts day-to-day business. A leader's objective is to foster positive change, shape directions, alleviate the burden of process and procedures, and deviate from the norm to achieve an outcome. Organizations need both, and executives must tend to both roles.

The "balanced scorecard" is a method of documenting the goals of leadership and management, in an attempt to assist executives who must fill both roles.

EN: Unfortunately, the content of the article seems to presume the reader has already seen such a thing, and has been working with it, but does not understand its true purpose.

1. Build the Strategy Map and Scorecard

There's not much useful information: leadership and management activities are "central to the initial construction" of the BSC, and developing a BSC helps "develop fresh approaches to long-standing problems."

I guess it's a good thing to use these documents, but I still have no clear conception of what they are.

2. Cascading the BSC Throughout the Organization

At the top of the organization, strategic objectives are defined. Each business evaluates these objectives and defines its own strategy to deliver on them (sic: deliver "on"). At all levels of the organization, managers think strategically to define their own goals rather than merely executing on orders handed down from above.

3. Communicating, Aligning, and Rewarding

As the title suggests, the process of developing a BSC requires an executive to communicate strategy to his subordinate leaders, ensuring the objectives they define for themselves are aligned with it, and developing a system of rewards to link pay to performance.

4. Integrating Strategy with Systems and Processes

Traditionally, management was done by looking at available resources and deciding what could be accomplished. Strategic management begins will deciding what needs to be accomplished, then determining how to accomplish those goals.

Leverage existing systems and resources where possible, change them if necessary, whatever it takes to get the job done.

5. Mobilizing Change Through Executive Leadership

The executive leader plays three roles: he communicates the need for a change; he establishes new systems to accomplish it; and he monitors the accomplishment of the goals, adjusting as necessary.

To do so, he must integrate the roles of leader and manager.


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