QP REVIEWS
Balanced Scorecard Strategy for Dummies
Chuck Hannabarger, Rick Buchman and
Peter Economy, Wiley Publishing, 2007, 362 pp., $21.99 (book).
“If you’re not keeping score, you’re
just practicing.” This statement carries a truth of modern business along
with the essence of a performance standard.
Developed by Robert Kaplan and David
Norton of the Harvard Business School, the balanced scorecard provides a
method to manage and measure the performance of an enterprise.
What was—and still is—radical about
their idea is that such a system should include more than basic financial
measures. Other measures, such as those related to customers and internal
processes, need to be included for management to have an accurate view of
the enterprise.
The authors offer—in basic terms and an
easily consumed format—a wealth of examples, checklists and tips for
implementing a balanced scorecard approach. The authors provide guidance
to create a strategy map that links tactical goals to strategic goals via
the four legs of a balanced scorecard: financial; customer; internal
process; and knowledge, education and growth.
The authors provide tools to help the
reader understand the role of the four legs and supply the tools to build
that role further. It is a pretty simple formula, and it works. For
example, the sections on knowledge, education and growth outline how to
perform a skills inventory, use it in a gap analysis and translate that
analysis into a set of actionable measures that tie into the overall
scorecard.
Moving beyond simple measures of the
bottom line is still a pretty bold idea. But after reading Balanced
Scorecard Strategy for Dummies, it’s clear that measures are for more
than the finance guys. With a little thought, scorekeeping applies to us
all.
Reviewed by Tim Knight
Evergreen Park, NY
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