Balanced Scorecard Cascading

To truly drive results, a Balanced Scorecard must be expanded from a single top-level report into a multi-layer framework of linked, aligned Balanced Scorecards. We call this process “cascading scorecards” because it involves flowing the organizational strategy down and across the hierarchy, always retaining connections to the top-level objectives, yet also creating unique, specific content for each newly created Scorecard.


It is through the process of cascading Scorecards that organizations identify and map out the cause and effect relationships that exist between higher- and lower-level strategic objectives, as well as their measured outcomes, ultimately linking every employee's performance to the top-level organizational strategic objectives, as identified on the top-level Balanced Scorecard or dashboard.

Cascading is a bit of an art and a bit of a science, but we can help. Our experts will impart lessons from their years of experience, some simple tools and techniques, best practices to emulate, and pitfalls to avoid for functional managers and process owners.

Once scorecards have been cascaded even just one or two layers down, an automated software solution becomes imperative. ActiveStrategy Enterprise was designed explicitly to help manage cascaded Balanced Scorecard or dashboard frameworks. It provides organizations powerful insight into – and control over – business performance. Our software makes the linkages between top-level outcomes and underlying root causes apparent by facilitating multi-dimensional “drill-downs” across and into linked Balanced Scorecards. Users are just a click away from seeing what lies below a poorly performing area.