A Balanced Scorecard is more than just a top-level executive reporting tool. Companies that fail to deploy their Balanced Scorecard beyond the board or executive level rarely see any benefit.

It’s also quite distinct from analytics or Business Intelligence (BI) tools that focus on identifying where a problem exists by "slicing and dicing" data. These types of tools, though important, do not necessarily help an organization determine why a problem exists or what improvement efforts should be employed.

Balanced Scorecards are like snowflakes; no two organizations’ Balanced Scorecards are identical. Though the tool is flexible enough to be applied to any organization, it must be customized with your organization’s current strategic objectives and appropriate measures.

Even within an organization, Scorecards should vary by department, area and person. All should be related and clearly drive toward achievement of the same plan, but each Scorecard should reflect how that area or person individually contributes.

A Balanced Scorecard is not an end-all, be-all, either. To be used effectively, an organization must employ Balanced Scorecards as part of a broader focus on Enterprise Strategy Execution.

Find out more about:

• From Strategy to Scorecard
• Building a Top-Level Scorecard
• See examples of Balanced Scorecards