Customer Reviews

Essentials of Balanced Scorecard (Essentials Series)

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I've read a number of BSC books, from Kaplan & Norton's original classic, to later works, and this is one of the very few that goes into practical implementation and management of a balanced scorecard.

What makes this book better than the others I've read is the way the author points out the pitfalls as well as the advantages of implementing and using this tool. He is objective and, more importantly, experienced, which is evidenced by how he places the BSC in context. This context is shown in the gap he uncovers between strategic themes, mission/vision/values, competencies, and purpose, and initiatives, objectives, measures and targets. The BSC fills that gap - if properly done and all of the key factors are understood.

I liked the way this book uncovers subtle key factors, such as the differences between strategy and operational effectiveness (often mistakenly viewed as the same thing), and what you should and should not be measuring. I also liked the way strategic themes were defined as a concept, as well as the use of tool called a paradox map to verify the alignment of tasks to strategy.

The bulk (and value) of this book is the implementation plan, which is governed by six critical success factors necessary to implement a BSC. It is here that the book shines because the implementation is laid out as a project (in fact, one of the six CSFs is to treat the implementation as a project), and is achievable with no non-value added steps.

If you want to gain an objective view of balanced scorecards and their value, and a pragmatic approach to implementing one, this book is the one I recommend.

Probably the book is good for the experienced, but not so good for beginners like me. Although it addresses the questions like "what BSC is", I failed to get a clear picture of the art, and I'm waiting for some other books on the topic from Amazon.

Anyway, "essentials" are not introduction. To the title of this book, it's especially true.

I found this book to be one of the best step by step guide for application to focus organization.
It takes technical approach and merges it with organizational thoughts to guide actionable results.
For anyone doing Balanced Scorecard, this is one of the best step by step guide that addresses strategy from the holistic and bottoms up approach.
A must read for senior management.