Tweet

Count more than the money

Written by: John Heap

Article Overview: Counting the money you make tells you how well you did last week or last month - not how well you are going to do in the future. For that you need a more balanced view.

Count more than the money

There is a concept in �big business� called the Balanced Scorecard. It reflects the dangers in always looking at �the numbers� � the money � to judge how well your business is doing.

Of coursed the numbers are important � but often they tell you how well you did last week or last month � not how well you are going to do in the future.

The people who dreamt up the balanced scorecard suggest that you need to look at other factors if you want a balanced view of your organisation.

The other factors � in addition to the financial numbers - they came up with are:

The Customer � how should you appear to our customers � and how do you appear to the? Do you know? If not, how do you know you are giving them what they want?

Internal Business Processes � of the things you do to provide your goods or services, what do you excel at? Do you know where your strengths are? Do you know what you might be better outsourcing?

�. and a factor they called Learning & Growth�..

How do you make sure you have the ability to change, to improve? How well do you use the talents of those who work for you?

These factors should be treated as suggestions � it depends on what is important to you and your business .. you might decide to have another set of factors altogether, reflecting your own priorities.

If you were creating a �proper� balanced scorecard, you would think about what it is you are trying to do, what plans you have to ensure you are on track � and then decide what measures in each of these categories might help you understand whether you are likely to meet your own targets.

You needn�t go that far. .. but it is worth thinking through �

1. What your are trying to achieve
2. How you will set about achieving your goals
3. What you need to measure to make sure you are on track
4. Whether those measures give a balanced view of your company.

That must be worth a few hours of your time. You might find that a balanced view changes your opinion of how well you are doing � and how fit you are to face the future!

Related Articles
  The Importance of Counting
  Help! There Are Not Enough Hours in the Day
  Remember, it is only the Behaviors that count!©
  Make Your Contacts Count
  Stress-Free Selling® - How to Make it About Them

Article Tags: balanced scorecard, measuring performance, performance



Related Forum Posts
Re: Testimonials Needed for Business Plan Workbook - Hi Evan, Count me in. I am sending my email immediately
KeywordBox.com - Thanks theFranchiseMarket - like bennyboy7, I'm a user of Google's tool (after all, if you're optimizing for Google, why not use their own database?) I put in the keyword "entrepreneur" into keywordbox and got the following top 12 results [quote:13n1aucz]Count Keyword us 51255 entrepreneur 7139 entrepreneur magazine 2569 famous entrepreneur 2441 business and entrepreneur 2256 change child educate entrepreneur leaving microsoft odyssey world world 2243 successful entrepreneur 1918 social entrepreneur 1574 young entrepreneur 1536 book book e entrepreneur from infopreneur information make money product 1504 woman entrepreneur 1358 filipino entrepreneur 1340 book book else entrepreneur free free free get money money money rich somebody wont working[/quote:13n1aucz] It seems strange to me that "change child educate entrepreneur leaving microsoft odyssey world world" would get 2256 searches and would outrank successful entrepreneur and young entrepreneur. Further down the list are other strange keyword combinations. Have you had a better experience using the tool?
Re: Do you have an affinity to making money??? - Hey Yinka, Of course I like making money. However, I get more satisfaction from doing what I love and have a passion for that brings in money vs. doing something I hate and making money. There's little satisfaction if you're working hard for someone else and making them money, while you make a measly paycheck. Some people are okay with this, but they may not be as happy as they could be if they did what they loved to do. In either case, it's important to do what you love. The money will follow.
Angel Investors- - For me, family and friends was the best place to start. They are no different than strangers, they both don't want to lose money, but the key is the understanding of risks. I have a good reputation for making money and business, so it wasn't a huge risk. The investor understood the risk, and I made it a point to address the fact that they could lose all their money, not that they will. Their confidence in me and my business outweighed the fear of losing their investment. Now, i don't expect that everyone would feel comfortable approaching their friends and family for big money, but I saw it as if they put big money in the stockmarket, and real estate and other investments... then why not invest in me and my idea? If they were going to let people they didn't know manage their money, then why not invest in someone who really cares and truly has your best interest in mind? I did not approach the situation that I was going to lose their money, I was confident that I was going to succeed whether they invested in me or not.
Re: Money never sleeps - Well I guess it goes back to the old cliché of "don't work for money, but learn to have money working for you." However, aside from using your money to invest in things like property, stocks, etc... what are some of the other ways? I feel that the average Google AdSense user can't even make enough each month to buy a new pair of shoes. So in that respect, I wouldn't count on AdSense to help you earn more money while you sleep.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Leading with Discernment

Marketing & Sales tools – going back to basics

Using Social Media Marketing

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.