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!
Count more than the money - To learn more about this author, visit John Heap's Website.
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