The Balanced Scorecard

The overwhelming majority of companies fall into the trap of measuring success solely through financial statements, which are merely an echo of the past. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is an architectural system that steps outside the balance sheet to structure corporate health across four main pillars. When designing an organization from ground zero, it must be understood that financial success (revenue and profit) is ultimately an output, and the engine generating this output consists of customer satisfaction, flawless internal processes, and a continuously learning team.

This matrix places financials at the apex; however, it causally links the customer perspective that feeds it, the internal operational processes that satisfy the customer, and the human/learning perspective that runs all these processes. If your employees are untrained (Learning), your processes slow down (Internal Process); if processes slow down, the customer leaves (Customer), and ultimately the company loses money (Financial). The BSC is a strategic ecosystem that maps out this domino effect.