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The power of balance.

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Using a balanced-whether it's implemented in a single department or companywide-results in better equilibrium among organizational goals that can be as varied as revenue and safety. An easy way to start the balanced scorecard process is to build a Consensus-driven summary matrix that everyone can understand and buy into.

Using a balanced scorecard--whether it's implemented in a single department or companywide--results in better equilibrium among organizational goals that can be as varied as revenue and safety. An easy way to start the balanced scorecard process is to build a consensus-driven summary matrix that everyone can understand and buy into.

I began using a balanced scorecard approach almost 15 years ago following the publication of Robert Kaplan and David Norton's Harvard Business Review articles on the topic and my boss Don's recognition that such an approach would help drive our plant's performance improvement. We had limited success with that first approach, but as I spent time learning more about the topic and experimenting in that company and others with various versions of the tool, I have refined my approach to using balanced scorecards into one that is simple to use and capable of producing consistent results.

This article will allow you to benefit from my experience, to explore the logic behind and need for balanced scorecards, and to do some experimentation yourself using the implementation steps I will share. Most important, this article is intended to help you actually use this tool to make a difference in your work group, plant, or company. Many people understand the concepts behind the balanced scorecard philosophy but fewer have realized true success in using them. It is one thing to say that we need to maintain a consistent focus on all key areas of performance, and it is another to actually measure and behave in a manner each day that maintains and drives consistency.

Like any other performance improvement tool or initiative, balanced scorecards have to become part of the team's, plant's, or organization's culture if their use is expected to produce results. We can plaster the walls with colorful scorecards and expound on the need for them in our plant meetings, but if we make decisions that favor efficiency over quality or if we recognize people for contributions that emphasize through-put at the expense of safety, we compromise the potential for scorecard success. Our conversations and daily behaviors must reflect the same amount of balance that we show on visual displays and tout in meetings.

A need for balance

All systems require balance for them to perform optimally Nature understands this, but human beings struggle with it more than embrace it. Weather systems maintain balance through the actions of high and low pressure systems. The human body maintains its equilibrium through the myriad enzymes, hormones, complementary systems, and communication processes that exist in it. Ecosystems maintain balance through the food chain and the cooperative nature of nature itself. Human beings, however, disrupt the balance of these systems and others for short-term gain, just as they disrupt the inherent balance an organization would have if they were more strategic and focused in their daily management efforts.

From an organizational perspective, sports teams seem to understand this need for balance to a much greater degree that other businesses. It is ironic that while we are a nation (and some would argue, a world) that is very sports-focused, we fail to translate the same level of balance we expect from sports...

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