- Why Is It Important?
- How to Use It?
- Implementation
- Practical Balanced Scorecard Examples
What Is Balanced Scoreboard?
Balanced scorecard (BSC) was created by Robert Kaplan and David Norton and it is based on the philosophy which says “if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it then”. BSC offers a way for an organization to achieve a wider perspective on its strategic decisions by considering the influence and impact on finances, customers, internal processes and employee learning.
It is designed to measure the success degree in implementation of business strategy. The analysis takes into account financial and nonfinancial measures, internal improvements, past outcomes and ongoing requirements as indications of future performance.
Why Is It Important?
BSC helps to transform the organizational strategy into action and align employees to common goals. Also it helps to eliminate the conflict between goals caused by functional targets.
How to Use It?
Identify the relevant critical success factors in the BSC perspectives – define the crucial capabilities and purposes of the department and explore inter-relationships.
Examples of factors:
- Finance / cashflow, return on investment, return on capital employed, financial results
- Internal business processes / number of activities per function, duplicate activites accross functions, process alignment (is the right process in the right department?) , process bottlenecks , process automation
- Learning and personal growth / Is there the correct level of expertise for the job?, employee turnover, job satisfaction, training or learning opportunities
- Customer / delivery performance to customer, quality performance for customer, customer satisfaction rate, customer percentage of market, customer retention rate
- Technology / evaluation of technology required to carry out the activity efficiently
Implementation
Implementation of BSC should be resulted in:
- Improved processes
- Motivated and educated employees
- Enhanced information systems
- Monitored progress
- Greater customer satisfaction
- Increased financial usage
Remember: The metrics and aims set up also must be SMART, as we mentioned above you cannot improve on what you cannot measure.
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Practical Balanced Scorecard Examples
Below are two balanced scorecard example setups—each shows objectives, KPIs, targets, and initiatives across the four classic perspectives so you can see how strategy becomes measurable action.
1. Manufacturing Company
| Perspective | Objective | KPI | Target | Initiatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial | Improve margin on core products | Gross margin % | +3 pts / 12 months | Should-cost analysis, supplier renegotiations |
| Customer | Reduce late deliveries | OTIF (On-Time In-Full) % | ≥ 97% | Heijunka scheduling, carrier performance reviews |
| Internal Process | Cut defects at final test | FPY (First-Pass Yield) | ≥ 98% | Poka-yoke, layered process audits |
| Learning & Growth | Build problem-solving capability | % staff trained in A3/8D | 90% | Kaizen training, mentor program |
2. B2B SaaS Provider
| Perspective | Objective | KPI | Target | Initiatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial | Grow efficient revenue | Net revenue retention | ≥ 115% | Expansion playbooks, usage-based pricing pilots |
| Customer | Increase product adoption | WAU/MAU ratio, NPS | ≥ 0.6; ≥ 45 | In-app onboarding, customer success health scores |
| Internal Process | Ship value faster | Lead time to production | −30% | CI/CD, WIP limits (Kanban), automated testing |
| Learning & Growth | Uplevel technical skills | Certs per engineer/year | ≥ 2 | Learning budget, internal guilds |
How to Apply This
Use each balanced scorecard example as a template, then tailor it to your strategy and context:
- Select priorities per perspective. Confirm 1–2 high‑impact objectives for Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning & Growth.
- Define clear KPIs. Choose metrics you can reliably capture now (avoid vanity metrics).
- Set SMART targets. Specify baseline, target, and deadline so progress is unambiguous.
- Assign ownership. Name one accountable owner per KPI and list supporting contributors.
- Map initiatives to gaps. Launch only those projects that directly move the KPI toward the target.
- Establish cadence. Review monthly, pivot initiatives quarterly, and refresh objectives annually.
- Instrument and visualize. Track in a dashboard (e.g., OTIF, FPY, NRR, lead time) and make results visible to stakeholders.
Applied this way, a balanced scorecard example becomes a living operating system—aligning teams, focusing investment, and turning strategy into measurable outcomes.
Conclusion
A strong balanced scorecard example does more than report numbers—it turns strategy into disciplined execution. By aligning Financial, Customer, Internal Process, and Learning & Growth objectives with clear KPIs, SMART targets, owners, and focused initiatives, organizations gain a single operating view of performance and priorities.
Use the two tables as starting templates, then follow How to Apply This to tailor them to your context: pick high‑impact objectives, choose reliable metrics, set explicit targets, assign ownership, map initiatives to gaps, review on a set cadence, and visualize results. Applied consistently, the balanced scorecard becomes a living system that sharpens focus, speeds decision‑making, and drives measurable, cross‑functional improvement.
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