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In today's business environment, strategy
has never been more important. Yet research shows that most
companies fail to execute strategy successfully. Behind
this abysmal track record lies an undeniable fact: many
companies continue to use management processes -- top-down,
financially driven, and tactical -- that were designed to
run yesterday's organizations.
Now, the creators of the revolutionary performance
management tool called the Balanced Scorecard introduce
a new approach that makes strategy a continuous process
owned not just by top management, but by everyone. In The
Strategy-Focused Organization, Robert Kaplan and David
Norton share the results of ten years of learning and research
into more than 200 companies that have implemented the Balanced
Scorecard. Drawing from more than twenty in-depth case studies
-- including Mobil, CIGNA, Nova Scotia Power, and AT&T
Canada -- Kaplan and Norton illustrate how Balanced Scorecard
adopters have taken their groundbreaking tool to the next
level. These organizations have used the scorecard to create
an entirely new performance management framework that puts
strategy at the center of key management processes and systems.
Kaplan and Norton articulate the five key
principles required for building Strategy-Focused Organizations:
(1) translate the strategy to operational terms, (2) align
the organization to the strategy, (3) make strategy everyone's
everyday job, (4) make strategy a continual process, and
(5) mobilize change through strong, effective leadership.
The authors provide a detailed account of how a range of
organizations in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors
have deployed these principles to achieve breakthrough,
sustainable performance improvements.
Presenting a practical, proven framework
steeped in rich case study experience, The Strategy-Focused
Organization helps sole a universal management problem
-- not just how to formulate strategy, but how to make it
work. Building on one of the most revolutionary business
ideas of our time, this important book shows how today's
leaders can shape their own companies to meet the challenges
and reap the rewards of a new competitive era.
Robert S. Kaplan is the Marvin Bower
Professor of Leadership Development at Harvard Business
School. David P. Norton is President of Balanced Scorecard
Collaborative, Inc.
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