Measure What Matters With the Balanced Scorecard - Sounding Board Article

Measure what matters over the next year and beyond: 

Adapted from the Vancouver Board of Trade- Sounding Board article January 2014

As we embark on 2014, it's important to take some time to plan our goals for the year ahead.

For entrepreneurs, non-profit organizations, and businesses owners embarking on strategic planning, it's crucial that you set S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time bound) when planning your future activities. It will pay off in spades.

While the easiest goals to set are revenue or income driven, I’d encourage you to take a more holistic approach to setting targets for your business.

I say that because you do more in your business than increase revenues. Right?

You also have to produce the product or service through internal processes,maintain relationships with customers and partners, grow professionally and personally, and all of these things contribute to overall growth of your business.

While you embark on your strategic planning process for the next year and beyond here are 3 things I’d encourage you to focus on.

1. Figure out what success would look like in a year’s time. (If success was a place, and you arrived there, how would you know?)
2. Create strategies that support your goals. (Are these activities going to help you get closer to your goals? If they aren’t, don’t do them.)
3. Set financial and non-financial targets. This approach is called the balanced score card and it takes into account 4 different perspectives:

• The financial perspective,
• The customer perspective,
• The internal business processes perspective,
• The Innovation and learning perspective,

By using this approach to goal setting and strategic planning, you’ll get a better sense of which activities in your day to day truly contribute to your growth versus those that just keep you busy.

Happy planning

Working on your organization's strategic plan? 
Our free strategic planning template will help you start the process: