Why Mindshare? - Glossary

Balanced Scorecard¹:

A compilation of metrics showing results across the major areas of a company's performance. The Balanced Scorecard approach is a strategic management system that analyzes and measures all aspects of a company's performance. It focuses managerial attention on any aspects of a company's overall fitness that need improvement, and helps companies discover what decisions would be best in the long term, and not just the short term.

The Balanced Scorecard approach is intended to correct the tendency of most companies to over-emphasize the financial state of the company and ignore or disregard other, seemingly smaller aspects of a company's performance, which influence and determine future financial success. Seemingly insignificant things such as Customer Service or employee retention usually have a large effect on future financial success.

Most companies using the Balanced Scorecard include the following three basic metrics – financial performance, customer satisfaction, and Employee Satisfaction. Depending on the company and industry, additional metrics are often added to the Balanced Scorecard including: cost efficiency, competitive position, learning, growth, and leadership.

¹ The best known and most complete sources on The Balanced Scorecard (which we highly recommend) are:
“The Balanced Scorecard: Measures that Drive Performance,” Kaplan and Norton, HBR, Jan 1992.
“The Balanced Scorecard: Translating Strategy into Action,” Kaplan and Norton, HBS Press, 1996.