You cannot apply a strategy that cannot be described, that cannot be aligned, that cannot be focused, that cannot be managed. The Balanced Scorecard strategy map is one way to describe strategies.
The strategic map provides the basis for designing a balanced scorecard that in turn represents the cornerstone of a strategic management system. The cause-effect relationships of the strategic maps show the transformations of intangible assets based on tangible results and create value for the shareholder by measuring non-financial intangible assets and through quantitative indicators such as market share, innovation, satisfaction of the client, etc., creating synergy in the business units. But the strategic map will not provide a solution to the organization's problems if the strategy is not managed.
Strategic management fails in an organization that pretends to be smart because:
- Employees are not aware of the strategies that the organization is going to implement. Employees do not have a personal scorecard. There is no good system of compensation and incentives for employees.The strategies are not transformed in the daily work of everyone. There is no synergy in the business units. The strategies are not linked to the budgets. The analytical information systems (SIA) are not aligned to support strategic management. There is strategic learning, that is, the strategy is not made to be continuous learning. Managers direct from the top down, and they do not communicate holistically seeing the organization as a whole. And the most critical thing is that there is no managerial leadership due to the lack of governance of managers regarding the strategic management system and that it is supported by an organizational culture with values.
It is not just a matter of managing a Balanced Scorecard with indicators of monitoring and control in the financial perspectives, of clients, of internal processes, of learning and growth with strategic inductors oriented to investments in clients, suppliers, employees, technology and innovation, but rather integrates strategic management with the balanced scorecard to provide a solution to the 10 points mentioned above.
