IN a rapidly changing business environment where businesses                                                                                           
are faced with an increasing multitude of concerns, how do                                                                                            
businesses strive to stay competitive, reduce their                                                                                                   
operational costs, and capture new markets?                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                      
The time trusted technique of planning - having a strategy                                                                                            
and carrying it through to implementation has always been                                                                                             
the answer. But how do you keep a plan on track and ensure                                                                                            
that it reaches fruition?                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
The Balanced Scorecard approach, conceived by Dr Robert                                                                                               
Kaplan and Dr David Norton in 1992, applied years of                                                                                                  
research to the links between costs and performance                                                                                                   
measurement. More precisely, it sought to look outside                                                                                                
traditional financial measures in evaluating performance                                                                                              
and effectiveness of corporate strategy.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
It is by no means a new method. However, this approach                                                                                                
makes strategy a continuous process, owned not just by top                                                                                            
management but also by everyone in the organisation.                                                                                                  
Unlike traditional approaches that looked primarily at                                                                                                
tangible assets and were managed essentially by the budget,                                                                                           
the underlying notion of the Balanced Scorecard is that                                                                                               
companies should measure not only physical assets but also                                                                                            
intangible assets such as staff and strategy.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The system starts with a Balanced Scorecard strategy map                                                                                              
that gives businesses the ability to look at their                                                                                                    
operations from four perspectives: financial, customer,                                                                                               
internal business processes, and growth. Each is linked to                                                                                            
activities and a measurement of success. What the Balanced                                                                                            
Scorecard provides is the idea that you need measurements                                                                                             
not just for improving existing operations but also to                                                                                                
reflect the company's overall strategy.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
Their new book, The Strategy-Focused Organisation (already,                                                                                           
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Germany, have announced it "Best                                                                                            
German Business Book" as well as "The Best international                                                                                              
Business Book"), runs through the key principles of the                                                                                               
Balanced Scorecard and how it can be used to manage                                                                                                   
strategy. In general, the book provides management and                                                                                                
organisations a way to combine the various disparate                                                                                                  
traditional management and methodologies into a single                                                                                                
point of focus - much like that of a control panel.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
So revolutionary was the Balanced Scorecard of the new                                                                                                
environment that it went beyond what the authors originally                                                                                           
conceived it to be. What happened was that adopting                                                                                                   
companies not only used the Balanced Scorecard as measures                                                                                            
of performance, but also took it to the next level-using it                                                                                           
to create an entirely new performance management framework                                                                                            
that puts strategy at the centre of key management                                                                                                    
processes and systems.                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The Strategy-Focused Organisation is recommended reading                                                                                              
for every CEO and manager who wants to keep their companies                                                                                           
in shape for the new business environment.  Not only does                                                                                             
it provide the framework for clear thinking, the book also                                                                                            
provides a good sharing on the efforts, experience and                                                                                                
results of many companies that have implemented the                                                                                                   
Balanced Scorecard. We Strategy-Focused Organisation is a                                                                                             
revolutionary management approach with a powerful impact on                                                                                           
future competitiveness and profitability. It enables                                                                                                  
organisations to effectively mobilise around the execution                                                                                            
of their strategy through the discipline of the Balanced                                                                                              
Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard provides the foundation                                                                                             
for an increasingly proven management system that channels                                                                                            
the energies, abilities and resources of the entire company                                                                                           
towards achieving and surpassing the organisation's                                                                                                   
long-term strategic goals.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
Additionally, it can be applied to any form of business,                                                                                              
from huge conglomerations to small business set-ups and to                                                                                            
new and rapidly changing businesses. It is equally adept in                                                                                           
both the private sector as well as the non-profit                                                                                                     
organisations and government agencies.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
It is a methodology that can be implemented in any country                                                                                            
because the basic framework of the scorecard is customised                                                                                            
to local applications. The fact that it has now been                                                                                                  
introduced into corporations world-wide with varying levels                                                                                           
of success is testimony to its validity.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                      
Take for example,Brian Baker, the executive vice-president                                                                                            
of the marketing and refining division at Mobil North                                                                                                 
America, who says in the book: "In 1997, we hit the number                                                                                            
one ranking for the third consecutive year the scorecard                                                                                              
gets the lion's share of the credit."                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                      
The same book has touched even the Singapore Judiciary. The                                                                                           
book cites Richard Magnus, the chief judge from the                                                                                                   
Singapore District and Magistrates' Courts. Upon returning                                                                                            
from a Harvard Business School executive programme, Magnus                                                                                            
applied the Balanced Scorecard in the District and                                                                                                    
Magistrates' Court System, a structure involving 84 judges,                                                                                           
500 administrators, and 400,000 cases per year. The                                                                                                   
scorecard was piloted in the Small Claims Tribunal,                                                                                                   
probably the first application in the judiciary in the                                                                                                
world.