Advice and Insights From A Practitioner

Tag: Balanced Scorecard

Building Robust Distribution to Support Strategy – Updated October 2012

Introduction During the past year and a half, I have been working with a variety of different client companies to develop and improve their distribution networks. Distribution really matters when you consider that, on average, half of the price of the product is absorbed by activities related to getting that product from producer to the… Read More ›

A Prescription for Change

You Can Keep the Change…Say What? One of the tough things to swallow in business is the lip service paid by some executives towards change initiatives. It goes something like this: “Yeah, we know have to change but, we are too busy struggling to keep our clients happy while at the same time trying to… Read More ›

Making a Good Customer Value Proposition Better

Introduction The creators of the Balanced Scorecard, Robert Norton and David Kaplan, view the customer value proposition (“CVP”) as the “heart of strategy”.  They very succinctly stated that: “Strategy is based on a differentiated customer value proposition.  Satisfying [your] customers is the source of sustainable value creation.”[1] A customer value proposition is an offering that… Read More ›

Why Does Your Organization Need A Mission Statement?

Well, first of all, a mission statement can be pretty effective at establishing guidelines for people to follow in an effort to achieve a certain loftier, longer term mission.  In fact, mission statements have been used throughout history and many have indeed withstood the pressures and tests of time. Think religion and the book of… Read More ›

Making Critical Decisions the R.A.P.I.D. Way

I believe it is increasingly important, no matter what the size and complexity of your organization is, to have a defined decision-making process.  Having been a leader of extensive global and regional underwriting and marketing business units that require many fast and accurate decisions, my teams had no choice but to establish formal decision-making roles and responsibilities.  In retrospect,… Read More ›

Using the Balanced Scorecard Approach for Better Strategy Execution

Back in the early 1990s, when I worked at CIGNA International and just returned from an assignment in Hong Kong, I learned that a new strategic initiative was underway in the domestic Property and Casualty division.  In fact, this was the first time I had ever heard of the Balanced Scorecard approach and was about… Read More ›