In terms of the expected return, the balanced scorecard helps the organization define and measure success.  An exact dollar return on investment cannot be generated in the abstract, but the tools for generating that return are there, provided that you have access to the right information.

 

Don’t forget that the balanced scorecard helps the organization move past the old financial measurements of the past.  Many modern businesses and government agencies hold most of their value in their intangible assets, namely their people, and the knowledge those people have. Also, modern companies recognize that mission success is largely driven by the ideas and innovations that come from their people. Industrial-age management practices, which focused on financial and production metrics only, are not appropriate in this new environment. Financial metrics are lagging indicators that tell what happened in the past. Knowledge workers communicate and create in complex ways, and their work does not fit the old model. Therefore, executives need a new way to assess how well their organization is functioning, how to predict future performance, and how to align the organization toward new strategies to achieve breakthrough performance.  Every organization needs to know how well its strategies are performing, how to execute these strategies effectively, and how to collect data to report to its sponsors or customers. Regardless of what it is called, the processes and practices used in successful modern organizations will likely be similar to those of the balanced scorecard.