Back in 1992, Robert Kaplan and David Norton introduced the concept of a Balanced Scorecard to manage a company. This is instead of using one sole measure to manage a company: the bottom line. It is wise to use the same approach when introducing Benefits Realization to project management. Revenue or profit cannot be the sole benefit.
The other perspectives of a balanced approach to identifying benefits are:
• Customers’ view of our business, products and services
• Internal business operations and processes
• Innovation and learning to boost intangible assets (i.e. knowledge and skills of employees)
Balancing categories of benefits is a start but the key learning from Kaplan’s research is that failures occurred when this concept was introduced by functional managers with the acquiescence but not the leadership and commitment of the CEO. Strategic planning and execution needs to be driven from the top down. He also makes the challenging claim that, “it is also sufficient” for successful strategy delivery.