The first balanced scorecard was created in 1987 at Analog Devices, a mid-sized
semiconductor company. This e-book chronicles its development
over the period of 1986-1992. By understanding the environment in which it
was born and nurtured, and how it grew over time, I hope you will gain insights
that will help you in your efforts at improved organizational performance and competitiveness.
During my tenure at Analog
from 1986 through 1992, I was the process owner for non-financial
performance measurement and the balanced scorecard. In documenting
this history, I've relied heavily on my early audio or video taped
presentations. I want to be sure that I'm not inadvertently revising history;
time tends to have that effect. My principal objectives are to
provide you with period data that demonstrates how Analog linked its
performance measurement system to its Corporate Objective and business
strategy and the richness and completeness of the improvement
infrastructure that we had in place. You can be the judge of how
it compares to current best practices.
Much of what has been previously written about this
period at ADI is through the eyes of outside observers: Kaplan, Shank,
and Hendrickson, for example, whose work was based on extensive
interviews at Analog Devices. In reading their writings, it has
become clear that even scholars have difficulty in capturing in words
the fullness of what really happened. I'm
sure I am guilty of the same oversimplifications. For example,
it's difficult to publicly talk about failures, particularly when individuals
are involved. So recognizing this inherent positive bios, I invite you to
relive Analog's scorecard journey through the eyes of a very involved
insider.
Finally, I posted my intentions to write this history
more than six months ago. I grossly underestimated the effort
involved in locating, transcribing, and assembling the material.
And it's not over yet, as I continue to discover and correct errors and
important omissions. But I took my own advice and reluctantly
accepted lower initial performance on my journey to 6s
writing.
Many of you offered encouragement through your
emails. I hope that the result proves to be worth your wait.
Let me know what you think and thanks for your patience.
I've structured this history in three levels of increasing detail:
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The "Contents" section below highlights the key
milestones in Analog's evolution of the first balanced scorecard.
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Each of the sections summarized in the contents then provides a more detailed
description of this evolution. Key period slides are shown to
demonstrate how the various elements sequentially fell into place.
(Left-click on the slide to get a more readable full screen view and then use your
browser's return button to resume the story).
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Finally, a number of actual slides and presentations given by me in the period of 1986-1991 are
made available in various formats. Some of these presentations were
video/audio taped and I have faithfully transcribed those tapes. Where
actual transcripts are not available, I've tried to briefly describe the relevant
slides in as unbiased a way as is possible. (PLEASE NOTE: I know that
some of the other presentations were also recorded.
If you have a copy, or know where I can get one, please let me know so that I can arrange for its
transcription and inclusion.)