Tathagat Varma presented on implementing an unbalanced scorecard at Yahoo. He discussed Yahoo's journey in developing strategic goals and key performance indicators across product and support groups from 2010-2012. Some challenges included unbalancing the scorecard, setting vertical vs horizontal goals, organizational changes, and ensuring effective execution and review. Learnings included the need for flexibility, leadership's critical role, and the importance of constant realignment and double-loop learning to coordination strategic initiatives.

1. Implementating UnBalanced
Scorecard
– A Case Study
Tathagat Varma,
Strategy Execution 2013
Sr. Director,
Conference (c) Yahoo!

2. Discussion Topics
• Balanced Scorecard
• Strategy Map
• Our Journey
• Challenges
• Results
• Learnings
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3. Balanced Scorecard
Strategy Execution 2013
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4. Next Generation Testing Conference (c)
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5. Our Journey
• Started in mid-2010 through 2012
• Pragmatic and empirical approach
• Excellence program to reflect KRAs
• KPIs aligned with priorities and goals
• Goals for product and support groups
• QBRs to track and review
Strategy Execution 2013
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6. • execuHon
to
the
• strategic
iniHaHves
R&D
center
charter
across
various
and
overall
product
and
organizaHonal
support
groups
in
a
strategy
highly
matrixed
organizaHon
Coordin-­‐
Align
ate
Review
Track
• effecHveness
of
results
• status
on
accomplished
on
a
implementaHon
of
quarterly
basis
planned
iniHaHves

7. Our approach
• Balanced vs. Unbalanced: “The most valuable use of a scorecard is as a
driver of a strategically focused improvement process and as
such need not and usually should not be “balanced””
• Vital Few vs. Trivial Many: “Only a pattern of out-of control situations
that can't be resolved by existing recovery processes should be a
candidates for scorecard inclusion”
• Financial vs. Non-financial: “OK, I'll admit it right up front: I still don't
understand why we need financial measures on a scorecard at all”
• Internal vs. External: “scorecard metrics, taken in their entirety, should
be unbalanced in favor of internal or process metrics”
• Leading vs. Lagging: “You can not manage lagging indicators ...
they are inherently after-the-fact measures”
• Short-term vs. Long-term: “Long-term objectives run the high
risk of inadvertently incenting short-term inaction”
• “In my opinion, most scorecards should be unbalanced toward internal,
leading, short-term metrics.”
Strategy Execution 2013
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8. Excellence Program
• Delivering world-class performance by applying
systems thinking approach to achieve
• a winning culture that promotes continuous
learning, personal growth and inter-group
collaboration, and makes us “Proud to be a Yahoo!”
• an execution system that supports operating as
one product team to achieve agility, faster
innovation, meaningful risk-taking and consistent
delivery of world-class products with “wow” user
experience
• an operational model that makes best usage of
company resources to provide a wow experience to
employees and leaders
Strategy Execution 2013
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9. Cornerstones of Excellence program were broken down into
“strategic horizontal programs”
Culture
Innova6on
Execu6on
Opera6ons
FaciliHes
Retain
Survey
IP
Program
Agility
Feedback
Develop
InnovaHon
Dev
Fiscal
Program
Excellence
Discipline
Hire
Technology
Service
SLA
Brand
Thought
Engineering
&
Performance
Leadership
Leadership
OperaHons

10. Challenges
1. Unbalancing the Scorecard
2. Vertical vs. Horizontal Goals
3. Organizational changes
4. Execution, Execution, Execution
5. Effectiveness review

11. Unbalancing the Scorecard
Beware:
The
Unbalanced
Scorecard
–
David
P
Norton

12. Effectiveness Reviews
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13. Learnings
• There is no one-size-fits-all
• ‘Balanced’ has limited appeal
• Leadership’s role is critical
• Strategic PMO to coordinate
• Execution is the key
• Trends are more useful
• Constant realignment is needed
• Double-loop learning is beneficial
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14. Some parting thoughts
• “If a good scorecard consists of 23–25
measures, all but five of them should focus
on customers, internal processes,
and learning and growth.” – David P.
Norton, 2000
• “Our work in innovation makes clear that
unless companies differentiate beyond
the norms of the competitive set in
which they participate, they cannot get
paid a differential return.” – Geoffrey
Moore, 2005

15. References
• http://www.schneiderman.com/Concepts/
The_First_Balanced_Scorecard/
How_the_Scorecard_Became_Balanced.htm
• http://www.slideshare.net/Managewell/strategic-alignment-
of-horizontal-and-vertical-pmo-goals-final
• http://www.schneiderman.com/AMS_publications/
Unbalanced%20Scorecard/unbalanced_scorecard.htm
• http://www.schneiderman.com/Concepts/
The_First_Balanced_Scorecard/
BSC_INTRO_AND_CONTENTS.htm
• http://geoffmoore.blogs.com/my_weblog/2005/11/
unbalanced_scor.html
Strategy Execution 2013
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16. Tathagat Varma
http://managewell.net
Strategy Execution 2013
Conference (c)