Scorecards for results : a guide for developing a library balanced scorecard

Baseball fans have long appreciated the value of keeping a scorecard, both as a record of the game and a predictor of future outcomes. What if we told you the same principle works for libraries?
The Balanced Scorecard is a performance measurement tool first popularized by Robert Kaplan and David Norton (who also penned the foreword to this book) in a 1993 Harvard Business Review article. It involves matching a variety of measures with one or more expected values--from each of four perspectives (financial, customer, internal process, and organizational readiness)--tracking results, and analyzing any variance between them. As in baseball, organizations come away with both a snapshot of the present and a sense of where they are headed.
Evaluation expert Joe Matthews has taken this basic model and, in six carefully illustrated steps, shows how any public library, regardless of size, can more effectively focus its resources, assess strategic impact, and in so doing better serve its community.

• Acknowledgments p. ix
• Foreword p. xi
• Introduction p. xiii
• Chapter 1 What Is a Balanced Scorecard? p. 1
• Origins of the Balanced Scorecard p. 1
• The Organizational Readiness Perspective p. 3
• The Internal Process Perspective p. 5
• The Customer Perspective p. 5
• The Financial Perspective p. 7
• Integrating the Perspectives p. 7
• Other Scorecards p. 9
• Experiences in Using the Balanced Scorecard p. 9
• Additional Resources p. 13
• Related Web Sites p. 14
• Notes p. 15
• Chapter 2 The Library Scorecard p. 17
• Notes p. 23
• Chapter 3 A Suggested Process p. 25
• Determine Who Participates p. 25
• Who Will Facilitate p. 26
• Understanding the Stakeholders' Perspective p. 27
• Time Commitment p. 27
• Budget Impact p. 27
• The Process p. 27
• Step 1 Review the Library's Mission and Vision Statements p. 28
• Step 2 Develop a Strategy Map p. 28
• Step 3 Select Performance Measures p. 28
• Step 4 Identify Targets and Initiatives p. 28
• Step 5 Integrate the Library Scorecard p. 29
• Step 6 Communicate the Library Balanced Scorecard p. 29
• Implementation Problems p. 29
• Summary p. 30
• Notes p. 30
• Chapter 4 Step 1: The Mission and Vision p. 33
• Useful Mission Statements p. 33
• Writing a Mission Statement p. 38
• The Vision Statement p. 38
• Useful Vision Statements p. 40
• Writing a Vision Statement p. 45
• Using a Slogan p. 45
• Facing the Outside World p. 45
• Notes p. 46
• Chapter 5 Step 2: Strategy and Strategy Maps p. 47
• What Is Strategy? p. 48
• Three Broad Strategies p. 50
• Step 2A Choose Two to Four Broad Strategic Themes p. 52
• Strategic Themes p. 52
• Value-Impact Matrix p. 53
• Step 2B Decide on the Structure of the Library's Balanced Scorecard p. 55
• Step 2C Develop a Strategy Map p. 57
• Smart Managers p. 61
• Notes p. 61
• Chapter 6 Step 3: Selecting Performance Measures p. 63
• Input Measures p. 64
• Process Measures p. 64
• Output Measures p. 64
• Outcome Measures p. 64
• Step 3A Create a List of Possible Measures p. 66
• Step 3B Select Your Final Measures p. 70
• Source of Data p. 71
• Creative Measures p. 72
• Step 3C Complete a Performance Measure Record Sheet p. 72
• Notes p. 73
• Chapter 7 Step 4: Identifying Targets and Initiatives p. 75
• Identifying Targets p. 75
• Step 4A Establish Baseline Performance p. 75
• Step 4B Establish Targets for Each Measure p. 75
• Step 4C Identify Initiatives p. 77
• Step 4D Prioritize Initiatives p. 77
• Notes p. 78
• Chapter 8 Step 5: Integrating the Scorecard p. 81
• Step 5A Integrate the Library's Scorecard p. 81
• Step 5B Cascade the Scorecard p. 83
• Step 5C Management's Focus p. 84
• Recognition p. 86
• Implementation Challenges p. 87
• Tips for Success p. 88
• Notes p. 90
• Chapter 9 Step 6: Communicating Your Scorecard p. 91
• Select a Format for the Library's Balanced Scorecard p. 91
• The "Dashboard" Approach p. 92
• The Strategy Map Approach p. 92
• The Spider Web Diagram Approach p. 92
• The Scorecard Approach p. 92
• The Combination Approach p. 97
• Preparing the Brochure p. 97
• Tips for Telling Your Library's Story p. 98
• Communicating the Scorecard p. 98
• Notes p. 100
• Glossary p. 101
• Appendix Selected Resources p. 105
• Index p. 109