CHAPTER 1The concept of Balanced Scorecard (BSC) was first presented in the early nineties. By 2000 some surveys indicated that a majority of firms in the US, UK and Scandinavia used scorecards - or at least intended to do so soon. Others, like Bain's management tools survey, indicated a slight drop in usage to 36 per cent, but with a high average satisfaction with the tool. The number of software packages for scorecards on the market is growing and now exceeds one hundred. In only ten years, the idea of BSC has certainly made its mark. At the same time there are reports of high failure rates. We have seen firms abandon their scorecard efforts. Others are struggling against the perception of balanced scorecard (BSC) as 'just another three-letter fad' propagated by consultants, like TQM, BPR, ABC etc? There are indications that the literature about scorecards has "peaked". Even after ten years of BSC we are aware of very few companies with more than a few years of successful and ongoing scorecard use. Some may see this development as a 'hype curve', indicating inflated expectations among those who take an interest in methods of management. To have lasting effects, the hype has to be followed by action. Organizations introducing scorecards need to work patiently during several years before they can claim to have reformed their control systems. With diminishing hype, BSC will need to start producing tangible effects - at a time when it is still in need of continued support and experimentation. Yet during our research for this book we found that several important corporations are only now launching major BSC initiatives. We met enthusiastic managers convinced that they will avoid the pitfalls encountered by companies who have discontinued their projects. They usually claim that others have laid too much emphasis on performance measurement, and too little on strategic control. Maybe after a period of trial-and-error BSC is now emerging as a natural and necessary part of management? So it seems time to make up our minds about BSC. What can we learn from the past ten years of BSC? What should organizations using scorecards take note of, in order to make their projects successful? These are the questions that prompted the present book. We will build on the experiences reported in our previous book Performance Drivers (1999). But here we will take a much more careful look at the experiences people have had in introducing and using scorecards. We will do this through cases from business and government. 
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Chapter 1 