Strategy Maps

In Strategy Maps, Robert and David maintain that to maximize your chances of success as an organization, you need to focus your strategy from four perspectives - Financial, Customer, Internal and Learning and Growth. These perspectives will provide you a holistic view of the most important factors in your organization. A key focus in this book, as borne by its title, is on strategic maps.

The tool is used to diagram cause and effect of various efforts in these areas to achieve organizational objectives. It is typically on one page, that is split into four major rows, one for each one of the four perspectives. Also, each row displays the title of the priorities circled. Arrows are drawn from one priority to another

The tool helps to:

• Focus on the market and customer
• Identify key priorities
• Understand their relationship to each other
• Understand the best most important cause and efforts priorities that will help lead the organization to its desired result s
• Develop a healthy long-term perspective

The financial perspective looks at creating shareholder value - through optimized cost structures and growth through expansion.

The customer perspective focuses on identifying customer and market segments, defining product / service attributes, targeting, acquiring and maintaining good relations with customers, as well as company branding are discussed.

Internal focuses on operations. The tool will help you focus on those processes most crucial to help you succeed. There four different type of processes:

• Operations management processes: Those utilized to produce and deliver your goods and services.
• Customer management processes: Those that involve targeting, acquiring and keeping your clients.
• Innovation processes: Those that entail : identifying opportunities for new products and services; managing your research and development portfolio; designing and developing new products and services; and, bringing new products and services to market.
• Regulatory and social: - These that encompass legal provisions and societal norms (e.g., litigation, environmental , health, safety)

All of the aforementioned areas are supported by people, informational, and organizational capacity.