Creating your Own Strategy Map and Strategic Picture:
This video explains a method for the difficult-but-essential and Highly Rewarding task of creating your Strategy Map and adding in the Visionary Statements to create your Strategic Picture.

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Video Script:- Creating your Strategy Map - This includes lists of Example Objectives for each Perspective.

A Strategic Plan is a multi-layered structure of targets and goals;
- core goals, strategic goals, performance goals, activity goals and monthly goals.

The Strategy Map deals with the Strategic Goals which are commonly called Objectives.
These provide a link between the statements defined in the Visionary Goals (Vision/Mission group) and the Balanced Scorecard Performance Goals (such as KPI/KRA objectives grid columns), as defined in the Balanced Scorecard.

Strategic Plan Definition Visionary Goals -> <- Strategic Goals -> <- Balanced Scorecard      Performance Goals Visionary Statements STRATEGY MAP Balanced Scorecard Core Goal, Vision, Mission, Slogan, Market. Perspectives & Purpose Descriptions Objectives & Objective Destinations. Strategy Map Objectives, Key Performance Indicator, Key Result Area, Key Responsibility Area, Measures and Scores.

What is a Strategy Map?

1. The Strategy Map is an active data table or grid, with a defined row structure.

2. Each Layer or Row is called a Perspective and it contains a number of medium-term goals, commonly called Strategic Objectives.
A persective can have the one layer, which sometimes spans accross two or more actual rows to provide an improved linkage layout.
Hence it is common to use the terminology "Perspective Layer Rows", implying one layer may contain one or more actual rows.

3. Upward pointing arrows are normally drawn between the objectives to indicate either cause & effect or strategic support.

4. From top down there are 4 common perspectives:
  Finance, Customer, Internal Business Process plus Learning & Growth.
Alternatively the bottom row is sometimes called: Research & Development, Organizational Capacity, Employees and Resources or a combination of these.
An extra perspective row is sometimes added to provide a special focus, such as Safety when applied to a Dangerous Environment.

5. The top row or layer is often considered to be the Organizational Public Interface and these Objectives in this row should show support for the Visionary statements.
Inside the map, each row is supported by the layer or row below, as indicated by the arrows.

6. These objectives are considered to be replacing the earlier concept known as Critical Success Factors.
However you can still use the CSF term by renaming the text Objective to Success Factor (many people rename the objective to use the terms Goals or Targets).
Also it is possible to add a CSF column into the Objective or Initiative grids.

7. The map objectives with the arrows are also considered to be the replacement for the previously used Value Chain concept which indicated cause & effect or process flow.
Many people consider the Strategy Map to be a group of linked or companion Value Chains.

8. Strategy Maps can often illustrate a primary Critical Success Factor objective, such as a funding goal or an overall product quality issue.
In which case you would expect to see a number of arrows pointing both towards and away from any CSF objective.


Strategy Map Categories:

There are many categories of Strategy Maps and it is possible to classify them this way.
1. Reason for Existence.
2. Industry Application.
3. Map Structure Types.
4. Map Phases.
5. Map Focus Areas or Themes.
6. Descriptive Statements.

Reason for Existence:
Strategy Maps can exist to define either an Organizational Operation or a Project Completion plan. Project maps are great and fit well into the Balanced Scorecard scheme, but do this in the knowledge that your map is a project map.

Map Type Reason for Existence Objective Statements Strategy Map Align the organizational operations with the corporate goals and visionary statements. Statements tend to be slightly abstract and orientated towards the bigger overall picture. Project Map Achieve a set outcome either with a particular project or for a project-orientated organization. Statements will need to indicate a specific outcome. Arrows may not always point upwards.

Our examples here will deal with Third Generation Strategy Maps not Project Maps, but there is much similarity.

Industry Application:
Strategy Maps can also be categorized by the industry style that they are applied to.
Some industry groups have applied and moved much further with this concept than others.

In Engineering & Technology Industries:
 - Whenever you have an active layered structure there will always be issues with the junction between the layers.
   - These are called the layer interfaces.
 - It is essential to have clearly defined cause-effect and value-chain interfaces.
 - These interfaces are sometimes defined using a Service Level Agreement contract, commonly called an SLA.

Application 3rd Generation Statements Other Definitions Engineering & Technology Perspective Purpose, Objective Description and Destination. Objective Arrow connections define SLA, Cause-Effect and Support. Major Corporate Objective Description and Destination. Possible SLA. Medium Office Objective Destination

Structure Types:
There are 3 basic Strategy Map structures with a focus on the top row, or external interface as the organizational outcome or product.

For example, a sales department sells operational solutions bu reassuring the customer.
So what they are really selling is quality customer service and product knowledge, which when added to a tool provides some kind of automated or labour saving solution.

The map top row is either Customer or Finance, depending on the organizational output focus.

Organizational Map Type Funding Visionary Statement Supported by Location of Finance Row Finance Row Supported by Financially Focussed organization Critical Finance Top Level Customer Customer Focussed Sales organization Closely Linked Customer Second Level Internal Process Government or internal service department Indefinite & Budget based Customer Mid or Lower levels Budget Submissions

Strategy Map Phases:
Strategy Maps also have Activity and Outcome phases and the definitions of these can sometimes illustrate differences between government and commercial.

The Government Stakeholders are the people who pay taxes and vote at the elections.
Commercial Stakeholders are either the owners or shareholders.

Commmercial Rows or Layers Phase Stakeholders Happy Outcome Make Profit Outcome Customers Happy Outcome Organise Products Activity Organise Operations Activity Train Staff Activity

Government Rows or Layers Phase Electoral Success Outcome Government Happy Outcome Customers Happy Outcome Manage Projects Activity Obtain funding Activity Budget Submissions Activity

Strategy Map Focus Areas or Themes:
Some Strategy Maps may also define Themes or Focus Areas.

These are simply groups of Objectives that may range across multiple rows anywhere in the map, for the purpose of applying a focus.
A theme is any concept that can be represented by two or more Objectives, and you can choose the names according to your needs.

Generally speaking the use of Themes is not a well used concept for these reasons:
1. There is a lot of design work to be done with the map before you can consider showing the Themes, even if they are pre-defined.
2. There are many maps where the existing Objectives actually represent the Themes as they need to be measured.
3. Themes or focus areas are sometimes added as Perspective Rows.

However there is no doubt that when the Strategy Map is complex, the use of Themes will aid the management of a strategic Plan. In our Drill-Down Dashboard software module, the ability to cross reference the entire database by a theme is a powerful facility. Our software Version 5 will support the use of Themes.

Some examples of Themes are: Customer/Client Management, Operational Excellence, Stakeholder Needs, Organizational Needs, Innovation Management, Product Innovation, Sales Expansion, Performance management, Executive Enhancement, Compliance & Communication, Brand Development, Fiscal Responsibility & Success, High Quality Programs, Superior Customer service, Accountability & Efficiency, Teaching & Learning Excellence, Himan Capital, Information Capital, Organizational Capital, plus just about anything that applies to your business.

These Themes or Facets are used in the Cranfield University Performance Prism:
SWAN: Stakeholder Wants & Needs
OWAN: Organizational Wants and Needs
OPEX: Operational Excellence

Strategy Map Descriptive Statements:
As the concept of the Balanced Scorecard progressed, users found that they needed to know the reason for the choice of all Strategy Map Perspectives and Objectives.
To provide improved motivation, management also needed to demonstrate that these medium-level strategic goals are permanent and defendable.

Hence each Perspective and Objective should be backed up by statements that explain and defend their existence. These are commonly called 3rd Generation Balanced Scorecard Statements.

As mentioned below many Strategy Maps have the customer as the top row, however this is ultimately a decision that the author needs to make. This example puts the finance perspective at the top and shows the perspective purpose statements.

Perspective Description or Purpose Finance Our stakeholder wants and needs will be fully satisfied through innovative initiatives which will maintain and improve our financial performance. Customer We will strive to always impress our customers through innovative product provision, proactive industry knowledge and productive relationships. Internal Business Process Our staff will constantly focus on Operational Excellence issues including safety, efficiency and proactivity. Learning & Growth To achieve our operational performance, our staff will perform learning based initiatives that will enhance organizational capability.

Strategy Map with the External Interface or top row as Finance:

In the situation where you have Finance as the top perspective row, you are probably focussed on maximising shareholder returns.
The row below will probably be the customers, as this is your source of funding and therefore supports the Finance objectives.
Below this, all rows exist to support the customer.

Perspective Row Objective Destination Interfaces Finance These Objectives are here to define your external interface. 1. Strategic Visionary Statements 2. Banks 3. Stakeholders Customer Objectives must support the finance rows. Customer Sales = money. Finance Objectives can succeed as planned. Internal Business Process What are we going to do to achieve our customer objectives? All customer objectives depend on these processes. Learning & Growth (or Research & Development) What will we do to support improvement to our Internal Processes? We must improve our products and processes by research and learning.

When the External Public Interface Layer is the Customer:

If you are a customer focussed sales or service organization, then this model may suit you and it may be that this model suits some government organizations.

1. You declare that your primary external interface is the customer and everything you do is Customer focussed.
2. The Sales-Finance Income link is assumed. So you automatically get increased profit from improved sales to better quality customers.

Shown here the Finance Perspective supports the customer level.
Some Finance Objectives may not point any higher, in which case they would be supporting the Visionary Statements.

Perspective Row Objective Destination Interfaces Customer Improved customer satisfaction and loyalty creates greater income, which leads to better development. How does the customer see you? Would the customer recommend you to others? What more does the customer want? Finance Define Sales Improvement targets. Budget support for the sales team. Finance General Financial outcomes. Improve Efficiency & Stakeholder Dividends. Internal Process What are we going to do to achieve our finance and customer objectives? All Customer and Finance objectives depend on these processes. Learning & Growth (or Research & Development) What will we do to support improvement to our Internal Processes? We must improve our products and processes by research and learning.

Some people prefer that Finance supports Internal Process layer and this then supports the Customer layer.
If you are a government department, then this may well be the case.
Hence you may decide to position the Finance layer rows further down in the map and create an extra perspective for Project Funding.


Design and Analyse Perspective Layer Rows:

It is your Strategy Map and it depends on your industry knowledge.
You create it by surveying the bigger picture and making a value judgement based on how the layers work inside your organization.

It is natural that most people will have difficulty designing & creating Strategy Maps, this is often because their initial focus is too broad.
In creating a Strategy Map, you are taking a real world situation and forcing this into a layered structure.
It can be helpful if you focus on one perspective layer or row at a time.

1. Determine your initial focus for each Perspective Layer, starting at the top and working down.
2. Consider the relationship with the other adjacent layers.
  - How does this layer exist?
  - Is the layer in the correct position?
  - Should we define any SLA style support agreements?
3. When you have defined your layers and know why they exist, the Objectives in each layer row will fall into place, according to their need to support the layers above.
4. Improve what you have created over time with assistance from work associates.
6. Add 3rd generation statements that say why you have chosen that Objective and where it is heading.

So when you have broken down the Map into layers or rows, it becomes easier to decide each row of Objectives based on what needs to be supported above.
  - Looking at each perspective row, we can decide what needs to be done from a bigger picture framework.
  - Remember that it is not the job of the Strategy Map to get involved in the applied processes; this is what the Balanced Scorecard does when it defines how each strategic objective applies to each employee.


Creating Objectives:

Keep the Objectives broad so that they can be assigned to people from multiple departments, this allows them to effectively engage and collaborate.
The employees will use this to build success-orientated communication links within the organization.
Often you will find that some or your Objectives seem to have more of a project flavour and hence they would naturally have a shorter time focus.
  - They may be important this year but be changed or removed the following year.

One option might be to make them a bit more abstract or general so that the Strategy Map Objective is unchanged for three years.

Alternatively you might choose to merge these in with some other more permanent Objective.
You can then use a KPI/KRA to define the objective goal.

Hence you avoided the difficult task of changing the organizational Strategy Map in the future.
  - You have assigned the KPI or KRA to deal with this project task.
  - The allocation and the Initiative activities can be varied from year to year.

The primary immediate outcome of the objective definition process is to enhance staff collaboration on each objective:
  - 1. Staff should form teams from different departments to focus on each Objective.
    - The Balanced Scorecard software should show who else in the Organization is working towards this Objective.
  - 2. Objective Teams should provide presentations to other staff and take pride in their work.
  - 3. You should expect improved Objective Collaboration, Engagement and Performance.


Summary:

This presentation defines how some people would create a Strategy Map.
There are as many methods and map styles as there are industry groups and categories.
We hope that this is useful as a guide for creating you own Strategy Map.
In producing this presentation we have used Layer & Row Theory to define what a Strategy Map actually is, and to position it inside the overall Strategic Plan.
We believe that once the rows are carefully defined, if is much easier to create each objectives within each row.

We provide the following example objectives with the warning that it is industry standard practice not to copy existing definitions.
It is highly recommended that you maintain a focus on your own industry environment and work from this platform, and only use the examples as a guide.

Thankyou for downloading and viewing this training video


Some Useful Example Objectives:

In occasions may find that your Objectives are too specific or that they may be reactive, only to become less relevant in the following year.
Hence it might be wise to consider combining them into something that is suitably proactive.

Finance Objectives:
- Achieve All Project Budgets.
- Achieve All Operating budgets.
- Broaden Revenue Mix.
- Build a Staff Loyalty Recognition Program.
- Build Francise Income Streams.
- Cross-Sell our Current Product Line.
- Cover Costs of Every Service Division.
- Financially Self Sustaining Operations.
- Grow Contingency Fund.
- Grow Revenues.
- Improve Asset Utilization and Management.

- Improve Credit Insurance and Administration services.
- Improve Cash Flow and Profit.
- Improve Cost Productivity.
- Improve Cost Structures.
- Improve Returns.
- Improve Return on Capital.
- Increase Asset utilization.
- Increase Sales Revenue through better products.
- Increase Targeted Revenues.
- Increase Profitability Through Premium Brand Selection.
- Increase Turnover and profit.
- Increase Global Consulting Margin.
- Invest in Improved Facilities & Infrastructure.
- Maintain High Level Risk Management.
- Manage Resources to meet Strategic Priority Requirements.
- Manage Organizational and Staff Performance.
- Manage Unit Costs of Information Technology Components.
- Maximise Available Funding.
- Maximise Business Unit Value Creation.
- Maximise Benefit/Cost Ratios.
- Meet and Exceed Meet Regulatory Compliance Requirements.
- Meet & Exceed Headcount Targets.
- Optimize financial resources and capital deployment.
- Optimize Available Resources to Achieve Value.
- Optimize Financial Assistance Programs.
- Optimize Reinvestment and Divestment Opportunities.
- Protect & Grow Financial Assets.
- Provide Sustained Shareholder Value.
- Provide Timely & Accurate Financial Reporting with Full Disclosure.
- Provide Sustained Value Creation.
- Provide Attractive Customer Financial Solutions.
- Reduce Costs.
- Reduce Cost of Doing Business.
- Reduce Equipment Purchase Time Delays.
- Reduce Sales & Product Costs.
- Reduce Waste.
- Reward Prompt Paying Customers.
- Stakeholder Wants & Needs.
- Strategically Invest & Divest.
- Understand Customer Market Segments.
- Undertake Sustainable Growth.
- Utilize Funds & Assets Efficiently.

Customer Objectives:
- Achieve Business Unit Customer Strategies.
- Acquire and Grow New Customers.
- Add & Retain High Value Customers.
- Extensive Industry and Product knowledge.
- Enhance Product & Service Attributes.
- Friendly & Helpful Employees.
- Recognise Customer Loyalty.
- Build customer relationships.
- Build Efficient, High Quality Supplier Partnerships.
- Build Training Systems Focussed on Meaningful Outcomes.
- Conduct Industry and Product training courses.
- Create Permanently Loyal Customers and Clients.
- Create Long Term Customer Base.
- Create Collaborative Relationships.
- Cultivate Stable Contacts and Supplier Relationships.
- Customer Projects are Completed Sucessfully.
- Delete Unprofitable Product Lines.
- Deliver Quality Service Always.
- Deliver As Promised.
- Demonstrate Competitive Cost Factors.
- Engage Additional Market Segments.
- Enhance Customer value.
- Enhance Product Innovation.
- Increase Safety and Security.
- Increase Revenue Per Customer.
- Increase Customer Confidence in our Advice.
- Increase Customer Satisfaction Level.
- Increase Customer Satisfaction through Superior Service and Support.
- Increase Capacity to Create Customer Value.
- Improve Brand and Product Awareness.
- Improve Product Range Expansion, Functionality.
- Improve Product Quality and Availability.
- Improve Customer Experience.
- Improve Core Customer Retention.
- Improve Customer Satisfaction Survey Results.
- Improve Program Outcomes.
- Improve Company reputation.
- Improve Market Share.
- Improve Repeat Customer Count.
- Maintain Efficient Market Communication and High Quality Product Support Service.
- Offer a Compelling Array of Services.
- Provide the Highest Quality Customer Care and Service.
- Provide Premier Networking Platform.
- Product Price Reduction.
- Provide Packaged Product Solutions.
- Provide Opportunities for Technical & Professional Growth.
- Provide an image of Professionalism & Competance.
- Prompt, Friendly and Courteous Complaint Resolution.
- Responsive, Efficient, Effective Service Delivery.
- Retain and Enhance existing customer base.
- Reduce Customer Service Error Rate.
- Reduce Customer Request Fulfillment Times.
- Reduce Delivery Times and Costs.
- Service Levels are Met as Promised.
- Simplify Customer Enrollment Process.
- Thoughtfully Guide Clients Through Change Management.

Internal Business Process Objectives (or Operations):
- Actively Manage Risk and Regulatory Compliance.
- Acquire New Customer Base.
- Adhere to Common Professional Organization Standards.
- Always Strive to Get it Right First Time.
- Appropriate Information Technology Systems.
- Articulate and Negotiate All Relevant Critical Issues.
- Assure Policy & Procedure Compliance.
- Build Research, Policy, Analyical & Operational Capacity.
- Comply with Regulatory & Social Processes.
- Create Superior Support Systems.
- Cultivate strong Relationships with Stakeholders.
- Cultivate an interconnected and mobile team.
- Deep Knowledge of Relevant Business Strategy Tools.
- Develop New Technology Products & Platforms.
- Develop & Communicate All Policies and Procedures.
- Develop Superior Leadership & Management Skills.
- Deliver on Schedule and As Promised.
- Engage User-Driven Product Development Information.
- Enhance Effective Policy Development.
- Enhance Integrated Multi-Disciplinary Teams.
- Enhance Change Management.
- Ensure Effective Organizational Internal Communication.
- Ensure Data Quality & Integrity.
- Ensure Organizational Insurance Needs are Accurate and Covered.
- Ensure Skills and Knowledge Match our Strategic Direction.
- Ensure Corporate Compilance Conditions Met.
- Ensure Apprpriate Staff Access to Strategic Information.
- Ensure Customer Problem Response is Rapid and Finalized on Time.
- Effectively Manage All Risks and Accidents.
- Efficient Sales Channel Process.
- Effectively Manage Operation & Customers.
- Effectively Manage Regulatory and Social Responsibilities.
- Effectively Support Users.
- Elevate Marketing to an Executive Functional Level.
- Enhance IT Information Systems and Delivery.
- Fast and Fair Settlement of All Claims.
- Fulfill Assigned Project Roles.
- Increase acquisitions.
- Improve Supply Chain Logistics.
- Improve Production and Business Process Efficiency.
- Improve Operational Excellence and Efficiency.
- Improve Distribution Efficiency.
- Improve Core Systems & Processes.
- Improve Staff Motivation & Production.
- Improve Strategic Awareness.
- Improve Strategic Alignment of Personal Goals.
- Improve Business Unit Productivity and Efficiency.
- Improve Staff Morale and Empowerment.
- Improve Staff Strategic Skills.
- Improve Staff Dedication.
- Improve Efficiency.
- Improve Knowledge Sharing.
- Improve Service and Product Range.
- Improve Regulatory Compliance.
- Improve Product or Service Marketing.
- Improve Effective Staff and Business Communication.
- Improve Production Processes.
- Improved Partnership Program.
- Keenly Integrate Innovative Tools and Principles.
- Leverage All Growth Areas.
- Manage Leadership Development.
- Maximise Use of Reliable Technology.
- Maintain Secure IT Systems.
- Modernize Member and Provider Portals.
- Minimise Unscheduled Outages.
- Meet and Exceed Organizational Wants and Needs.
- Meet and Exceed Quality Standards.
- Optimise IT Internal Operations.
- Optimize Enabling Science & Technology.
- Proactively Attract and Retain High Quality Staff.
- Promote Customer Competencies through Effective Product Lines.
- Promote & Provide Standardized IT Platforms.
- Provide Strong Commercial Appeal for all Products and Services.
- Provide Attractive & Efficient Workplace with First Class Facilities.
- Provide a Stimulating Environment that Engages and Retains quality staff.
- Retire Inefficient Legacy Systems.
- Realise & Activate Economies of Scale.
- Reduce Workplace Accidents and Improve Workplace Safety.
- Reduce Employee Absentee levels.
- Ruthlessy Eliminate Causes of Failure.
- Realise Economy of Scale Economics.
- Research, Analyze & Disseminate All Relevant and Critical Information.
- Reduce Product defects.
- Reduce Company Equipment failures.
- Reduce Production Cycle Times.
- Reduce Production Cycle Times.
- Strive for Administrative Excellence.
- Strengthen and Motivate Staff Performance.
- Support and Comply with All Legislative Processes.
- Understand Emerging IT Applications.
- Work Smarter across the Organization.

Learning & Growth or Research & Development or Organizational Capacity Objectives:
- Aggressively Grow Research Income through Loans and Partnerships.
- Align Employee Personal Goals.
- Adopt new technologies.
- Build Award-Winning Leadership programs.
- Build an Organizational Learning Culture.
- Create a Culture of Learning and Development.
- Create a Climate for Action.
- Create additional sources of profitable income.
- Create New Business Opportunities.
- Climate for Action: Awareness, Alignment, Readiness & Motivation.
- Create and Develop an advanced and effective board of Directors.
- Design Improved & Innovative Products.
- Develop an Empowered Accountable Workforce.
- Develop & Enhance a Leadership Skills Program.
- Develop additional marketing, sales and supply channels.
- Develop Franchise systems.
- Develop Key Skills.
- Ensure Leadership and Management Excellence.
- Focus on Employee Career Development.
- Fully Utilize Staff Skills and Professional Interests.
- Identify and Improve Appropriate Communications Facilities.
- Improve Innopvation management.
- Improve Teaching & Learning Effectiveness.
- Implement Product Cross-Training Schedule.
- Improve Skill base.
- Improve Internal Communication.
- Improve Staff Training.
- Increase Staff Quality.
- Increase Employee Expertise.
- Maintain awareness of Emerging Technologies.
- Motivate and inspire staff to become more committed and involved.
- Optimize Human Resources.
- Promote an Innovation Culture.
- Seek Competent Key Technical Talent Always.
- Seek & Optimise Technology.
- Strengthen Competitive Spirits.
- Supply Proactive and Innovative Leadership.
- Sustain Skills in Enabling Technologies.


Example Strategy Maps
We will soon be providing example Strategy Maps under our [Screens] button.