2GC Active Management - News

2GC launch 2010 Balanced Scorecard Usage Survey

Gavin Lawrie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:57:07 +0000

Last year 2GC undertook a survey of Balanced Scorecard usage, using a mix of online, paper and interview based methods to gather data. The results of this survey were published by 2GC in October 2009,and these provided some fascinating insights into how Balanced Scorecard is being used by organisations today.

We are delighted to announce that we are running the survey again for 2010, and would very much like you to participate this year. You can complete the survey questions online, or visit the 2GC web site to download a PDF version of the survey that you can complete and then either fax or mail back to 2GC. As before, we would expect to publish the results in the Autumn of 2010 – if you let us know your contact information we will send you an advance copy of the results.

The survey will be better the more organisations we can get to participate. If you would like to help us distribute the survey, let us know.

2GC announces a worldwide partnership with TenStep Inc.

Gavin Lawrie — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:03:27 +0000

2GC is delighted to announce a new co-operative partnership agreement, with TenStep Inc.

TenStep is a specialist management consultancy and training firm that helps organisations implement proven project management practices, setting up and running Project Management Offices (PMOs), and establishing portfolio management processes. The agreement will enable and underpin co-operative working between 2GC and TenStep offices worldwide.

The agreement recognises the strong overlap that exists between strategic performance management and project management. Working together, 2GC and TenStep will be able to offer a more complete set of services to their clients.

Balanced Scorecard Training Course in Bahrain – April 2010

Gavin Lawrie — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:55:33 +0000

2GC has announced the date for a training course on Best Practice Balanced Scorecard Design in Bahrain. The course will be of particular interest to those in the Middle East. Although the course will be delivered in English, the course will benefit from the presence of one of 2GC’s experienced Arabic speaking Balanced Scorecard design consultants. In response to feedback from past participants on 2GC training events in the region, we hope that this enhancement to what is a popular and highly regarded programme will improve the quality of the course for participants whose first language is Arabic.

More information on this and other 2GC training events from our Training page.

Updated FAQ Added to 2GC Performance Management Resource Area

Gavin Lawrie — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:42:34 +0000

The practical value of a Balanced Scorecard can only be realised if it gets used. In this updated FAQ called “How can I maximise the chances of successfully implementing Balanced Scorecard?”, we discuss four things to consider on when you are planning the design of a Balanced Scorecard, each of which if done well will improve the chances that your Balanced Scorecard will deliver its full potential in your organisation.

The FAQ highlights that Balanced Scorecard is a human process – having the best selection of measures and targets is not enough to ensure success. During the design process, and after it is complete, you need to pay attention to how you ensure that the Balanced Scorecard content is reported, seen by managers, considered as relevant by them, and acted upon when needed.

Get your copy of the FAQ from the FAQs area of this site.

Updated FAQ Added to 2GC Performance Management Resource Area

Gavin Lawrie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:15:35 +0000

Core to much of 2GC’s work is the idea that managers can control how an organisation pursues its strategic goals. This process of articulating and acting upon strategic goals is generally known as “Strategic Control”. Strategic Control theories have had a big influence on how strategic Balanced Scorecards are designed. In this FAQ we introduce the concept, and explain why the design methods adopted for strategic Balanced Scorecards needs to be different those used to Balanced Scorecards developed for other purposes.

This topic was covered in one of the first FAQ Answers 2GC posted to the web, back in 2000. This version is an updated and rewritten version of the original, and reflects some of the developments in thinking around the topic that has taken place over the last ten years.

Get your copy of the FAQ from the FAQs area of this site.

2GC Balanced Scorecard Usage Survey 2009 – Results!

Gavin Lawrie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:39:55 +0000

In the Autumn of 2008, 2GC ran a survey based research project to find out more about Balanced Scorecard Usage. The survey considered three questions:

what kinds of Balanced Scorecard are in use within organisations today?
what are the Balanced Scorecards used for?
do the Balanced Scorecards work?

A summary of the findings of this study are now available for you to download from our Resources area, and it contains some fascinating insights. The good news is that in most of the organisations involved in the survey, the Balanced Scorecard was seen to be an effective and useful tool. But it was disappointing to find that a significant proportion of the organisations participating were missing out on some of the potential benefits available by not following current best-practice methods and thinking.

Get your copy of the report from the Resources area of this site.

New Capabilities in the Middle East

Gavin Lawrie — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:06:14 +0000

2GC is based in the UK, but we work all over the world. Our very first project in 1999 was to support the design and implementation of an international system of strategic Balanced Scorecards for a multinational FMCG, and since then we have gone on to work for clients in (at the last count) 38 countries spread across five continents (see map). Over the last few years an increasing proportion of our work has been for clients in the Middle East, and we have been actively working to become better able to support these projects. Now, in addition to our base in Bahrain, we are pleased to announce that 2GC has begun putting in place the capability to provide its world-class performance management expertise in Arabic: if you would like to find out more, please visit our new information page in Arabic, or contact us directly for more information.

New features on the 2GC web site

Gavin Lawrie — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:01:36 +0000

Regular visitors to the 2GC web site will know that it is home to a highly regarded collection of resources of value to anyone looking to find out more about performance management topics, and Balanced Scorecard issues in particular. Regular visitors will also know that we regularly add to and update these resources.

This month we have added three new features to our site that will help you keep up to date with the latest updates, and give you the opportunity to comment on the information you find here:

RSS Updates - You can now learn about new things being added to the site through our RSS feed. If you have a suitable web browser, you simply need to click on the ‘RSS’ logo next to the web site address to ’subscribe’ to the 2GC web site. Then you’ll be notified periodically when new content is added to the site. Easy! Of course, if you prefer you can continue to subscribe to our Email Update service – through which you will get regular email updates (about one a month) letting you know what is happening on the site.
Comments – You will be soon able to add your thoughts / comments to some of the articles you read on our site. Because adding this feature requires some changes to how our web site works, to begin with the number of places you can comment will be pretty limited, but we will be increasing the coverage of this feature over the summer.
Leader archive – Each month we write a new lead article to go on our site’s ‘front page’. Some (like this one) simply cover changes to the site, but many take the form of comments and observations about performance management written by 2GC’s consulting team. In future, rather than just vanishing at the end of the month, the best of these contributions will remain available – so if you read something you find interesting you will have the opportunity to dig back into the archives to find more comments on similar topic areas.

I hope you like the changes we are making to the site. I look forward to hearing your feedback!

Gavin Lawrie
Founder & Managing Director, 2GC

2GC: Happy 10th Anniversary!

Gavin Lawrie — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:44:57 +0000

2GC opened its doors in April 1999 – a small firm starting out on its journey with little more than a lot of enthusiasm and its first contract: to deliver one Balanced Scorecard design project for a European FMCG. Over the decade that followed, 2GC pursued its vision to become recognised as a global leader in the field of performance management consultancy with passion and dedication. 2GC has grown in size and experience: we have now worked in over 35 countries across five continents for clients from the private, public and non-governmental sectors, for everything from major international organisations to small family businesses. Looking forward to the next ten years, our aim is to continue our international growth: check out our new French language page on the website (it will soon be joined by one in arabic).

Of course having been in business for a decade is not enough for our continued success, and we continue to challenge ourselves to deepen our understanding of Performance Management – and develop new and improved ways of working to enable us to deploy this understanding for the benefit of our clients. One of the reasons we invest our time and effort in producing training courses, writing FAQ Answers, case studies and research papers is to keep ourselves as close to the forefront of knowledge in our field as we can. This month, as is our habit, we have updated several areas of the site – including adding a new management briefing and a new case study.

Gavin Lawrie
Managing Director, 2GC

Come on a 2GC Balanced Scorecard Training Course!

Gavin Lawrie — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:01:07 +0000

If you find our site and documentation interesting, learn more by coming on a 2GC Training course. Our highly interactive two-day training courses have received exceptional reviews from those attending, and represent excellent value for money. Click on the link below to find out more.

Our next UK Balanced Scorecard training course is in March 2010.