Perform like Verstappen : a Balanced Scorecard in four steps

Tracking indicators is a waste of time! what you need is to steer your company’s performance, achieving strategic objectives and creating value.

Easy said, but not so simple in real life. For example:

• How do you transform your strategic ambitions into measurable realities?

• How do you engage all people in charge of performance?

Here is the answer: Balanced Scorecard (BSC).

The BSC is not just a tool. It’s a performance management approach that connects purpose (strategy), impact (value creation), and people.

Yet, it’s often misunderstood. It has nothing to do with dashboards that are generally disconnected from strategic objectives and value creation models. The result? A loss of focus, disengaged teams, and limited impact.

In this article, I share best practices to create your Balanced Scorecard and boost performance. Get ready—it’s going to be a game-changer!

1. The Balanced Scorecard for dummies

Let’s get the boring part out of the way: the Balanced Scorecard is a method that links performance management to a company’s strategy and value creation model. What does this really mean?

Strategic Objectives: “sure, we know where we are going”

What are the company’s medium- and long-term strategic goals? Increasing market share, entering new customer segments or territories, innovating and expanding product or service offerings, boosting profitability, etc.

Value Creation Model: “we gonna make lots of money”

How can the company create value? Revenue growth, changes in business mix, improved profitability, cost reduction or reallocation, optimized use of capital, etc.

Performance Levers: “let’s focus on what makes a difference”

What performance levers can the company activate? Commercial efficiency, customer satisfaction, innovation and time to market, cost optimization and allocation, working capital reduction, employee engagement, and skill development, etc.

By linking these three perspectives, the BSC creates a comprehensive and coherent view of performance. You no longer just look at financial numbers—you anticipate, prioritize, and engage. You’re the pilot!

2. I get it ; now how do I get there? And please Keep It Super Simple

The success of a Balanced Scorecard relies on a simple methodology. Here are the key steps:

Clarify Your Strategy and Objectives

Everything starts with your ambitions for the next 3–5 years.

• What are your strategic priorities and financial objectives?

• How will these objectives translate into value creation?

• What are the main drivers to achieve these goals?

Example: If your main objective is to double cash flow in three years, identify concrete drivers, such as revenue growth, EBITDA margin improvement, changes in business mix, or reducing CAPEX and working capital.

Ask yourself:

• Are your strategic priorities clear?

• Are your financial goals defined and measurable?

• Have you identified the drivers to achieve these objectives?

• Is this approach shared by your teams?

Identify Your Key Performance Levers (KPLs)

A BSC without key performance levers is ineffective. KPLs are the major actions that directly influence your results and help achieve your objectives. This is where you want people to focus.

Example: To drive revenue growth, performance levers may include innovation efficiency, product offerings, marketing, sales teams, or customer relationship quality.

Ask yourself:

• To achieve financial goals, what performance levers should we act on?

• What are the 8–10 levers with the highest impact?

• Where are the biggest opportunities for improvement?

Choose Relevant Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are the concrete measures to evaluate the implementation of performance levers. With 15–20 KPIs, you can track the selected levers effectively.

Criteria for a good KPI: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Example: To reduce working capital, focus on optimizing supplier payment terms, reducing customer receivables, and minimizing unpaid invoices. Define starting points and targets, then monitor actions and their impact.

KPIs should be attributed to parts of the organization responsible for achieving them. Some KPIs are shared across teams (e.g., employee NPS, organizational health, cost objectives), while others are department-specific (e.g., revenue, time to market, working capital).

Formalize Your Balanced Scorecard

Connect objectives, levers, and indicators to visualize cause-effect relationships.

Example: “Improve customer satisfaction” → “Increase retention” → “Boost profitability.”

In two pages, you can visualize objectives, performance levers, and key indicators. This becomes your shared language and collective management tool.

3. Sounds simple! Any trick for a successful implementation ?

Well, a Balanced Scorecard is not a one-off project—You are embarking on a journey, a very valuable one that breaks silos, aligns priorities, and fosters engagement. So you’d better watch out a few things:

• Get everyone engaged and aligned: Strategic priorities must be understood by everyone, from executives to operational teams.

• KISS: Keep It super Simple, limit KPIs to 15–20. Focus on what truly matters and eliminate unnecessary dashboards.

• Give it time and attention: Integrate the BSC into performance reviews (weekly, monthly, quarterly) to discuss actions, adjust measures, and ensure relevance over time.

4. Success Story: Signify

At Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), we implemented and sustained the Balanced Scorecard.

Objective: Improve profitability and cash flow generation. Main levers: Client base growth, service development, price increases, cost control, working capital reduction, team engagement. Results over three years:

• EBITDA margin +300 basis points.

• Cost reduction of €440M (-20%).

• Employee NPS +10 points.

Conclusion: Take Action!

The truth of the matter: the Balanced Scorecard is a catalyst for performance and engagement.

You only need 6–8 weeks to get it alive: define your BSC framework, objectives, drivers, performance levers, and KPIs to manage performance effectively.

Most of what you need already exists ! By linking and formalizing existing elements, you align all parts of the company—from leadership to operational teams—around shared goals.

This transforms strategy into measurable outcomes, boosts performance, and increases team engagement.

Ready to level up?

With Sust.ance I help companies take their performance to the next level, sustainably