[Interview] Peter Kahihu, Executive Director- Programs Execution, Balanced Scorecard Institute
Peter Kahihu is Executive Director of the Programs Execution at Balanced Scorecard Institute EMEA. He is a veteran in the field of strategy execution and author of four best selling books on Strategic Planning, Balanced Scorecard, Government Performance Management and Public Sector Reforms. Africa Business Communities interviews him on the current programs and events of the Institute:
Could you introduce us to the Balanced Scorecard Institute EMEA and your role in it?
Balanced Scorecard Institute EMEA is a strategy management company that provides training, certification and consulting and technology services to commercial, government and non-profit organizations. I am the Executive Director in charge of programs execution in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
How has your experience in the industry assisted you in running the Institute?
Having worked in strategic planning, business strategy and management positions for key institutions like Strategic Leadership Centre International, CFC Stanbic Bank, PWC, Polaroid (USA) and 3M (USA) among others, I have experienced firsthand the difference it makes for companies that embrace best practice strategic planning, execution and results based performance management. I have also authored four best-selling books on Strategic Planning, Balanced Scorecard, Government Performance Management and Public Sector Reforms following my experience in these fields.
How does Balanced Scorecard assist organizations to manage performance beyond bottomline profits and sales?
Any institution is guided by its mission, vision and of course the people driving these values. Typically institutions tend to focus on financial aspects, profits and sales. This approach is no longer delivering desired results. This is because focus was not given to the real value drivers such as customer service, customer loyalty and the employee satisfaction and culture, which are key to delivering results. Organizations were generally more operational driven. Balanced Scorecard is more forward-looking and strategic. It’s about how to manage your future performance today, by focusing efforts on the real drivers of performance on a more regular basis as opposed to the traditional and outdated annual performance reviews.
Balanced Scorecard Institute is the only organization that trains and certifies in the 10 Steps XSP process. Tell a bit more about it?
Our unique execution success process (XSP) is the only integrated strategy execution system proven to deliver breakthrough results. This BSCi EMEA’s 10-Step Execution Success Process shows you how to construct and sustain a strategy management system tailored to your organization. It walks managers through the process of developing the strategy to successful execution applying the system’s thinking approach.
Our goal is to become your long-term partner, earning your trust through our expertise, excellent advisory skills and commitment to your success.
One aspect of benchmarking for employees in Africa is performance contracting. How would you rate its success in the continent?
Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana and Kenya have developed performance contract systems to manage productivity of their public sectors. From our analyses, we have noted that the results of performance contracting have been mixed. In some countries, there has been a general and sustained public enterprise improvement. In others, public enterprises have not responded or have been prevented by government policies from doing so. Public enterprises in Africa are suffering financially, many seeking financial assistance. Their problems stem from unclear and conflicting objectives and a lack of autonomy and accountability.
The other major problem is the lack of expertise in coming up with great execution frameworks that ensure that people, processes and resources are effectively aligned to the strategy.
Are there success stories of balanced scorecard in Africa that you can speak on?
In the countries where we have a presence including Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia, Botswana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria, Lesotho, Swaziland and Sudan we have noted a structured and impressive uptake of our services as businesses increasingly become aware of the need to execute their strategies and to streamline activities in accordance to the vision and mission of those organizations. We have received impressive feedback from organizations that say that it has become easier for them to manage employees, stick to and meet targets while managing risks.
One of your flagship products is the Perfomancesoft Software. Explain in a nutshell what this is?
We have developed Performancesoft software to address a market gap in effective strategy execution through automation. This software is the only one of its kind in the world developed by the strategy and balanced scorecard expert practitioners. It has over 500 customers spanning from public and private businesses and organisations, including energy, oil & gas, Government Municipalities, banking and finance, shipping, manufacturing, education, healthcare, media and communications. It has an international presence in over 23 countries through its offices and strategic partnerships. In a nutshell it assists businesses to more effectively manage performance through building dashboards, enterprise reports and balanced scorecards.
What sets Performancesoft apart from other softwares?
Performancesoft is the only tool with a proven combination of highly specialized solution meant for Strategy Execution, Balanced Scorecard and Performance Management backed by a team of system implementation consultants who are experts in the Strategy Execution, Balanced Scorecard and Performance Management areas and have delivered numerous successful projects globally.
PerformanceSofts' flexibility accommodates any Corporate Performance Management framework, including the Balanced Scorecard, Malcolm Baldrige, Six Sigma, JCAHO or any custom framework you may have.
What difference does real time performance review make compared to annual review for organizations?
By having constant and up-to-date reviews, organizations are able to keep a pulse on the company’s progress and identify a hiccup early enough. Provision of consistent feedback on the employees’ performance development goals throughout the year also helps to keep employees focused on performance. This also allows the organization to generate a rich set of data related to the employee’s unique contributions and impact across the year.
Where do you see performance management and strategy execution heading in years to come?
With the evolution of innovation and companies embracing new age technologies to drive growth and find value in their staff, we see more uptake of tools and technologies that are cost effective and real time and solutions like Perfomancesoft Software will be at the center stage redefining company’s performance management and overall strategic planning.
There are a series of upcoming Masters Classes on International Balanced Scorecard Certification. Who can attend and what do participants stand to gain?
Yes we have a set of Master classes coming up in Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland. These are very comprehensive courses tailored to be useful to participants with varying degrees of previous background in designing and implementing performance management systems in governments and private sector. All managers with people management responsibilities can attend. We will have topics like building a results based management system through the 10 steps, balanced scorecard and results based management- the convergence and aligning operational excellence to strategy among others.
You can find more details on our website.
www.linkedin.com/in/peter-kahihu
www.performancesoft.org
www.balancedscorecard.co.uk
