Palladium Group Announces Call for Nominations for the Prestigious Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy

Business Wire, March 03, 2009

Organizations that have achieved breakthrough performance results using the Balanced Scorecard are encouraged to apply

LINCOLN, Mass. -- Palladium Group, Inc., the global leader in helping organizations execute their strategies, today announced it is currently accepting nominations for the 2009 Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy™.

Organizations chosen for the Hall of Fame are best-practice exemplars of the five principles of a Strategy-Focused Organization (SFO) as defined by Drs. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, creators of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and SFO concepts.

“Competition for this award continues to grow as more organizations are realizing the benefits of adopting performance management systems,” said Robert L. Howie, Jr., Managing Director of Palladium and Director of the Hall of Fame program. “Applications were at an all-time high for the 2008 Hall of Fame. Each winner – past and present – was personally selected by Drs. Kaplan and Norton as the most successful in using the BSC to not only attain, but to continue achieving breakthrough results.”

The BSC, created by Kaplan and Norton, is the world’s predominant strategy execution framework. Based on the simple premise that “what gets measured is what gets done,” the BSC is also a performance management philosophy and system that links strategy to operations. The system continues to receive recognition as a strategic management tool that leads to improved shareholder returns. A recent study published in Advances in Accounting found that companies that adopt a BSC outperform firms that do not over a three-year period beginning with the first year of adoption.

Launched in 2000, the BSC Hall of Fame program publicly honors organizations that successfully use the BSC to achieve and sustain performance results. The 120 organizations inducted to date represent a broad cross-section of private- and public-sector industries from more than 19 countries across the globe. A Steuben crystal Rising Star, designed by Robert Cassetti, is presented to senior officers of each winning organization. Past winners of the prestigious award include such companies as Ricoh Corporation, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Wells Fargo. The roster of 2008 winners includes both public and private sector organizations, such as Weichert Relocation Resources, Inc. and the City of Corpus Christi.

“Our Balanced Scorecard program represents the most important business decision and business achievement that we have realized over the past decade,” according to Aram R. Minnetian, President of Weichert Relocation Resources, Inc. “It is a source of competitive advantage, and has made us a better company. I could not imagine leading our company without it.”

Applications are considered on a regional basis and are compared against others within that regional pool. The organizations that present the most compelling case in terms of how the BSC has helped them achieve significant results are most likely to be selected. In order to be considered for one of these coveted positions within the Hall of Fame, an organization must meet certain criteria:

• Implement the BSC as defined by the Kaplan/Norton management system
• Exemplify the 5 principles of a Strategy-Focused Organization
• Earn media recognition for its BSC implementation and present its BSC case at a public conference
• Achieve breakthrough results over a period of 24 months or longer
• Provide a testimonial from a senior executive attributing the organization's results in part to its BSC

Final selections are made by BSC creators Drs. Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton. The award is presented in person to executives of awardees’ organizations by Drs. Kaplan and Norton and Robert Howie at the Palladium Americas, Asia-Pacific, and EMEA Summits.

The application form is available on the Palladium Group website at http://www.thepalladiumgroup.com/about/hof/Pages/Nomination.aspx. Deadlines for submission vary by region.

In addition, a short case study on the winning organization will appear in the annual Palladium Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame Report published in partnership with Harvard Business Publishing (HBP). Some Hall of Fame organizations will also be featured in the bi-monthly newsletter, Balanced Scorecard Report, also published with HBP, or in an extended case study.

About Palladium Group, Inc.

Palladium Group is the global leader in helping organizations execute their strategies by making better decisions. Our expertise in strategy, risk, corporate performance management, and business intelligence helps clients achieve an execution premium. Our services include consulting, conferences, communities, training, and technology. Palladium’s Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame for Executing Strategy™ recognizes more than 120 organizations worldwide that have achieved outstanding execution premiums.