The combination of Six Sigma and balanced scorecard can deliver breakthrough business performance. These two management disciplines can be linked in such a way to create a business improvement system.

By following the Six Sigma/Balanced Scorecard approach, management can see how process improvements are integrated with and closely aligned to the performance of strategic objectives. This is the focus of Six Sigma and balanced scorecard. This is a way to strive for the successes and repair the problems that can occur along the way.

Performance management using the balanced scorecard will translate strategy into execution. This dynamic management system reinforces, implements and executes corporate strategy. This is what can help bring many possibilities to fruition.

The use of Six Sigma continually improves the performance of both products and processes against requirements set forth for customer satisfaction. This rigorous system listens to customer and business requirements, measures performance gaps, analyzes root causes and implements sustainable fixes with a careful change management.

Six Sigma is used in many situations to measure a wide variety of data and analyze important information. The results of this analysis are then used to make determinations that greatly affect the future success of a business. That is why the various 6 Sigma methods can be thought of as the ‘solution finders’ of multiple problems. It can even be used to diagnose the possibility of problems in order to stop them before they occur. Where Six Sigma is concerned, the balanced scorecard is no exception.

The combination of both approaches into a business improvement system will provide compelling answers to four main questions for every organization. These questions are key to solving many problems across the board.

The first is, “Are we matching or exceeding customer requirements?” This is an important question because if the answer is no, certain steps need to be taken in order to bring the expectations up to standard in order to make necessary improvements that will bolster overall sales.

The second question is, “Are we focusing scarce business improvement resources to their best effect?” Resources are always important and focusing on them is paramount to success in many situations, especially when the word “scarce” enters into the equation.

“Are we fixing issues?” This is another important question that must be addressed accordingly. Failure to repair issues that occur will most certainly result in loss of sales so these problems must be dealt with in a timely manner.

“Are we driving strategic execution?” This question is important because it addresses the issues of strategy. If a strategy is in place, but isn’t executed properly, it will not work. The success of strategic efforts depends greatly on execution which in turn translates to a better business all around with the use of Six Sigma and the Balanced Scorecard combined.