Last week I had the great pleasure to speak at the 2011 Balanced Scorecard Forum in Dubai. It was my first trip to the Emirates and thus my first direct exposure to the business environment in that corner of the world. Going into the event I was very curious about the state of the BSC in the Middle East – was it embraced by private and public sector organizations? Were they discovering its benefits, were they applying it in new and novel ways to match their unique situation? The answer to all of these questions was a rousing yes.
My presentations were greeted enthusiastically by an audience eager to discover more about the tool and how they can apply it to ensure they execute their strategies. Beyond interest and enthusiasm for the framework I noticed a great willingness among the delegates to share stories, challenges, and successes with their fellow practitioners. During one particularly lively lunch discussion our table delved into linking the BSC with compensation, aligning with budgets, and the always tricky question of measure weighting, among many other relevant topics. It was exciting to witness the knowledge-sharing and passion the subject of Balanced Scorecard inspires in an audience committed to making their businesses better tomorrow than they are today. My trip to Dubai concluded with an interview for a local television station, again demonstrating the great interest in the topic. If you’d like to see the interview, please click the link below.
