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The web services now available in version 4.5 create brand new possibilities for the Executive Strategy Manager. With the ability to push and pull data directly from the ESM database into applications such as Excel, PowerPoint, and nearly any web-based application, you can pull real time data into your Excel reports or PowerPoint presentations by simply clicking a button.
With a full range of functions available, programmers can easily create custom reports and dashboards with "live" ESM data. Advanced users can use the same functions to fully integrate the ESM utility with their website or intranet.
Since web services access all data via the web and not through direct database communication, not only is it easy to set up, it is as safe and secure as accessing the ESM on the web. Access is granted and controlled through a username and password login system, similar to the ESM but using a separate user base to ensure controlled access.
The web services are included with all enterprise level ESM applications at no additional cost. If you are an enterprise level ESM subscriber, please contact esm@palladiumes.com for information on setting up your web services account.
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With the launch of web services in 2007, the ESM truly has become an integrated strategy management platform for organizations around the world. An early adopter with the web services, a government defense organization is streamlining the reporting process with their strategic initiatives.
In what used to be a completely separate technology and management process, this organization recently decided to link their customized strategic initiative software into the ESM. The design process entailed identifying the content to be linked between the systems and then writing a mini application to feed the data.
Organizations with in-house technical capabilities can write the application and those without can work with Palladium ESM programmers to build the correct web service. Palladium has a complete web service manual to support programmers through the process.
I look forward to Blogging on this organization's success with the web service in the near future. We anticipate a dramatic reduction in the time it takes analysts to enter data into the system, provide higher quality data, and ultimately, equip leadership with a complete picture of the strategic information necessary to make informed decisions.
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As we reflect on the key stages that make the Executive Strategy Manager the strategy management platform it is today, we must honor the tremendous effort by both Drs. Kaplan and Norton and the hundreds of clients who advance its capabilities every day.
Drs. Kaplan and Norton quickly realized that organizations benefited greatly from the consistent and rapid approach driven through the Design Center Express (DCE) but really needed a support tool for the ongoing reporting of their strategy. Balanced Scorecard Collaborative began prototyping MS PowerPoint based reports, complete with an interactive strategy map and objective, measure, and initiative performance analysis pages. This solution was successful for a number of years and became the next step following the design of a scorecard in the DCE. We called it "First Report".
Clients appreciated the new reporting application yet quickly outgrew it as their scorecard program evolved. The First Report could not interact between cascaded scorecards and it couldn't be updated by more than one individual at a time. The Media and Applications team at Balanced Scorecard Collaborative pushed the Design Center (Express was dropped from the name at this time) application forward by incorporating the First Report directly into the software. Thus, the first version of a strategy reporting solution was born.
The Design Center and First Report co-existed for a number of years before the entire application was branded as the Executive Strategy Manager, the First Report renamed to the Report Center, and Meeting View was conceived. Meeting View became the core of the application where organizations could not only report on their strategy but also utilize a quick update interface to rapidly edit any component of the strategy.
This brings to present day, where the Executive Strategy Manager 4.5 version truly is the most advanced strategy management platform of its kind. The application has integration features such as data sourcing of measures and web services to push and pull content to and from the ESM and other databases, BI/ERP applications (Cognos, Hyperion, SAP, etc.), and custom software.
We thank Drs. Kaplan and Norton for their tremendous foresight, the hundreds of organizations past and present who have advanced the application through their practical use, and the Media and Applications software design and deployment team within Palladium.
Look for the ESM 5.0 Beta release in early 2008. If you are a present client, now is the time to get your functional enhancement requests in to your account representative. If you are not a client, contact us at esm@palladiumes.com today to become one.
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As Palladium approaches the 7 year anniversary of the Executive Strategy Manager application this November/December, I'd like to take a look back at how the product has evolved into a one of a kind strategy management platform.
Way back in early 2000, the idea was conceived by Drs. Kaplan and Norton to transform the way organizations build their Balanced Scorecards. They believed that if equipped with the right design technology, organizations could rapidly and consistently develop scorecards utilizing the best practice methodology, then being developed by Balanced Scorecard Collaborative, Inc.
The first version of the application was called the Design Center, complete with an interactive 49 step abacus, conceived by Palladium Group's Vice President, Ted Jackson. This abacus allowed users to either move step by step through the entire design of a scorecard or jump around steps depending on the information available. Some steps had prerequisites to ensure a true Balanced Scorecard was developed and not a KPI map.
While the first version of the application was a vanguard solution in the strategy design space, much work was invested in a more streamlined and functionally simpler 2.0 edition: the Design Center Express. Originally conceived as a cascading application with only 12 core activities for subordinate business and support units to follow after the corporate scorecard was developed, the Design Center Express, known by many as the application with the animated train logo, quickly became the most popular version.
The Design Center Express underwent several version releases with increasingly advanced capabilities and eventually completely replaced the Design Center 1.0.
As the Design Center Express took off with clients, Drs. Kaplan and Norton realized that there was a gap between an organization's development of the Balanced Scorecard and achieving breakthrough results. While the success of a BSC program was heavily influenced by the leadership drive, there was a gap in the technology available in the market place to support a successful program. Continue the journey in "A look back at the first 7 years of the Executive Strategy Manager: Part 2, The product today"
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We mentally prepared ourselves for a photo finish. We ran through all the possible race scenarios. We were all but sure the race would come down to the last few strokes. We were wrong. At the 800 meter mark, I looked across the course and counted 4 boats. I counted again and again to make sure my mind was not playing tricks on me. We had open water on China, Greece, Slovenia, and Belgium and we were a seat up on the Ukrainians. We had only rowed in our line-up for a month and we executed our strategy. We were going to the Olympics!
What's interesting to note in my short recount of our 2004 Athens Olympic qualification race is that we were prepared to react to our environment and augment our strategy to succeed. Likewise, the scorecard is only as good as its execution. You could pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for scorecards from the board room right down to the front line employee, but if the employee doesn't understand the strategy and how he or she contributes to the strategy, you won't be able to react in time and thereby fail to execute. Let me provide some tips and tricks in the Executive Strategy Manager that organizations can apply to ensure your workforce is ready to execute.
Again, the design phase is important, but ultimately, it's all about the execution. To set your organization up for a fast start, select your all stars and put them on the team. Your strategy is worth the best.
Second, get everyone into the Executive Strategy Manager right from day one. The application is built for easy navigation by all types of users.
Third, when the scorecard is fairly set, share ownership of objectives, measures, initiatives, and milestones with as many employees as possible. This reduces the ongoing reporting effort required by any one person, drives communication, analysis, and reflection on the strategy, and ultimately, drives execution.
Forth, drive all reporting meetings with the ESM. The ESM has a simple interface that allows you to navigate between your scorecard and get at the story behind the strategy. Whether it's a corporate executive team or a divisional support unit group, the ESM creates the right structure to execute your strategy.
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I was very happy this year to be involved in MAX sessions. The attendance at the conference and those sessions was amazing. I'm already looking forward to next year in San Francisco, CA. In the meantime, here%u219s a recap of the sessions, and their related content.
Flex, Flex and more Flex Over the past few days I have totally jumped on Flex Beta 3 bandwagon. It is truly amazing the speed in which you can build a full feature RIA (Rich Internet Application). If you are not familiar with RIA concepts check out this Flex example (http://coenraets.org/blog/2007/06/salesbuilder-on-air-local-database-data-sync-and-native-drag-and-drop/). This tool was built using the Flex technology and then exported to run under the AIR runtime. It is a truly amazing example which sparks many ideas towards building RIA%u219s into the ESM.
Building a Cold Fusion Application As you may or may not know the ESM is offered in 7 different languages. This seminar offered insight into how we can scale the ESM software to help support to more than 100 new languages. The course offered a good technique by setting up a table which has an English term and the translations in each language in a relational table. We currently have a similar design but need a few small modifications to our logic to support date and measure formats a bit more cleanly.
Hands-On AIR This was my first interaction with the AIR runtime (Adobe integrated runtime). The course explored them the brand new features of AIR Beta 2. It showed us how to use the clipboard, drag-and-drop, file IO, native window (custom chrome), script-bridging, and service monitor. Really pushes the power of Flex development to the desktop. I can see a future where there is both an online and offline ESM tool offered to our customers.
Codename Thermo Thermo is an upcoming product that will be the tool for developing Flex RIA%u219s. It will allow designers to create UIs for RIA without the need to become programmers - the Flex code is auto-generated for them. The applications created in Thermo will allow easy integration between Photoshop, Illustrator and Flex applications. From the developer's point of view, the Flex code generated by Thermo will need some reworking anyway (i.e. creating custom components out of various part of the prototype screen), but it' a lot easier than starting with a prototype containing a bunch of images.
Can%u219t wait until next year when it is released. That%u219s it can't wait to dive in and start building the future of the ESM...
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