The strategy map: guide to aligning intangible assets

Abstract

Advice to senior management on how to use the balanced scorecard measurement system and the strategy map, a visual representation of the components of an organization’s strategy to leverage a corporation’s intangible assets. These include human capital; databases and information systems; responsive, high‐quality processes; customer relationships and brands; innovation capabilities; and culture. The author’s hypothesis: because an organization’s intangible assets may easily represent more than 75 percent of its value, then its strategy formulation and execution need to explicitly address their mobilization and alignment. The balanced scorecard tool and strategy map offer a framework to measure intangible assets and to describe strategies as a series of cause‐and‐effect linkages among objectives. They provide a language that executive teams can use to discuss the direction and priorities of their enterprises. This article also presents a case study of Crown Castle International, Inc.