OKRs vs Balanced Scorecard: Two Approaches to Strategic Execution
Last verified: February 2026
Overview
OKRs and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) both aim to translate strategy into action, but they do so in fundamentally different ways. The Balanced Scorecard, developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton in 1992, provides a comprehensive four-perspective view of organizational performance. OKRs, popularized by Google, provide a focused, iterative approach to achieving breakthrough outcomes.
Key Differences
| Dimension | OKRs | Balanced Scorecard |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Focused (3-5 objectives) | Comprehensive (4 perspectives) |
| Cycle | Quarterly | Annual with monthly reviews |
| Complexity | Simple to learn | Requires significant setup |
| Perspectives | Outcome-focused | Financial, Customer, Process, Learning |
| Flexibility | Adapts quarterly | Strategy map is relatively fixed |
| Best for | Driving change | Holistic performance monitoring |
The Balanced Scorecard Framework
BSC organizes metrics across four perspectives:
- Financial — Revenue growth, profitability, cost efficiency
- Customer — Satisfaction, retention, market share
- Internal Process — Operational efficiency, quality, cycle time
- Learning & Growth — Employee development, innovation, culture
Each perspective contains objectives, measures, targets, and initiatives linked through a strategy map.
The OKR Framework
OKRs are deliberately simple:
- Objective — A qualitative, inspirational goal
- Key Results — 2-5 quantitative outcomes that prove the objective was achieved
Teams typically set 3-5 OKRs per quarter, review them weekly, and score them at quarter-end.
When to Use Each
Choose OKRs when:
- You need to focus the organization on a few critical priorities
- Speed and adaptability matter more than comprehensive measurement
- You want a lightweight framework with minimal overhead
- Your goal is driving change, not monitoring steady-state
Choose the Balanced Scorecard when:
- You need a comprehensive view of organizational health
- You're in a mature, stable industry with well-defined processes
- Board reporting requires multi-dimensional performance data
- Strategy execution involves complex cause-and-effect chains
Combining Both Frameworks
Some organizations use both effectively:
- BSC for strategic monitoring — the dashboard that ensures nothing important is being neglected
- OKRs for quarterly execution — the sprint mechanism that drives improvement in the areas that matter most right now
A BSC perspective showing declining customer satisfaction might trigger an OKR: "Become the highest-rated product in our category" with specific NPS and retention key results.
How Krezzo Helps
Krezzo provides an OKR platform that captures the focus and agility of OKRs while supporting the multi-dimensional visibility that Balanced Scorecard users value. Teams can align objectives across financial, customer, and operational dimensions — with the simplicity and cadence of OKRs.
Sources
- Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P. The Balanced Scorecard. Harvard Business Press, 1996.
- Doerr, John. Measure What Matters. Penguin, 2018.
- krezzo.com