All effective performance management processes start with the high-level goals of the organization, and a variety of techniques and planning processes are used to develop those goals.
A Balanced Scorecard typically illustrates a map of the business strategy to describe a causal relationship among performance indicators across 4 or 5 performance themes such as learning and growth, process improvement, customer satisfaction and financial results. The arrows connecting desired performance outcomes on a strategy map show how objectives are inter-related. Often, strategy maps are shared or distributed via technology so that business units, teams and individuals can write support goals designed to achieve performance targets.