The book that you are about to read, Service Scorecard: Creating Value Through Sustained Performance Improvement, represents an important contribution to the literature on performance measurement of services organization. As you know, service has become, by far, the dominant sector in the world economy. But, as you also know, services organizations are often very frustrating to deal with, both to work for and to do business with. We all have our favorite stories of services snafus. On the high end, there are some very effective organizations, but in general the quality of services is remarkable for its deficiencies and inconsistencies. The services exemplars invariably have better measurement systems.

In my recent book, Transforming Performance Measurement, I explain that no organization can be any better than its measurement system because management is based on measurement. That is why I am so enthusiastic about this book. If your organization uses even a few of the principles, methods, and tools contained in this valuable book, it will become more effective. The framework proposed in this book is both comprehensive and practical and reflects the state-of-the-art thinking on good performance measurement.

But innovative thinking about performance measurement in services is rare. It was the dearth of good thinking about performance of measurement in services that led me to found the Research Roundtable on Services Performance Measurement, with members invited from leading companies, non-profits, government, and academic institutions. Because of their thought leadership, the authors of this book, Praveen Gupta and Rajesh Tyagi, were selected as members.

Praveen is a prolific author, an excellent communicator, an innovative thinker, and a valued colleague. I have read many of Praveen’s previous books and have benefited greatly from his wisdom and his counsel. I have frequently cited the Six Sigma Business Scorecard in my own writing. This book applies and extends that thinking specifically to services.

By reading this book, you are taking an important step toward the “sustained performance improvement” of your services organization.