The Comparison Was Already in the Room
The same figure can read as improving, declining or ahead, depending on the comparison the report places beside it. That comparison may have been settled before the meeting began.
Topic
Commercial Representation
A collection of 4 issues
One Total, Many Possible Patterns
A total can stay flat while the stores inside it move in different directions. Many different store patterns can add up to the same number, and the total alone gives no way of identifying which one produced it
What Becomes Easy to See Is Not the Same as What Is There
The same evidence can lead attention in different directions depending on how it is organized. Nothing has to be hidden, removed or measured differently for representation to change what becomes easy to notice first.
When the Dashboard Becomes the Business
A dashboard can be accurate, useful and trusted — and still provide an inadequate view of the business for the decision being made.