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Data & Intelligence

Executive dashboard: five numbers, and why each one moved

Leadership doesn't need forty charts. It needs the handful of numbers the business is run on, each against its target, each with a note on why it moved, and a stamp saying how fresh it is. An executive dashboard is that page, kept small on purpose, built on the same definitions every report uses. We build it with your leadership team, one number at a time.
Talk through your numbersSee the Monday view ↓
September · leadershipas of Oct 1 06:10Completed jobs41target 45Revenue (invoiced)$128.4ktarget $125kBooked, next 14 days63First response38 mintarget 60Open quotes$148.2kbelow targetWhy it movedNorthside15Eastside14Riverside12 (18 in Aug)Riverside −6: two technicians on leaveSep 9–20; nine jobs moved into October.operations manager · Oct 1

Forty charts and no answer

Most dashboards grow one chart at a time until nobody can say which five matter. The weekly meeting opens with a question about which number is right, and the reason a number moved lives in someone's head.

An executive dashboard is a short list of agreed numbers, each defined once, each with a target and an owner. When one moves, its owner writes why, on the page, before the meeting.

Today, and with an executive dashboard

Today

  1. 01A dashboard with dozens of charts, or a spreadsheet emailed on Monday.
  2. 02Numbers that don't match the reports.
  3. 03No targets, so nobody knows whether 41 is good.
  4. 04The explanation arrives in the meeting, if at all.

The meeting is spent agreeing on the numbers instead of deciding what to do.

With an executive dashboard

  1. 01Five numbers, each with a definition, target and owner.
  2. 02The same definitions as every report.
  3. 03A note from the owner on any number that moved.
  4. 04A stamp showing exactly when the data is from.

The meeting starts at the decision.

The five, defined

Completed jobsVisits marked complete, excluding warranty callbacksOperations manager
Revenue (invoiced)Invoices issued in the month, net of creditsFinance lead
Booked, next 14 daysJobs scheduled in the next 14 daysOffice lead
First responseMedian time from a new request to the first replyOffice lead
Open quotesValue of quotes sent and not yet won or lostSales lead

The Monday view

Completed jobs, September

Northside
15
Eastside
14
Riverside
12 (August 18)
Total
41, target 45

From the operations manager

Riverside had two technicians on leave from September 9 to 20. Nine booked jobs moved into the first week of October, so October should start ahead.

The figures are calculated; the explanation is written by the person who owns the number.

Where people stay in charge

  1. Owners write the why

    A person, not a model

    The note on a number that moved comes from the person accountable for it.

  2. Targets

    Set by leadership

    Each number has a target, so the page says whether 41 is good.

  3. Freshness

    Always on the page

    The time the data is from, so nobody plans on stale numbers.

  4. A fixed rhythm

    Notes before the meeting

    Owners add notes on Monday morning; the meeting starts from them.

The parts it's built from

Each part is built and tested on its own, so you can start with one and add the rest.

  1. Arrive

    Data Ingestion

    Every source on schedule.

  2. Check

    Data Quality & Validation

    Held and labelled if a source fails.

  3. Define

    Data Modeling · Business Intelligence

    • the model
    • the five definitions
    • targets

    a definition changes → shown on the page, with the date

  4. Show

    Dashboarding

    Five tiles, notes and a stamp.

Underneath every stepData TransformationEvery source in one shape before anything is counted.

What changes from one business to the next

The numbersWhich five to eight, and their definitions
TargetsMonthly or quarterly, by location or team
NotesWho writes them, and when
Where it livesA web page, a weekly email or both

A common starting point is PostgreSQL for the model, dbt for definitions, and Metabase or a small custom page for the dashboard itself. These are starting candidates, not requirements.

Is an executive dashboard the right system?

Good fit

  • Leadership meets regularly and asks the same questions each time.
  • Numbers come from more than one system.
  • Owners will write a short note when their number moves.

Avoid when

  • The definitions aren't agreed yet. Settle those first.
  • You want every metric in one place. That's an analytics platform.

How we'd approach it

Most of the early work is choosing the handful of numbers, setting their targets and agreeing who writes the notes.

  1. 01

    Understand

    As much as the problem needs

    We map how the work runs today: who does what, which systems hold the records, and where it breaks.

  2. 02

    Design

    Decided before it's built

    Ownership, rules, integrations and exceptions, agreed with you and written down with acceptance criteria.

  3. 03

    Build

    Connected to what you use

    We build the scoped system, connect it to the tools you already run, and test it on the cases that matter.

Related systems

The capabilities underneath

For your industry

Questions about executive dashboards

Why only five numbers?

Because a leadership team can discuss five properly. Five to eight is typical; more belong in reports or the analytics platform.

Can the explanation be generated automatically?

The breakdown can, like which location fell. The reason, like technicians on leave, comes from the person who knows, and is signed.

How often does it update?

Usually every morning, with the time shown on the page.

Can it go out by email?

Yes. Many teams get the same page as an email on Monday morning, with the notes included.

Run the business from one small page

Tell us which numbers leadership asks about every week. We'll show you what the page would look like.

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