Data Dashboards Explained (w/o the jargon)
Intro: From Frivolous to Necessity
Isn’t it weird and kinda cool to think about how oodles of the stuff we consider vital to our lives today were once considered “nice to have” and maybe even *gasp* frivolous when they first came onto the scene?
Stuff like:
- TVs
- Computers
- Caller ID
- High speed internet
- Drive-thrus
- GPS
- Texting
- Even cars!
Back when horses were all the rage, cars weren’t seen as essential (or even reliable). They were viewed as luxury items and status symbols for the wealthy.
At some point though, cars became accessible to a large majority of us (thank Henry Ford for that), and soon enough, they were all the rage and required in our lives. We could now go places that we couldn’t before, even faster! We now had the gas fueled means to roam, explore, and relocate!
Vehicles: The Genesis of Dashboards
As vehicles have grown to be essential parts of our lives, everything about the experience of driving them, riding in them, and owning them has been thoughtfully edited, tweaked, and optimized over time. Today, I am guessing only the most critical, well received, and performant parts of the vehicles are what come standard in each vehicle (hence the cup holders).
Let’s take a closer look at the often overlooked and underappreciated fuel gauge. This one little gauge tells you how much fuel you’ve got in the tank (with varying levels of sophistication, my favorite being the old school E/F dial). Could you imagine taking a road trip without one?
You’d have to:
- Get out manually and check, like every 372 miles or something with your trusty dip stick.
- Track how many miles you can drive on one tank and do the math as you go.
- Carry extra gas with you, just in case (or be prepared for what happens if you forget)!
The small but mighty fuel gauge will always make sure you know how close to E you are.
In fact, there are probably about 50 things we could manually perform a check on when it comes to our vehicle health (well not me, but maybe you). And that’s what makes our vehicle’s dashboard so handy – because who has the time to check all that?
Dashboards keep a pulse on and communicate the most critical pieces of information in one place, so we don’t have to do our 50 point, 2 hour inspection every time we get in the car to drive to Target.
Our car’s dashboards tell us how fast we’re going, what direction we’re headed, and if we have enough fuel to get there. They have even evolved to tell us when something is wrong before it all goes sideways (it’s always my tires).
What the heck are data dashboards?
Whew, Now that I’ve given you all that context – let me explain data dashboards in one sentence:
Data dashboards serve the exact same function as vehicle dashboards – but for your business.
In an age where data can tell you 938 things about your business, dashboards are that one place where you can see what’s critical to your business, right now.
Because what’s critical is always changing, right?
- Sometimes it’s cycle time that’s critical
- Sometimes it’s sales performance.
- Sometimes it’s customer satisfaction.
- Sometimes it’s cost reduction.
The beauty of a data dashboard is that you can have one or several. You can drill in for more detail, or zoom out for a more holistic view. It’s flexible and meant to be optimized for your own needs and experience.
Yes, you could roadtrip across the country without a fuel gauge, but would you really want to?
It’s no different with your business.
How dashboards can change your business
Imagine:
- How many hours and manual effort you could save if you had only the most critical information about your business available to you in one place and accessible in clicks, not days.
- What kind of action you’d feel empowered to take knowing what your current response time is, or how you’re performing month to date.
- What you’d be able to do if you knew the success rate of your ad campaigns or promotions over the past 6 months or yesterday.
This is the power that’s available to you once you start becoming data driven. Freedom. Freedom to take risks and grow because you have the right information you need to focus and run your business.
While dashboards and becoming data driven may feel like a nice to have or *gasp* frivolous – once you experience the power they unlock for you and your business – you’ll wonder how on earth you ever lived without them.
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