A good executive dashboard does not report everything. It shows the few things that change what leaders do.
This playbook builds an executive dashboard from the decisions it must support — selecting metrics, designing the view and installing the review cadence that turns data into action.
How to build it
Six steps — decisions first, data last.
Start with decisions
List the decisions the executive team makes; the dashboard exists to inform them.
Choose few metrics
Leading and lagging indicators per theme — resist the urge to show everything.
Set targets & thresholds
Every metric needs a target and a clear "act now" line.
Design for glance
One screen, clear status, drill-down on demand — not a report dump.
Assign owners
Each metric has an owner accountable for the number and the action.
Wire the cadence
The dashboard drives the weekly and monthly review, not the other way around.
The five dashboard domains
Dashboard pitfalls
Ground your dashboard in a measured baseline with the IGMA™ assessment.