A chart in a board pack has a few seconds to make its point. In that time the reader must understand what is being measured, what changed and why it matters. Most business charts fail, not because the data is wrong, but because they show everything and say nothing.
Before: every number, no message
Here is a familiar chart: quarterly revenue by region, with a colour for each quarter and a label on every bar. Every number is there, and the reader has to find the story alone.
After: the message is the title
The same data, redesigned around one question: which region needs attention? A line per region shows the trend, every line is grey except the one that matters, and the title states the conclusion instead of describing the axes.
Five rules for executive charts
- Write the message first. If you cannot say it in one sentence, the chart is not ready. Then make that sentence the title.
- Choose the form for the message. Lines for change over time, bars for comparing amounts, a single number when the story is one number.
- Use colour to point, not to decorate. Grey for context, one strong colour for what the reader must see.
- Label directly and sparingly. Name the lines at their end and show only the numbers the message needs.
- End with the decision. Every executive chart should lead to a question for the meeting: what do we do about the North?
Data storytelling is not about making charts prettier. It is about respecting the reader's time and making the decision obvious. The best executive chart is the one that starts the right conversation in the first minute of the meeting.
Bartor S.
Founder
