A client in Denver told me our reports were just data, not a story.

We sent a 15 page deck after a project last month. They said it was just numbers and charts, no clear 'so what'. So we changed our template. Now the first page is three bullet points with the main takeaways. The rest is backup. Our next two clients said it was way easier to understand. Anyone else had to redo their reporting like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin9281mo ago

That shift to a front page summary is smart. Did you get any pushback from your own team about leaving out detail, or did everyone see the value right away? I've found that change can be hard for analysts who are used to showing all their work.

sam_harris681mo ago

Honestly gavin928, I think you're missing the point. The pushback wasn't about leaving out detail, it was about trusting the team to do the deep work without having to prove it on every slide. Everyone saw the value once they realized the full analysis was still there, just in the appendix. The real change was getting people to stop using a report as a personal proof of effort.