Why Most Dashboards Fail Across Enterprises, Small Companies, and Sports Teams (and How to Fix Them)

Over the years, I’ve built dashboards for enterprises, small businesses, and sports teams. While dashboards initially spark excitement—promising a modern, data-driven approach—the story often ends the same way. Whether it’s a global company or a hockey team, most dashboards fail to deliver results. Instead of solving real problems, they often serve as a way to appear “cutting-edge” without making a real impact.

Why Dashboards Fail

1. Too Many Metrics

Dashboards often bombard users with excessive data, making it hard to identify what matters.

Example in Enterprise: A company’s sales dashboard tracked dozens of KPIs, from lead response times to customer churn rates. Teams couldn’t focus, so the dashboard was ignored.
Example in Small Business: A retail store tried to track inventory, revenue, customer feedback, and marketing campaigns in one dashboard. It became too complicated to use.
Example in Sports: A hockey team monitored 30+ stats, including puck possession and blocked shots. Coaches didn’t know where to focus and stopped using it.
Research Insight: Gartner reports that 60% of analytics projects fail due to data overload and the lack of actionable insights.

2. No Clear Purpose

Many dashboards look impressive but fail to solve real-world problems.

Example in Enterprise: A supply chain dashboard showed global shipping metrics but didn’t address delays at specific ports.
Example in Small Business: A marketing dashboard tracked ad impressions but didn’t tie them to actual sales.
Example in Sports: A team tracked player stats but didn’t analyze why they consistently lost in the third period.
Expert Advice: McKinsey stresses that dashboards must align with specific goals to create value.

3. Lack of Actionable Insights

Dashboards often show what’s happening but fail to recommend what to do next.

Example in Enterprise: A dashboard highlighted increasing employee turnover but didn’t suggest interventions, like revising benefits.
Example in Small Business: A restaurant noticed declining reviews but didn’t provide insights on specific complaints, like long wait times.
Example in Sports: A team saw their power play success rate declining but didn’t implement targeted drills, and the problem persisted.
Expert Insight: Harvard Business Review highlights that analytics tools often fail because they don’t drive actionable decisions.

A Better Approach

1. Focus on Solving Real Problems

Enterprise Example: Instead of tracking general HR metrics, one company focused on reducing recruitment time in key regions.
Small Business Example: A café used a dashboard to analyze peak hours and optimized staffing schedules accordingly.
Sports Example: A hockey team analyzed why they lost close games in overtime, focusing their dashboard on fatigue and defensive breakdowns.

2. Highlight Only Key Metrics

Enterprise Example: A sales team focused on lead conversion rates and sales cycle length rather than tracking dozens of metrics.
Small Business Example: A retail store focused on inventory turnover and top-selling products instead of tracking every SKU.
Sports Example: A team simplified their dashboard to two KPIs: scoring chances and time in the offensive zone. This focus helped them adjust their attack strategy, increasing goals per game by 10%.

3. Drive Actionable Change

Enterprise Example: A manufacturing company used dashboards to pinpoint machine downtime, leading to targeted maintenance schedules.
Small Business Example: A restaurant analyzed customer complaints and introduced staff training to address common issues.
Sports Example: A team noticed poor third-period endurance and implemented conditioning drills, resulting in fewer late-game losses.

The Takeaway

Dashboards often fail because they try to do too much or are created just for appearances—a phenomenon sometimes referred to as “data theater.” The most successful dashboards:

Solve specific problems.
Focus on the most critical metrics.
Drive actionable decisions.

Whether you’re in an enterprise, small business, or sports team, ask yourself: Are your dashboards solving problems, or are they just for show? If it’s the latter, it’s time to rethink your approach.