7 ways to get people to look at your numbers

®

®

Adam Jacobson, Red Three Consulting

7 Ways to Get People to Look at Your Numbers

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How I Got Here

The reports you need from the software you

already have. ®

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Mark Twain

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“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.”

I work with people who love numbers

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Numberphiles

FAQs

I send out ALL these reports. Why do I only ever get two questions?

Why don’t they just look at the report I sent them instead of calling me for the answer?

Why do they ignore all the analysis and do what they want anyway?

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On the other hand…

There are other people who are not like you and me.

When they see numbers…

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Numberphobes

7 Ways to Get People to Look at Your Numbers

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1. BE HUMBLE

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1. Be Humble

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How can they not get

this!?!?

Stop banging your head against the wall…

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1. Be Humble

… and grab a slice of humble pie.

A little humility goes a long way when you’re trying to communicate.

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1. Be Humble

2. BE TRANSPARENT

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2. Be Transparent

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“You can’t handle the truth!”

Yes they can!

2. Be Transparent

www.reportsyouneed.com/daffy-duckwww.reportsyouneed.com/transparency

Don’t hide behind accounting jargon. Reconcile to reality.

3. DITCH YOUR DECIMALS

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3. DitchYour Decimals

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When Numberphobes see this…

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3. DitchYour Decimals

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3. Ditch Your Decimals

Welcome Home!

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The Budget Process

3. Ditch Your Decimals

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I have seen the future.

3. Ditch Your Decimals

0

3. Ditch Your Decimals

The future looks like this:

$1,000,000.00

NOT like this:

$987,945.43

www.reportsyouneed.com/more-zeroswww.reportsyouneed.com/529-a-share

4. ALL NUMBERS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL

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4. All Numbers are Not Created Equal

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“The Overweight Cyclist”

4. All Numbers are Not Created Equal

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Magnesium / Carbon Fiber Pedals

327g

Carbon Monocoque Frame

1028g

Nylon Mesh Road Cycling Shoes

331g

Titanium / Leather Seat

408g

Tubeless Rims

352g

Nylon Fiber Tires

190g

4. All Numbers are Not Created Equal

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Magnesium / Carbon Fiber Pedals

327g

Carbon Monocoque Frame

1028g

Nylon Mesh Road Cycling Shoes

331g

Titanium / Leather Seat

408g

Tubeless Rims

352g

Nylon Fiber Tires

190g

SPARE TIRE:

??????

Some numbers are more important than others.

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4. All Numbers are Not Created Equal

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How many things can you remember?

4. All Numbers are Not Created Equal

4. All Numbers are Not Created Equal

THE ANSWER:

7

www.reportsyouneed.com/micrograms

5. TELL A STORY

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5. Tell a Story

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5. Tell a Story

www.reportsyouneed.com/ketchup

6. A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND NUMBERS

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6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

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Which is has more impact? This:

6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

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6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

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Or this:

6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

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6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

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The new Starbucks Trenta size is 32 ounces.

6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

www.youtube.com/robcockerham

www.reportsyouneed.com/starbuckswww.reportsyouneed.com/jamie-oliver

7. TIE IT TO COMPENSATION - CAREFULLY

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7. Tie it to Compensation - Carefully

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You Get What You Measure –

Not Always What You Want

7. Tie it to Compensation - Carefully

The Chief Justice of the Malaysian courts started measuring judges based on the number of cases cleared from the docket…

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≠

7. Tie it to Compensation - Carefully

www.reportsyouneed.com/kpi-malaysia

1. Be Humble

2. Be Transparent

3. Ditch Your Decimals

4. All Numbers are NOT Created Equal

5. Tell a Story

6. A Picture is Worth a Thousand Numbers

7. Tie It to Compensation – CAREFULLYreportsyouneed.com

7 Ways to Get People to Look at Your Numbers

The Visual Display of Quantitative Data – by Edward Tufte

The Numbers Game – by Michael Blastland

Little Bets – by Peter Sims

The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives

– By Leondard Mlodinow

Story – by Robert McKee

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Additional Reading

IF YOU…

have trouble getting your reports to tie out

have difficulty reconciling multiple systems

spend hours and hours re-keying data into Excel

are about to spend a lot of cash on new software

RED THREE CAN HELP

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A Little Self-Promotion…

The reports you need from the software you already have. ®

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• Financial Reports • Slice & Dice Analytics• Data Cleansing

• Dashboards• Excel Automation• Teaching

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adam@redthree.com(646) 736-0060 x101

®

®

Adam Jacobson, Red Three Consulting

THANK YOU!

www.reportsyouneed.comadam@redthree.com(646) 736-0060 x101