If you’ve ever sat through an executive meeting with a dashboard that told you absolutely nothing, you know the pain. This guide is for anyone who wants to build custom dashboards in Endgame that actually help leadership make decisions, not just look pretty for quarterly reports. No fluff, no “best practices” that don’t survive contact with the real world—just what works, what doesn’t, and how to get started.
Step 1: Get Clear on What Executives Actually Need
Before you even open Endgame, talk to the people who’ll use these dashboards. “Executive level reporting” can mean anything from high-level revenue trends to weekly churn data. Don’t assume.
Ask these questions: - What decisions are you trying to make with this data? - How often do you want updates—real-time, daily, monthly? - Which metrics do you trust, and which do you ignore? - Any “must-have” visualizations? (Usually, less is more.)
Pro tip: If you hear “just show me everything,” push back. The fastest way to create a useless dashboard is to cram it with every metric under the sun.
Step 2: Map Out Your Data Sources
Endgame is flexible, but it’s not magic—it can only visualize what you feed it. Make a quick inventory:
- Internal data: What’s already in Endgame? (Sales, product usage, customer health, etc.)
- External data: Will you need to connect outside tools—CRMs, spreadsheets, databases?
- Manual uploads: Sometimes, you’ll need to drag in a CSV. Not glamorous, but it works.
What works: Start simple. Pull key numbers from the systems you trust. If you spend more than an hour just figuring out what’s “source of truth,” stop and ask why.
What doesn’t: Overcomplicating your data pipeline. If your dashboard depends on six integrations and two custom scripts, it’ll break the morning of your board meeting.
Step 3: Set Up a New Dashboard in Endgame
Now, actually log into Endgame and start building. Here’s how:
- Create a new dashboard
- Go to the Dashboards tab.
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Hit “New Dashboard.” Give it a clear, boring name (e.g., “Q2 Executive Metrics”).
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Choose your layout
- Stick to a single page if you can.
- Group related metrics together: revenue, customer growth, product adoption, etc.
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Don’t get fancy with colors or fonts—clarity beats “wow factor.”
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Add widgets (charts, tables, KPIs)
- For each key metric, pick the simplest visualization possible.
- Line charts for trends.
- Big numbers for KPIs.
- Bar charts for comparisons.
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Avoid pie charts unless you want to guarantee confusion.
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Connect your data
- Use Endgame’s built-in connectors (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) or upload your CSV.
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Double-check your filters—executives don’t care about test accounts or yesterday’s demo data.
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Set refresh schedules
- Real-time isn’t always better. Most execs are fine with daily or weekly updates.
- Real-time looks cool but can distract from the real story.
Honest take: Most dashboards fail because they’re cluttered or over-designed. Default to fewer widgets and clear labels.
Step 4: Design for Clarity, Not Flash
You’re not making a dashboard for yourself. You’re building it for people who might glance at it between back-to-back meetings. Make it brain-dead obvious what matters.
Do: - Use plain language (e.g., “New Customers This Month” beats “Net New ACVs, Excluding Churn”). - Add short descriptions or tooltips for anything that isn’t self-explanatory. - Highlight trends, not just snapshots. Executives want to know if things are getting better or worse.
Don’t: - Use jargon or acronyms unless everyone’s on board. - Stack multiple charts in a tiny space. White space is your friend. - Show “vanity metrics” (like pageviews) unless they tie directly to business goals.
What works: The fewer clicks and scrolls, the better. If you have to explain the dashboard to every new exec, it’s too complicated.
Step 5: Test, Share, and Get Feedback
Don’t wait for a big reveal. Share early drafts with a handful of execs or trusted lieutenants. Ask:
- What’s missing?
- What’s confusing?
- What do you ignore?
Iterate:
No dashboard survives first contact with leadership. Expect to tweak metrics, add context, and remove fluff.
Share options in Endgame: - Send view-only links (great for execs who just want to check numbers). - Embed dashboards in internal wikis or slides. - Set up scheduled email exports for regular reporting.
Honest take: Most feedback will be about things you can’t control (“Can you make this show next quarter’s revenue?”). Keep the conversation focused: does this dashboard help you make decisions, or just look nice?
Step 6: Maintain and Improve
Dashboards aren’t “set and forget.” Business priorities shift, data sources break, and new questions pop up.
Keep it healthy: - Schedule a quick review every quarter. Trim unused charts, fix broken data, and ask if metrics are still relevant. - Watch for “metric creep”—when new numbers get added just because someone asked, not because they help. - Document what each chart means and where the data comes from. Future-you will thank you.
What to ignore:
Don’t chase every request. “Can we add X?” should pass the “does it help us decide something?” test.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)
- Too much data: Resist the urge to show everything. Executives want signal, not noise.
- Unreliable sources: If a number changes every time you refresh, nobody will trust it.
- Overly technical dashboards: Remember, your audience isn’t living in Endgame all day.
Quick gut-check:
If you find yourself explaining what a chart means more than once, it probably needs to go.
Wrapping Up
Building executive dashboards in Endgame doesn’t have to be a slog. Start with what matters, keep it clear, and don’t get seduced by fancy widgets or endless metrics. Most of the time, less really is more. Ship something simple, get feedback, and improve as you go. Your future self—and your execs—will be grateful.