Like other digital tools, an advanced dashboard alone doesn’t guarantee positive results. “Just because you put in better dashboards doesn’t mean your earnings will go up,” says Bill Franks, director of the Center for Statistics and Analytical Research at Kennesaw State University and author of Winning the Room, a book about effective data presentation.

Instead, he says, the effort that goes into creating an effective dashboard—agreeing on common metrics, integrating data from previously siloed sources, and using visualizations to tell a more compelling story—makes it more likely an organization will extract value from it. These create a virtuous feedback loop, enabling greater innovation and new revenue streams.

Deciding what goes into a dashboard also forces everyone to agree on what data is important, Woerner says. “Once you can get past arguing about which numbers to believe, you can look at what they’re telling you and ask, what should we do differently?”

Creating successful visualizations also requires consolidating and integrating data from multiple sources and democratizing access to the information, says Stuart Showers, senior vice president of business analytics for Transwestern, a U.S. commercial real estate firm.