When I learned this lesson myself, I realized all dashboards before sucked.
And now my dashboards are better.
This is Simple
When you show data, add a comparison next to it.
Show percentage change from yesterday.
Show basis points different from last month.
Show revenue change from last year.
Show sales change from last quarter.
Insights
Data is data
Data plus comparison is insights.
Enjoy!
-Andrew
Data + Comparison