The leadership reporting page
Leaders read one page. This build uses an invented division. It puts five measures against plan and prior year, ranks what moved them, and writes the story from the same numbers, so the sentence and the table cannot disagree.
What this shows
- Five measures against plan and prior year
- A drill from the headline to the region and the driver
- Variance drivers ranked by size
- A one-page view and a longer board view
How I use it
- Preparing the page a senior leader reads before a meeting
- Finding the driver behind a headline miss
- Keeping the written commentary tied to the numbers
Explore the model below. It uses an invented company and invented numbers.
Explore the model
Illustrative model · Synthetic dataWide tables scroll sideways: swipe inside a table to see every column.
Sample build: the leadership page
Fernhollow Services is an invented division. This is the page a senior leader reads before a meeting: five measures against plan and last year, what moved each one, and a written story built from the same figures as the tables.
Invented division for illustration. Not a real company's results.
What to try
- Click a measure tile, then a region, to go from the headline to the cause.
- Switch between plan and last year and watch the drivers and the story change.
- Move the sliders for the actual year. Set the Europe price back to the plan level and the price drag in Europe closes.
- Open the board view for the bridge, the region by driver grid and the checks.
Fernhollow Services, an invented division
Full-year leadership page
Actual results against plan. One-page view.
Revenue is ahead of plan. Operating margin, cash conversion, cost per job and field technicians are behind plan.
Each gap is the actual less the comparison. A minus on revenue is a miss and a plus on cost is a miss. Pts means percentage points. Figures are rounded, so a column can differ from its total by the last digit.
The story in brief
- Revenue was $927.6M, $27.6M (3.1%) ahead of plan ($900.0M). The main driver was jobs completed (+$35.0M), led by North America (+$40.0M), where it moved from 400K to 440K.
- Operating margin was 16.1%, 1.9 points behind plan (18.0%). The main driver was labor rate (-1.0 pts), led by North America (-0.6 pts), where it moved from $50/hr to $52/hr.
- Cash conversion was 85.0%, 7.5 points behind plan (92.5%). The main driver was days to get paid (-4.0 pts), led by Latin America (-2.6 pts), where it moved from 90 days to 110 days.
- Cost per job was $752.2, $14.2 (1.9%) above plan ($738.0), which is adverse. The main driver was labor rate (+$8.7), led by North America (+$5.1), where it moved from $50/hr to $52/hr.
- Field technicians were 4,610, 210 (4.8%) above plan (4,400), which is adverse. The main driver was jobs completed (+142), led by North America (+160), where it moved from 400K to 440K.
Look first at operating margin. Europe accounts for 1.1 points of the 1.9 point gap.
Commentary by measure
Revenue
Revenue was $927.6M, $27.6M (3.1%) ahead of plan ($900.0M). The main driver was jobs completed (+$35.0M), led by North America (+$40.0M), where it moved from 400K to 440K. Price per job pulled the other way (-$7.4M), mostly in Europe (-$5.8M). By region, North America moved it most (+$40.0M), mainly through jobs completed (+$40.0M). Question for the room: is the change in volume expected to hold, or was it a one-off?
Operating margin
Operating margin was 16.1%, 1.9 points behind plan (18.0%). The main driver was labor rate (-1.0 pts), led by North America (-0.6 pts), where it moved from $50/hr to $52/hr. Jobs completed pulled the other way (+0.7 pts), mostly in North America (+0.8 pts). By region, Europe moved it most (-1.1 pts), mainly through price per job (-0.5 pts). Question for the room: is the higher cost of an hour overtime, pay inflation or both?
Cash conversion
Cash conversion was 85.0%, 7.5 points behind plan (92.5%). The main driver was days to get paid (-4.0 pts), led by Latin America (-2.6 pts), where it moved from 90 days to 110 days. Price per job pulled the other way (+0.4 pts), mostly in Europe (+0.3 pts). By region, North America moved it most (-3.9 pts), mainly through jobs completed (-3.2 pts). Question for the room: which customers are paying slowly, and is any bill in dispute?
Cost per job
Cost per job was $752.2, $14.2 (1.9%) above plan ($738.0), which is adverse. The main driver was labor rate (+$8.7), led by North America (+$5.1), where it moved from $50/hr to $52/hr. Jobs completed pulled the other way (-$3.5), mostly in North America (-$3.8). By region, North America moved it most (+$7.5), mainly through labor rate (+$5.1). Question for the room: is the higher cost of an hour overtime, pay inflation or both?
Field technicians
Field technicians were 4,610, 210 (4.8%) above plan (4,400), which is adverse. The main driver was jobs completed (+142), led by North America (+160), where it moved from 400K to 440K. By region, North America moved it most (+160), mainly through jobs completed (+160). Question for the room: is the change in volume expected to hold, or was it a one-off?
Look first at operating margin. Europe accounts for 1.1 points of the 1.9 point gap.
Why operating margin moved against plan
Operating profit as a share of revenue. Operating profit is revenue less labor, materials and travel, and fixed overhead.
Actual 16.1%. Plan 18.0%. Gap -1.9 pts Behind
Drivers of the gap, all regions, largest first
| Driver | Effect | Led by |
|---|---|---|
| Labor rateThe loaded cost of one technician hour. | -1.0 pts | North America -0.6 pts |
| Jobs completedHow many jobs the region finished, in thousands. | +0.7 pts | North America +0.8 pts |
| Price per jobWhat the region billed for each job. | -0.7 pts | Europe -0.5 pts |
| Materials and travelParts, supplies and travel for each job. | -0.5 pts | North America -0.5 pts |
| Hours per jobTechnician hours used on each job. | -0.3 pts | Asia Pacific -0.3 pts |
| Fixed overheadCosts that do not move with the number of jobs. | -0.2 pts | North America -0.2 pts |
All five measures
Actual, plan and last year side by side, with each gap and its percent change where the measure is not already a percent.
Headline table
| Measure | Actual | Plan | Gap to plan | Last year | Gap to last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $927.6M | $900.0M | +$27.6M (+3.1%) | $837.6M | +$90.0M (+10.7%) |
| Operating margin | 16.1% | 18.0% | -1.9 pts | 18.7% | -2.6 pts |
| Cash conversion | 85.0% | 92.5% | -7.5 pts | 88.5% | -3.5 pts |
| Cost per job | $752.2 | $738.0 | +$14.2 (+1.9%) | $706.1 | +$46.1 (+6.5%) |
| Field technicians | 4,610 | 4,400 | +210 (+4.8%) | 4,270 | +340 (+8.0%) |
Bridge: operating margin from plan to actual
The drivers in order of size. Each line adds its effect to the running total.
Bridge table
| Step | Change | Running total |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | 18.0% | |
| Labor rate | -1.0 pts | 17.0% |
| Jobs completed | +0.7 pts | 17.7% |
| Price per job | -0.7 pts | 17.1% |
| Materials and travel | -0.5 pts | 16.6% |
| Hours per job | -0.3 pts | 16.3% |
| Fixed overhead | -0.2 pts | 16.1% |
| Actual | 16.1% |
Region by driver: operating margin
Every region and driver pair. A row adds to its region total and a column adds to its driver total.
Region by driver grid
| Region | Jobs completed | Price per job | Hours per job | Labor rate | Materials and travel | Fixed overhead | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | +0.8 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | -0.6 pts | -0.5 pts | -0.2 pts | -0.5 pts |
| Europe | -0.2 pts | -0.5 pts | 0.0 pts | -0.4 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | -1.1 pts |
| Asia Pacific | +0.1 pts | -0.1 pts | -0.3 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | -0.4 pts |
| Latin America | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts | 0.0 pts |
| All regions | +0.7 pts | -0.7 pts | -0.3 pts | -1.0 pts | -0.5 pts | -0.2 pts | -1.9 pts |
How the gaps are split
Inputs are switched from the comparison value to the actual value one at a time, in this order: jobs, price, hours, labor rate, materials and travel, fixed overhead, days to get paid, starting receivables. Within a driver the regions go in the order shown. Each switch is credited with the change it causes, so the pieces add to the gap exactly. A different order would move a little between neighboring drivers.
- PassDriver effects add up to the gap for every measure. 10 of 10 gaps tie exactly.
- PassRegion effects add up to the same gap. 10 of 10 gaps tie exactly.
- PassDrivers are listed largest first. Every list is in order of size.
- PassRows and columns of the region by driver grid add to their totals. Every row and column ties.
- PassEach measure ties back to revenue, cost, profit and cash. Margin times revenue is profit, and the other measures tie the same way.
- PassEach bridge ends on the actual figure. Every bridge lands on the actual.
- PassEvery number in the written story is the number in the table. Each figure in a sentence is read from its table cell.
7 of 7 checks pass.
Revenue is $927.6M, $27.6M ahead of plan, and operating margin is 16.1%, 1.9 points behind plan, with labor rate the main driver (-1.0 pts).