Data For Executives: How to Influence Stakeholders and Achieve Success

Clear data can still miss its mark if the audience cannot quickly see what matters. Data For Executives by Nick Hobbie looks at the choices that help turn charts and analysis into a focused story for executive audiences—from how people perceive visual information to which graph best supports the point you want to make.

Design for the audience, not just the slide

The book examines visual perception, color, and the role of design in guiding attention. Its contents include color basics, color theory, color schemes, the 60-30-10 rule, and color blindness. These topics offer a practical lens for considering how visual decisions may affect the way a presentation is read.

Choose a visual that earns its place

Rather than treating charts as interchangeable, Hobbie addresses choosing an effective visual and keeping the audience focused on the central message. The material covers a broad range of forms, including line, scatter, bubble, horizontal and vertical bar, waterfall, stacked bar or column, area, pie and doughnut, cluster, and radar charts.

Make the details work together

Fonts, tables, heat maps, styling, labels, legends, titles, sorting, and backgrounds all receive attention. The book also includes sections on three-dimensional presentation and geographic information systems, extending its discussion beyond familiar business charts.

For people presenting data at work

Analysts, presentation developers, and professionals who need to explain findings to leaders or stakeholders may find this a useful guide to the visual and communication decisions behind a data presentation. Its focus is not simply on displaying numbers, but on helping an audience stay with the point those numbers are meant to support.

For readers who want their next chart to communicate more clearly, Data For Executives brings presentation design and data storytelling into one practical discussion.