Looker Studio dashboards that exec teams actually read

Most marketing dashboards are unread. The ones that get used answer one question per page and tell you what to do next. If your CMO opens the dashboard once a quarter and only when prompted, the dashboard is the problem — not them.

The three views

1. This week vs forecast — single scorecard, single chart, single commentary box.
2. Channel contribution to revenue — last 13 weeks, with anomaly callouts.
3. Top three test results — what we shipped, what moved, what we're rolling out next.

The rule of one

One number per scorecard, one chart per question, one CTA per dashboard. Anything more and it goes back in the drawer. Resist the urge to add a fourth view — every addition halves the engagement of the previous three.

Build quality

• Cached queries — Looker is slow without them, and a slow dashboard is an unused dashboard.
• Filter controls hidden by default — most execs don't use them.
• Mobile-responsive layout — half the views happen on phone.
• Date range pinned to 'last completed week' to avoid the partial-week trap.

Commentary is the product

A dashboard with no commentary is a list of numbers. Add a short text box at the top of each view with what changed and what you're doing about it. That's what gets read.