Making Sense of Business Metrics via Dashboards
If you're in an operations role at your company, chances are you're bombarded with business metrics information all day long. If you're like me, you probably keep multiple tabs open, or have bookmarks that go directly to various report pages. Pie charts, bar graphs, spark lines, gauges, meters, maps, and tables fill your day as you try to make sense of it all.
In a recent strategic planning meeting, my good friend Roni Zeiger referred me to a company called Klipfolio. This wasn't my first time looking at dashboard services, but definitely the first time it made sense. I had previously sat through a demo of Domo at eTail West. While there isn't anything inherently wrong with Domo, for $20 per month per user, Klipfolio is at the price point my NPO budget can afford.
So...where to start, right? In order to get started with building my dashboard, I first had to understand what I wanted to track. Suddenly, the possibilities were endless. I made a mental list:
Social presence. Facebook insights are relatively easy to connect, and instantly rewarding. Below, you'll see I've created a chart that tracks 3 dimensions of insights: impressions, new likes, and engaged users. This mimics the standard view on Facebook. But hey, you don't have to go there anymore.
More social presence. I quickly found out that the best part about social media API is that it's rich data and it's reliable. I have several panes on my dashboard that give me two dimensions of any given social platform. For example: Facebook followers and people talking about us; Twitter followers and number of tweets; Mailing list subscribers and open rate.
Distribution. We have a growing eCommerce store, as well as a literature supply chain that goes out to cancer centers around the country. It's great to visualize which states and countries they're going to, and in what frequency.
Event attendance. Exactly the same as distribution, but flipped, and with human beings.
Cash flow. Donations, sponsorships, store revenue. You can do all sorts of fun things from creating thermometer like gauges with goals, as well as pie charts to see how your different campaigns stack up along side each other.
After two months of tinkering, that's where I've landed, but it's not exactly the end of the story. There are a few other aspects of creating your dashboard.
Audience. Who are you showing this to? In my case, I can drag and drop different panes easily. If you plan on using your dashboard as a tool during a sales pitch, you will definitely need to modify and cater it to each specific meeting. I have also contemplated creating a "read only" version. Luckily, with Klipfolio, you can choose to share different panes with other users. This is great if you have people under you who might need to see only bits and pieces of information rather than everything under the hood.
Data sources. API, XML, CSV, or JSON? (Who came up with these crazy acronyms, anyway?) In terms of data sources, API is ideal. As I mentioned, social API is up the majority of the time. I do have a pesky data source that is in and out. I really never know if my charts and graphs will populate. XML reports are static, but easy to work with. CSV files are also static, but a bit more customizable for specific reporting purposes. The data source will determine how efficient your dashboard is vs. how much manual updating it will require. Always shoot for API/JSON first.
If you're using a dashboard service or thinking about using one, I'd love to hear what you plan on tracking in the comments below.
Nonprofiteer of the Year 2013
In June, I found out I was a finalist for the Young Non-Profit Professionals Network of New York City's Nonprofiteer of the Year 2013 award. I was stoked to be nominated for my first professional award. As soon as I found out, I had several colleagues forward me the newsletter YNPN-NYC had sent out, along with the 4 other finalists. Quite an impressive list of people:
John Hellman (@JuanEstebanNYC) Director of Advocacy, Latino Commission on AIDS
John Moreno (@JohncitoMoreno) Founder, Latino Youth for Higher Education Program
Tara Pokras (@tpokras) Program Assistant, Project Sunshine
Mon Yuck Yu Chief of Staff, Academy of Medical & Public Health Services
The event was held in at the Center for Social Innovation on June 27th. It was a nice intimate gathering of like-minded individuals. The winner was named towards the end of the event after the 5 of us offered up some career advice. I was honored to have been selected and thankful to everyone who nominated me!
Zendesk, a Non-Profit's Dream.
I’ll generalize a bit: most nonprofits just aren’t set up to experiment with their tech stack. That’s not a knock—it’s just the reality. They’re busy doing the work, and let’s face it, most aren’t super nerdy.
As I write this from a JetBlue gate at San Diego International Airport, I find myself daydreaming about... closing tickets. The kind that get triaged to my team and me through our helpdesk. It's second nature now. Any time I check my iPhone, I might see a Zendesk notification waiting for me.
Wait—what’s Zendesk?
Back in 2012, when our team doubled from two to four, I pitched Zendesk as our helpdesk solution. It's simple: an inquiry comes in, a ticket is created, we get notified, we respond, and eventually, we resolve it. It also doubles as a powerful FAQ platform—customizable and user-friendly—with the added bonus of blog-style conversations at the bottom of each article.
But can’t we just stick with a shared Gmail account?
Sure, you can. We did. In fact, we had multiple shared inboxes and aliases, all leading into a messy Gmail catchall. If that sounds familiar, you’re not doing it wrong—but you could be doing it better. Zendesk brings structure, clarity, and scalability to your inbound chaos.
And if your setup is even more duct-taped than that... well, you might already know you need help.
So, why Zendesk?
Here’s what I was hoping for when we signed up:
A single inbox to rule them all. I wanted a central place for inquiries that wasn’t my personal or work email.
Smarter routing. No more time-wasting email threads—just reassign a ticket to the right person with a click.
Better service. We run an online store and get plenty of “Where’s my order?!” messages. Zendesk helps us respond faster and with fewer dropped balls.
A real, dynamic FAQ. Finally, a place to post policies and reduce repetitive questions.
And here’s what we’ve learned:
It’s worth the investment. Zendesk isn’t free, but it pays off.
You still have to drive. It’s not a magic wand. You’ll need to create macros, set rules, and stay on top of it.
Know your users. Some people won’t love getting a ticket number. Legacy folks might be confused. Communicate the shift clearly.
Don’t overuse it. We once tried scheduling a meeting via Zendesk. Ten messages later... we switched to email. Know when to step outside the system.
Use the feedback. Zendesk can automatically send follow-up surveys after tickets are closed. Critical feedback helps us improve fast.
Crowdsource your FAQs. Don’t write them in a vacuum. What seems obvious to you might be confusing to others.
Make your FAQ pages fun. They don’t have to look like a dusty helpdesk relic.
Track performance. Zendesk gives great data—who’s crushing it, who’s not, and how fast your team responds.
Bottom line: Zendesk isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s been a game-changer for us. Like anything else in your tech stack, you get out what you put in.