Down with dashboards—long live actionable intelligence
For years, dashboards have been the go-to tool for tracking performance, analyzing data, and guiding strategy. But do they really help leaders make better decisions? That’s the question TheyDo’s VP of Marketing Nick Peart and Principal Product Manager Justas Petronis tackle in this webinar.
Building on insights from TheyDo’s recent report, Data, Decisions, and Doubt: A 2025 Leadership Perspective, their conversation explores why traditional dashboards are losing relevance, the growing trust gap in data, and how AI is reshaping decision-making. As organizations struggle to navigate an overwhelming influx of information, they need a smarter, AI-powered approach—one that goes beyond static metrics and enables faster, more confident decision-making.
“We need to move beyond dashboards to journey management, where data is dynamic, connected, and cross-functional,” explains Nick.
In other words, they need actionable intelligence—a dynamic, context-rich journey management approach that reveals hidden insights and opportunities, aligns teams, and leads to better decisions in real time.
Here are the key takeaways from the session:
1. The dashboard dilemma: Too much data, not enough meaning
Dashboards were meant to simplify decision-making, but while 77% of executives rely on them, more than half feel overwhelmed by data overload. According to the report:
“Leaders are operating in silos and not cross-referencing insights with other departments or colleagues enough. Decisions are made based on dashboard snapshots, rather than a bigger picture.”
Nick shares a striking example: Amazon once believed its customer service was performing well based on green dashboard metrics—until executives called their own support line and waited 10+ minutes on hold.
Instead of relying solely on static dashboards, leaders must challenge the data—are the numbers accurate, do they reflect reality, and are they helping or hindering decision-making? The key is to move beyond surface-level metrics to uncover meaningful insights and take action.
2. The AI paradox: The pitfalls of automation without context
AI is often positioned as the answer to data challenges, but it introduces new complexities:
28% of executives worry that AI-generated insights can't be trusted.
40% have AI systems in place but feel they aren’t using them effectively.
Over 50% still cite security and data privacy concerns.
The problem isn’t just data overload—it’s the risk of making poor decisions at a faster rate.
“AI is kind of like putting a turbo engine on your car with no brakes,” Nick explains. “You’re making decisions faster, but are they the right ones?”
3. Moving beyond dashboards to actionable intelligence
If dashboards and AI alone aren’t the solution, what is? The answer lies in actionable intelligence—a smarter, more dynamic way to turn data into meaningful action. Instead of relying on fragmented data points, organizations must connect the dots across customer journeys to gain a complete, real-time view of their decision landscape.
“Every team has their own tools, their own system of record, but if you can bring these insights together into a single view of the experience, that’s when real decision intelligence happens,” Nick explains.
Unlike traditional dashboards, actionable intelligence integrates both qualitative and quantitative data to provide context-rich, real-time insights. AI can extract patterns from unstructured data, surfacing hidden customer pain points and opportunities that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Here’s how organizations can leverage actionable intelligence:
Break down data silos – Ensure insights are shared across teams instead of being trapped in separate tools.
Enrich data with qualitative insights – Combine structured data with real customer feedback to add critical context.
Use AI to uncover patterns, not just process data – AI should enhance human decision-making, not replace it.
Focus on opportunities, not just metrics – A single metric doesn’t tell the whole story; insights should guide business actions.
A real-world example: AI vs. human analysis
Nick shares a real-world example during the webinar that highlights this shift in action:
“We have a couple of customers that have been testing this, including a fairly large airline that had a team doing it traditionally, and they spun up a different team doing it with AI. They were going to run both together for three months and compare the output, but within a week, they switched off the human team and had everybody just work with AI because the results were so much better and faster in terms of them being able to process more data.”
By shifting from dashboards to actionable intelligence, organizations can make faster, more confident decisions—without the guesswork.
4. The future of actionable intelligence
It’s time to rethink how we approach data-driven decision-making. The future belongs to those who:
Challenge data, rather than blindly accepting it.
Use AI to uncover patterns and predict future trends.
Move from static dashboards to real-time, dynamic insights.
Imagine a world where data doesn’t just report the past, but actively guides the future—where insights evolve in real-time, helping leaders anticipate challenges and opportunities before they arise.
That’s the future of AI-powered actionable intelligence.
Wrap-up:
“The future of decision-making isn’t just about having more data—it’s about having the right context, the right insights, and knowing what actions to take next,” says Nick.
It’s time to move beyond static dashboards and embrace actionable intelligence, powered by journey management—where data is dynamic, connected, and cross-functional.
Want to learn more? Watch the full webinar here. Ready to go deeper? Check out TheyDo’s journey management platform and start making better, faster decisions—without the dashboard noise.
Webinar timestamps:
00:00 Welcome & introductions
01:25 The problem with dashboards: Do they help or hurt decision-making?
03:28 The Jeff Bezos anecdote: Why dashboards can be misleading
06:07 The trust gap in data-driven decision-making
07:07 How AI is changing the decision-making process
09:28 Why context matters more than raw data
12:38 A demo of TheyDo’s actionable intelligence capabilities
18:46 Breaking down data silos: How TheyDo helps teams align and act on insights
27:38 The AI paradox: Are we making decisions faster but not better?
33:35 Real-world example: How a major airline replaced manual analysis with AI
38:15 Best practices for integrating AI-powered insights into decision-making
45:40 The future of actionable intelligence: Predictive insights and automation
50:27 Final thoughts: Why actionable intelligence is the next frontier