In the previous chapter, we learned how to create different facts and metrics: if you endured the exercises until now, you won the title of "The Fact and the Furious" (as a colleague of mine likes to say…); so we can go on and have a deeper look at how to modify reports and enrich the data.

Before we continue, I'd like to make a little digression; we said already that our job is all about numbers, and we are ultimately responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the results. To reinforce that, I'd say that we don't sell numbers; we sell confidence. We must be trustworthy; otherwise, our best looking dashboard would be useless.

In order to achieve this, it is vital that we always present the totals as they are, without makeup and without euphemisms. Occasionally, in the course of a project, someone may enter your office and ask you to sweeten the pill; after all, a 40 percent loss is just a little more than 20 percent and, compared to last year's data, it could also appear as a growth.

In this case please raise your hands and say: "I'm sorry, I can't do that." Don't be afraid to lose your job. If the company is doing -40%, you will lose it anyway; credibility is our most valuable asset.

Back to the business; let's explore the many ways you can display and manipulate reports.