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The CEO asks for "Just ONE SIMPLE chart.": The Most Dangerous Phrase in Business

It sounds simple. It sounds harmless. It’s actually the start of a full-blown data nightmare.

Author

Glenda Carnate
September 08, 2025

Read time: 2.5 minutes

It always begins the same way.
A calm voice. An innocent ask.
“Can you just make one quick chart?”

You smile.
Inside, you scream.

Because there’s no such thing as just one chart. Behind every clean visualization hides a swamp of chaos... missing joins, dirty fields, FINAL_final-v3.xlsx, and at least one stakeholder who insists on pie charts.

And here’s the kicker: In a recent executive study by TDWI, 37% of respondents said they spent 61–80% of their time on data preparation instead of analysis and interaction. (Solutions Review)

So that “one chart”? It’s never quick.
It’s five sources, three weeks, seventeen Slack threads, and one final request: “Can we make it prettier?”

5 Brutal Truths Behind “Just One Chart”:

1. Data Is Never Clean → Every dataset has dirty fields, missing joins, and three Excel files named FINAL_final-v3.xlsx.

2. Requests Are Never Clear → “One chart” usually means “five revisions” with zero alignment on the goal.

3. Timelines Are Never Real → Three weeks of work magically becomes “Can I get it by EOD?”

4. Stakeholders Love Chaos → There’s always one who insists on pie charts. Every. Single. Time.

5. Charts Are Never Just Charts → They’re stories, battles, compromises... and sometimes SQL-induced tears.

Key Takeaways:

  • Ask why before you chart; clarity saves chaos.

  • Keep a data-cleaning checklist handy; it’s where most time vanishes.

  • Document versions: FINAL_final is not a file strategy.

  • Say yes, but set boundaries... your sanity matters more than a pie chart.

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