The request
From Laura Bennett, Head of Finance
“The table looks good. Catherine reads the first paragraph and nothing else, so I need the headline: how November went and what, if anything, we should do about it. Don't oversell it either way.”
Your goal
Read the chart, then choose the paragraph you would put at the top of the review.
Large orders: 7 ($41,129.50) in November 2024, 1 in October 2025, 1 ($5,216.96) in November 2025; most months of 2024–2025 have 0 to 3. Regular orders: $278,167.72 → $287,147.44 year over year (+3.2%).
Show the numbers
| Month | Regular orders | Large orders ($5,000+) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-11 | $278,168 | $41,129 |
| 2025-10 | $169,283 | $5,316 |
| 2025-11 | $287,147 | $5,217 |
This case unlocks when you finish any one of:
The ticket and lesson are open to read now. Solve every level in one of those chapters, in whichever track you prefer, and this case opens.
What Laura gets, and why
The lesson
From numbers to a headline
The KPI table is done; now it needs a first paragraph that someone can act on without reading further. It follows the same three parts as any recommendation, what, how much, so what:
- What happened? November grew in volume and fell in value.
- How much? Revenue $292.4k, −8.4% on last November; orders +15.4%, buyers +23.8%, conversion from 3.50% to 4.45%; average order value $449 against $566.
- So what? The fall sits in bulk business orders, 7 last November against 1 now, while regular orders grew 3.2%. That points to one action: ask Sales about the large accounts.
A headline that stops at “revenue −8.4%” invites the wrong action. One that stops at “+67.4% on October” invites none.
Caveats a single month needs
A monthly review is built on short windows, so the caveats are part of the message:
- One month is noisy. Seven bulk orders in a month was unusual: most months of 2024 and 2025 had between 0 and 3. Last November is the odd one out as much as this November.
- The calendar shifts. Thanksgiving was on November 28 in 2024 and November 27 in 2025. The Black Friday weekend had two days inside November in 2024 (Friday and Saturday) and three in 2025, so this November gained part of the busiest weekend of the year from December.
- The open month stays open. December has 94 pending orders. Say it will be reviewed once they settle, so nobody quotes a number that will change.
Caveats are not hedging. They tell the reader how far the numbers can be pushed.
The traps in the other options
- The flattering comparison. November against October is the season talking. Use it to show direction, never as the headline.
- A cause from the top line. Revenue fell while orders, buyers and conversion rose, so the promotion is not the problem. The drivers sit one level down.
- Reporting an unsettled month. December’s revenue is incomplete until its pending orders are completed or cancelled.
The report structure behind this paragraph
In a monthly business review this paragraph is the executive summary. Below it come the KPI table with both comparisons, a short section per KPI that moved, the drill-down chart, the data notes (definitions, the month chosen and why) and the follow-ups from last month. Keeping the same structure and definitions every month is what makes the next review comparable with this one.
Lantern lit!
Practised: recommendationcaveatsseasonalityoutliersdata storytelling
- Solved
- No hints
- First run