Visual Indicators & “Confidence Theatre
A knife in the hand of a murderer leads to death, … but a knife in the hand of a surgeon leads to life.
Designed and Developed by Paul M. Critchlow, © 2026,
“When Spreadsheets Lie – that false confidence in spreadsheets,” released 10 Feb 2026
When Conditional Formatting Replaces Logic
Traffic lights, icons, smiley faces — these are meant to improve understanding.
The problem arises when:
icons replace numeric thresholds
Symbols are driven by nested IF logic
Users rely on colour instead of values
I’ve seen dashboards where:
The symbol is correct
The calculation behind it is not
Visuals create confidence quickly.
But confidence without verification is dangerous.
Dashboards should summarise logic — not replace it.
Question to consider:
If all colours and icons were removed, would the underlying numbers still make sense?
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You can contact me directly at trainer@pmcza.com
#WhenSpreadsheetsLie #ThoughtLeadership #SystemsThinking #RiskAndTrust #NumbersThatMatter
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