What Surprising Number Will Change Your Business?

Numbers are the universal language of business. We use them to attract investors for our startup ideas, to win approval for product introductions, to make the case for expanding into new markets or entering new categories. In other words, numbers, when used well, tell a compelling story. So why is it that so many of the numbers we encounter in business--from endless Excel spreadsheets to bloodless calculations in business plans--make our eyes glaze over rather than set our minds racing?