Is Dashboarding Dead? How AI Is Changing Analytics UX | Robert Henkhaus, VP of Product (Enverus)
Robert Henkhaus explains how AI is transforming analytics in the oil and gas industry, why AI are making dashboards supporting evidence, and how product leaders navigate M&As.
TL;DR
From U.S. Army sniper to VP of Product, Robert Henkhaus knows a thing or two about high-stakes decision-making. Today, he’s a product leader at Enverus, the software platform guiding billions of dollars in global energy capital.
Fresh off Enverus’ acquisition by Blackstone, Robert joins us to discuss how to innovate when the pressure is on.
In this episode, we cover:
Why “Black Box” AI Fails: How Enverus builds trust with investment stakeholders by forcing AI to “show its work” on multi-million dollar recommendations
The Death of the Dashboard: Robert’s hot take on why AI will soon make traditional charts obsolete
Surviving Acquisition: The “60-Day Horizon” strategy Robert uses to keep team velocity high amidst Private Equity uncertainty
1. Why AI explainability isn’t optional when decisions cost millions (5:37)
At Enverus, customers aren’t asking AI trivia questions; they’re deciding where to deploy tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in capital.
That changes everything.
As Robert explains, many Enverus clients (like geologists) already spend their careers defending interpretations of incomplete data. AI doesn’t remove that responsibility – it amplifies it.
“If you do interpretive work based on something you can’t really see, you have to explain yourself in great detail… AI gives them an answer, but you still have to give them the plan. How did you arrive at that answer?”
The takeaway:
AI answers aren’t enough
Users need to see the reasoning, sources, and steps
Trust has to be earned inside the workflow, not after the fact
2. High-stakes AI can’t live in a chat box or sidebar (6:47)
Early on, Enverus experimented with chat-style AI (like everyone else). But they quickly hit a wall.
“Anyone can toss a chat out there. Chat’s cheap.”
What didn’t work was bolting AI onto an already-dense B2B interface and expecting users to trust it.
Instead, the team rebuilt the experience around progressive disclosure:
Fast answers for users who just need direction
Deep explainability for users who need to defend decisions
That includes:
Linking AI responses directly to Enverus’ research
Showing the full plan that the AI used to reach an answer
Exposing backend logic (e.g., SQL queries) to advanced users
3. From dashboards as insight engines to dashboards as proof (17:53)
One of Robert’s hottest takes during the episode was that AI might eventually even kill traditional analytics and dashboards.
“If AI can skip the step and just give you the insight — and you trust it — we don’t need analytics anymore. Dashboarding might be going away.”
Instead of users digging through charts to find answers, the model flips:
AI surfaces the insight
Dashboards show how the answer was derived
At Enverus, this means:
AI-generated dashboards open pre-filtered and scoped
Users immediately see what changed and why
Analytics become validation, not discovery
4. Keeping the team moving through acquisitions and periods of transition (19:36)
Enverus was recently acquired by Blackstone — a moment that often slows teams down, even when the business is healthy.
Robert’s solution: shrink the planning horizon.
“Instead of thinking about the next year, reduce the horizon. What will still be true in 60 days?”
In practice, this looks like:
Focusing on customer truths that won’t change
Defining clear 60-day goals and outcomes
Giving teams explicit decision rights within that window
Chapters
00:00 Intro
04:23: Product innovations at Enverus
05:33: AI in the energy sector: How Enverus is implementing AI in oil and gas operations
8:17: Progressive disclosure and using AI to improve the user experience
12:09: Product engagement scores: How Enverus tracks success metrics
16:51: How internal teams are engaging with AI at Enverus
19:23: Are dashboards dead? How AI is transforming analytics
21:06: Enverus’ recent acquisition by Blackstone
29:31: Conclusion
Links
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