# EXCEL does it get the acknowledgement that it deserve



## vane0326 (Nov 12, 2005)

I would like to know if anyone has any similar experiences that the people you work with that does not acknowledge excel as a very important tool to know.


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## Smitty (Nov 13, 2005)

I think you'll find that "most" people think of it as digital graph paper and will never fully understand what it can do without some prodding.  Few will get past =SUM().  Very few take the time to think out of the box conceptually as it is, let alone with PC applicaitons, and try to see how an application can streamline their work.

For example, when I first started at this unit 7+ years ago, our secretary hand compiled weekly sales information for 100+ sales reps for a weekly rep revenue report.  It took her 10+ hours a week and in some way justified a part of her job.  Knowing all of that information resided in our mainframe prompted me to take a look at redesigning what she did manually.  Result: same thing now takes less than 30 seconds, and she's in another department.

Most Office applications serve a purpose, but few will ever look past the one that they're comfortable with.  I continue to have folks maintain lists in Word that by all means should be in Excel.  Cutting and pasting to sort doesn't seem real efficient.  But try to explain that it can be done more efficiently and you're in for a fight.  Granted, I work with "casual" users...The type who will say: "Smitty, I brought a CD in from home and put it in the computer, but it's not doing anything.  Can you take a look?"  After looking: "CD player's working just fine."  "Then what's the problem?"  "You don't have speakers."

The only "advanced" spreadsheet users we have (Finance folks) use 1-2-3 and won't touch Access.

If people don't have a desire or need to get better at work, then no application will get the acknowledgement that it deserves.  Those who do will.

My 2 cents.

Smitty


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## Tazguy37 (Nov 13, 2005)

pennysaver said:
			
		

> I think you'll find that "most" people think of it as digital graph paper and will never fully understand what it can do without some prodding.  Few will get past =SUM().  Very few take the time to think out of the box conceptually as it is, let alone with PC applicaitons, and try to see how an application can streamline their work.



A very few of the people I work with understand that Excel can be a powerful tool, and will spend the time to delve into it's more advanced features.  I showed someone here a SUMPRODUCT formula that counted by two criteria for a sheet they were working on, and he was literally spechless.      I'd called that an advanced feature if 95% of the users I see don't even know of it's existence.  And even then, most of them just continue to use exactly what I give them, without figuring out the "why " of it, and when it "breaks," they call me.  If they would just try to figure things out a little bit....  *Sigh*

I've created macros for people that do in seconds what used to take them hours, because they get a report from someone, and basically rearrange it to display the data in a different way, and maybe create a pivot table or a chart.  That's about as advanced as most people here want to get.  Someone said to me, "If people know you're really good at something, they'll figure out a way to add more to your job description and not pay you any less."  I've seen that a lot, here.    



			
				pennysaver said:
			
		

> If people don't have a desire or need to get better at work, then no application will get the acknowledgement that it deserves.  Those who do will.
> 
> My 2 cents.
> 
> Smitty



Well, this post is about a dime, then, huh?  Most people I work with are more than happy to learn just as much as they need to to do they're jobs satisfactorily, and that's it.  The few people I've shown other features to always say, "I never knew Excel could do that."  Just about verbatim every time.

Well, I didn't know it could do that, either, but I found out _for myself _how to make it do what I want.  Amen, Smitty.  If you don't want to figure out what Excel can do, you'll be sitting there working on a spreadsheet at 8:00 P.M. on a Friday night, and I'll be home with my family.


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## litrelord (Nov 14, 2005)

Tell me about it, and it gets worse.

Now I get questioned “What do you do all month?  With all your nifty macros surely you just press a button and your work gets done for you.”

Well, in part, yes.  But then you have to add on the time it takes to write those macros, find other ways of improving the macros and, most importantly, all the time it takes to write the macros/formulas that you’re using right now.  Not to mention the hours each month sitting down with you and showing you how to do something that you’ll have forgotten by next month because you say “it’s way too complicated to remember”.

Yes, this kind of thing is my forte and that’s fine but a bit of effort and understanding and look how much easier you’re life would be as well.

Nope, falls on deaf ears until next month when I’m asked again.

Nick

P.S. and don’t even get me started on the whole adding to your workload but not your salary thing!


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## TrippyTom (Nov 16, 2005)

Heh... I created a calendar speadsheet for my coworkers and sent it to them all.  Today, I got an email asking if I could highlight one of the holidays and send it back to him.

.

..

...

I did it, but I sent the calendar file to him AGAIN reminding him he didn't have to wait for me to do simple job requests like that since he already had the file.  (and no, I didn't charge him)


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## autigers (Nov 30, 2005)

In my little corner, excel is not thought of very highly unless its the engineers and their mind boggling formulas .... I knew about 2 years ago when I started with a VLOOKUP that excel was something extrodinary and could do probably anything I wanted it to do ..... I see the comments about those who ask you to "do it for them" and it's so true that they miss a TON by not dealving deeper into the hows and whys ..... 2 years later I use this board like a roofer with a nailgun .... I haven't come across ANYTHING that excel couldn't do .....

It is truly unfornate that those that I work with choose to view excel as a "mediocre" tool to get results without investigating its true potential ....

my 3pennies ....


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## Joe4 (Dec 1, 2005)

> It is truly unfornate that those that I work with choose to view excel as a "mediocre" tool to get results without investigating its true potential ....


I think that speaks more about the people making the comments that than the program itself!

You may own a Ferrari, but if you don't know how to drive, it isn't going to be very useful to you!


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## Mr_Stability (Dec 6, 2005)

I've just started using the solver (we're lucky in that we've got the premium solver from Frontline systems (www.solver.com)
(2000+ variables). It's been really useful helping with things like: should a client consolidate warehouses or open a new one. (the answer was do both to get an optimum geographic coverage for their products) 
OK,  the solver is hardly intuitive, but with a little patience is a remarkably effective tool.

And I used to think Pivot tables were hard!


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## Zack Barresse (Dec 8, 2005)

I have seen just about all that has been posted to this thread.  In my day job, I'm fortunate enough to be allowed the versatility that I need to really 'soupe up' the work here.  Where I work, there is no IT, if there was, it would be me.*

I have a very dynamic job, in the fact that the more I can get done the more I have to do.  There used to be 2 of us, now there is only me.  I am doing both positions and then some.  Since I started here, I have about tripled my work load.

Now a couple of companies in our area (whom I've dealt with through my work) are coming to me with their spreadsheets looking for better solutions and alternatives.  It's quite funny (I thought).

I guess the moral is: expect to always be under-appreciated, over-worked and probably under-paid.  Because according to (most) folks holding the purse strings, you're a computer geek who likes calculators.  

*Co-worker of mine says, "Can you help with my computer?  I think it's broken."  "Of course, I'll be right there."  ... "What seems to be the problem?"  She says, "I can't hear the music."  "Did you check if your speakers are on?"  "Yes."  ... ... check sound connections, driver, etc.  ... discreetly check the volume ... turn it up.  "All looks good, you should have sound."  "It works!"

These questions are the greatest:
"What is a Desktop?"
"How can I change that picture on my screen?"
"How do I know what my email address is?"
"What is FireFox?"
"Where does this CD go?"
"Where is my 'floppy' drive?"
"How do you change the channel on this thing?"


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