# Why do ppl not at least try to improve excel skills?



## mikemck (Apr 29, 2019)

I have learned most of my excel skills because I really wanted to find less tedious way to accomplish what I need to do. And, I learned most of it while on the clock at work. Not on my own time.

What I find time & time again is processes that have been in place for years, and no change or improvement at all in the process. Not even any attempts at trying to improve the process or make it less tedious.

And yet, once I am able to implement a solution it is readily accepted!

WTF? Why do ppl not even seem to attempt to improve their daily/weekly/monthly work flow?


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## alansidman (Apr 29, 2019)

I think that many people live by the credo "If its not broken, then don't fix it."  Also, laziness.  Look at this and other excel forums.  How many times do people post here looking for someone to solve their issue when often times a quick search on Google will do it for them.


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## Logit (Apr 29, 2019)

.
They are looking for a 'participation trophy' rather than a diploma ?


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## montecarlo2012 (May 6, 2020)

Hi. Very interesting chat. Mr. alansidman you got a point on that, also I have been in a situation that Internet ("videos, tutorials etc. etc.") they really are to General, plus I founded in other language the instructions or lesson they start with IPO chart they talk about desk checking pseudocodes etc. I purchased books about VBA and no one, no any single one mention hand tracing for loops or anything, so sometime I feel like ready to give up, but still I really like VBA is really close to English, and I like this forum, and sometime you find people that not only upload the code they also explain the logic behind, logic that it is not on the books, for example most of then at the chapter on loop always they write a little template and say:
for variable = start to end step
do something
next
and from here they give couple more examples and by, have a nice day, you are in your own now
sometime it not about lazy, or comfort, is that you need a better courses or books, until now I don't know were are they
and about the videos on you tube most of them is about to show  faces and promotions
and remember we don't born equal, some of Us need more, some people need less, but is the world you know, the smarts and the other WE make possible the Forum.
Now, IF YOU PLEASE have reference about instruction that avoid the people that ►"Logit"◄ is uncomfortable with, PLEASE  enlightenment Us.
I understand perfectly the different angles possible to see this, 
I understand also that sometime members they really don't know how to Ask, so in this case would be nice, IF beside the rules also there are a FORMAT for questions
like for examples 

OBJECTIVE: A1:N200
VARIABLE CELLS: C6, B2
constraints:C6:C11 <= D6:D25
Formulas if one exist: =(10*B5)^3
Answer Destination: Sheet 3
and so on then will be easy for you guys to help people like US that still we don't get the whole concept of programming.
Thank you so much for spent time reading this.


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## Darren Bartrup (May 27, 2020)

That's how I started Excel.  
Way back in '98 the company I worked for would fill in their daily production & accuracy totals on an Excel sheet.... after doing all the calculations with paper & calculator.
Very basic knowledge of Excel at the time, so I just created a formula using the calculations I would enter into the calculator swapping the values for cell references and it worked.
Saved the company about 10 hours work a day across the various teams and haven't looked back since.


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## montecarlo2012 (May 27, 2020)

Darren Bartrup, awesome


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## DataBlake (May 27, 2020)

I think its mostly a lack of passion for problem solving, You will never get some people to be curious enough to find better or faster solutions to their problems. I.E I love to cook and to know how someone made something, but I could care less about what is on the inside of my car when there are people who can fix it for me. Same applies here.


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## montecarlo2012 (May 27, 2020)

DataBlake. I like your comment, now we are two don't know about cars, but me, I don't know cooking either, so you are better, for me all the words belong to the invisible world like passion (it is not an object,) intelligent, know, I can see that, so for every person is different, I have a lot passion for VBA, for me is the GOLDEN language, but, by experience I can tell you sometimes your passion and your smart brain are not enough, you need some real help, and not just sign language. Remember we are not equal and we never will, so the problem is to find the one's that share some similarities.
And PLEASE, whoever read this, PLEASE don't take me wrong. 
My passion, I arrive from my job 5 p.m. eat in 10 minutes and after come to the PC, log in on MR. excel and try, and try and try, I have Mr. excel books and videos, so I am trying to say is; I believe I have passion, discipline, beside my major was mathematics (Calculus I, II and III, statistics, discrete math); and still my friend, Loops are a hard bones.  sometime I go to the bed 11 pm or more, so I have passion, I know music also.
One of my big curiosities are, other languages I tried always the first "supposedly program or code" is Hello world, fine, all agree in that one, but which one is the second.
ok DataBlake have a nice day, and thank you for your post.


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## sandy666 (May 29, 2020)

montecarlo2012 said:


> we are not equal and we never will


and this is beautiful


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## ashakantasharma (May 30, 2020)

From my point of view I think people loves being excel and creative in areas for which they are passionate about. I love Excel and carried out various automation of work flows in the organisation and completely revolutionized the way of workings at many organisations. *I thought of being an Expert in Microsoft Excel until I joined this community and get to know and face the real mirror that I know much less and definitely not an expert in Excel looking after the problems and solutions offered by real experts here globally. *However this recognition of knowing less has helped me to learn and gain new insights which improves me day by day now. When you are at a pond and looking after to the problems and solutions there, you will be thinking that the pond is the entire world and you are an expert. But when you get out of the pond and join a global community you will be stunned with the problems and solutions of the same which will be large and most complex in nature from around the world. One more thing is that "YOU WILL BECOME THE AVERAGE OF KIND OF MOST PEOPLES YOU ARE AROUND WITH" 

Putting aside the EGO is the foremost thing and an attitude of "I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING" is a must to learn and keep the creativity going on in life. 

Not many people are comfortable with failure. Most of us want to avoid risks as much as possible. Failure in our minds is one of the worst things that can happen. Taking risks, therefore, is scary. Unfortunately, an important part of creativity is trying out new things. Or to quote George Lois: “You can be cautious or you can be creative, but there’s no such thing as a cautious creative.” If you want to be creative, experiment and take calculated risks.

Many people believe they will never be creative. They also believe they don’t have to. They’re wrong. Henry Ford was right when he said “_Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right_.” The only thing stopping you from being creative is your own disbelief. Creative thinking is all about psychology. Creativity is a skill and can be learned. Anyone can become a creative thinker, and anyone can become better at it by training.


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## Merri (Sep 8, 2020)

Hello everyone!

Omg, everyone is so on point!  We are all different, yet in so many ways, we are all the same -- and our love of Excel binds us together.   Plus for those of us who _thoroughly_ enjoy the challenge of putting in a formula "just so" that will save X minutes/hours of tedious manual data entry, there's a big Woo Hoo when you press enter and that Excel ""magic"" happens. ?   Well, ""magic"" to those who don't care to learn shortcuts or formulas.

For some it is just laziness.  Someone else, or in some cases the harried no-time/patience-to-teach supervisor, will fix/correct whatever is needed, so that person will never learn how to do it because there is no reason to.

For others, it "seems" to be a mindset of "I know how to do it 'this' way, so that is the only way that it can be done.  There is no shortcut or formula that will save any time or be more efficient.  The task/work Will Be Done This Way."  Say all that in a very dull authoritative voice . . 

All we can do is make _our_ work as efficient as possible, meet our deadlines, and repeatedly answer those "gee, how'd you do that?" or "what does that formula do?" questions . . . . 

And, btw, as I haven't been here in _quite_ a while, I hope all are well and managing thru whatever each day brings. ? ?


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## Drrellik (Oct 4, 2020)

Very well said by all,  

I have experienced (due to a high turn over rate) at work where someone creates a sheet for work and has plenty of bells and whistles in the sheet/workbook only to be turned over to the next person who can not understand the formulas or links and either starts over with their own version or goes back to a manual way of doing things.  only to be turned over again to the next person who says why are we doing it this way and re-creates a new workbook slightly different from the first.    

I find if you keep it simple but can complete the task at hand, more often than not the people using it will keep using it, and that tends to be the reason a simple sheet will last for a long time in an office environment.

It's not that people are all lazy and don't want to change it, it is more that it works currently for what we need so don't make it hard for the next person.


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