Is there a name for those people....

[Jonmo1]

That would be the group that simply don’t realise that things can be made easier.

I agree, Ignorance <> Stupidity, it simply means you didn't know. It's the ones that refuse to use/learn the functionality once they know it exists that bug me.

In some ways I feel a little guilty about not teaching them anything..........

I call that job security...

 

[Lewiy]

I call that job security...

You’ve hit the nail squarely on the head there!! Sometimes you just have to keep things to yourself….which is a shame though, because there are a select few with whom I would very much enjoy sharing some knowledge.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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*has just had an epiphany regarding the amount of time spent on MrExcel*<o></o>

 

[Domski]

I call that job security...

It's a fine line between demonstrating enough that it makes them think you're indispensable and showing people enough to make them think your helpful whilst still saving something special up for the wow factor when you really need it

 

[Fazza]

Please don't have the 'scarcity mentality' - change to the 'abundance mentality'. Teach everyone who is interested.

That is what is happening by those sharing information on the forum. Everyone is richer for the sharing - those teaching and those learning. As an individual and as a group we are all poorer with the scarcity mentality: not sharing information.

You will become a more valuable/better person for sharing.

Please teach everyone who is interested.

 

[RichardS]

I'm with you, Fazza. I often get asked to undertake specific projects because people know I can do it in Excel. If it's not too complex, and people are willing to listen,and I can make the time, I will happily sit down with them and show them the steps I took to get to the end product. Next time, they can make a start themselves, and I can just be availabel as a resource. Not doing myself out of a job, because the more often you do this, the more often people will aks for your help. And the more often that happens, the more challenged you are yourself to learn something new.

 

[Joe4]

Please don't have the 'scarcity mentality' - change to the 'abundance mentality'. Teach everyone who is interested.

That is what is happening by those sharing information on the forum. Everyone is richer for the sharing - those teaching and those learning. As an individual and as a group we are all poorer with the scarcity mentality: not sharing information.

You will become a more valuable/better person for sharing.

Please teach everyone who is interested.

Very well said, Fazza! I couldn't agree more! That is why many of us are here!

 

[Fazza]

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_mentality

Likely you will find, like me, that if you 'show others the path' where they can learn lots about Excel (or about healthy diets or lifestyles, or being better people / personalities / partners, or having wealth, or just about anything else) less than 5% of people will follow that path.

There are many, many opportunities for using Excel and even if there were 10 times as many people with skill levels 10 times what they have now there would be plenty of opportunities still.

So, don't be secretive with your knowledge, please. You will grow and be more appreciated and better by sharing the knowledge with as many people as you can. Look at this forum as an Excel-ample. Bill Jelen and hundreds of thousands of people are improved by this forum! Wow, eh!

And the same with all the other great Excel web sites that are often linked to from threads - Debra Dagliesh, Chip Pearson, Charles Williams, Jon Peltier, Rob Bovey, XL Dennis, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Stormseed]

Teaching sure does makes a man / woman perfect. If you are able to teach well then prolly you would be an expert in whatever you preach. Nevertheless, the people who are learning - they seem to be like this...?

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=335908

This one is so inquisitive about creating a macro - whether or not - it is required for his problem - on the top of it - ENGLISH vocabs seem to be out of the blues

 

[arkusM]

What to call these people. I like to call them hard workers. Myself, I am way too lazy to do data entry or things the long way. My work can be tedious and I find interest in finding solutions that make the tedium less onerous. I guess I also have the luxury of being able to pursue the more efficient* solutions. *I must qualify that, to be more efficient for the process, I do necessarily have the excel proficiency to make it a efficient as possible, but I am working on that thanks to those who teach on this forum. My skills have increased ten-fold thanks to all the selfless teachers.

 

[cornflakegirl]

My old boss had a great story of once hiring a bloke who described himself as very lazy. For the first three months of the job, he worked all hours, making all the systems and processes as efficient as possible. After that, he went home every day at 5.

Not sure I'm dedicated enough for the first bit. Or that I'd want to stay in a job where there was nothing left to improve! But I like the story

Oh, and data entry is very wrong. Nearly as wrong as merged cells