Some may argue that I’m being overly critical of people who are just starting to learn Excel, diving into VLOOKUPs and discovering the excitement of keyboard shortcuts. Let me be clear: I have no objection to that. In fact, learning the basics of Excel—VLOOKUPs, keyboard shortcuts, formatting tricks—has great utility and should be encouraged. Influencers like Deb Ashby and Kat Norton are doing an excellent job in helping people at the foundational level of Excel, and that has real value.
However, that’s not the point of my critique. I’m not here to stop people from creating spreadsheets, even messy ones. The reality is, as in any pyramid structure, most people start at the bottom, lured in by the enticing basics. That is perfectly normal, and it keeps the wheels of learning turning. But what comes next is where the real opportunity lies: the transformation of those early skills into something of much greater value.
Take the fast food industry as an analogy. Fast food is immensely popular. I enjoy McDonald’s, Burger King, and recently indulged in some fried chicken from a shop near Wingstop. It’s a treat many enjoy, but we also know that frequent fast food consumption can contribute to obesity and related health conditions. From this reality, a whole new set of industries emerges: health foods, gyms, yoga classes, and slimming tablets—all aimed at helping people overcome the very consequences of unhealthy eating.
The fitness industry isn’t actively trying to stop people from going to McDonald’s. They understand that fast food will always have a place in people’s lives. Instead, they seize the opportunity to transform those habits into healthier lifestyles. They identify the problem, provide a solution, and people pay for it.
In the world of spreadsheets, it’s similar. We aren’t trying to stop people from creating isolated, messy spreadsheets. Those habits exist, and they will continue to. But from that messy situation comes an enormous opportunity. If we understand how that mess arises in the first place, we can offer solutions that not only clean it up but also provide real value to management—value they are willing to pay for.
Here’s where the analogy extends: Just like a gym trainer might tell you that part of the reason you struggle with weight is due to fast food, we can point out that many of the issues in enterprise spreadsheets stem from the techniques designed for individual, isolated use. Those single-user techniques—copying data from sheet to sheet, manual updates, local shortcuts—are not designed for scalable, systematized processes. When these practices are applied to an enterprise environment, the result is chaos.
Just like eating too many burgers means more work in the gym, using isolated, manual spreadsheet techniques in a business creates more mess, more manual work, and ultimately inefficiencies. However, this isn’t about condemning fast food—or in this case, VLOOKUPs and manual Excel work. It’s about recognizing that once you’re in this situation, there’s a clear opportunity to transform the mess into something more streamlined, efficient, and valuable.
So, rather than focusing on the bottom of the pyramid—the people just starting out—we should look at the bigger picture. We can transform those basic skills into something far more valuable for the enterprise by showing management how to move from a messy, manual spreadsheet culture to a more systematized, automated approach. The opportunity is there for anyone willing to move beyond the basics, just as a gym offers a solution for those who want to change their lifestyle after indulging in fast food.
To preempt any misunderstandings: Most spreadsheet techniques shown online are for single-use cases on isolated spreadsheets. When applied in a business context that requires process efficiency, minimal manual intervention, and scalability, these techniques lead to a mess—just like eating too many burgers leads to needing more gym sessions.
In short, it’s not about stopping the learning or even the messy spreadsheet creation. It’s about recognizing the current reality and seeing the opportunity to transform it into something far greater. Just as the fitness industry thrives because fast food exists, those of us offering Excel solutions for business thrive because the messy spreadsheet culture exists—and there’s immense value in helping businesses clean it up.
The podcast was narrated by Matilda.
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