In any task or endeavor, it’s crucial to ask ourselves: Who is the customer? What is their requirement? What does achieving a result look like? And most importantly, what must we do to achieve that result? By following this strategic path, we can focus on outcomes rather than getting distracted by tools or features that may not serve the end goal.
To illustrate this, let’s consider three examples: the Olympic high jump, a chess game, and an Excel application.
1. The Olympic High Jump: Training for Results
Imagine you’re an athlete competing in the high jump. Your goal is to win a medal, ideally gold. To achieve this, you undergo rigorous training designed to help you clear a specific height under competition conditions. This involves building strength in the right muscles, developing technique, and working strategically with your coach.
Now, part of your training might involve using gym equipment. These machines often come with a plethora of features—basic, advanced, and cutting-edge. Gym equipment manufacturers compete fiercely, showcasing the latest innovations to attract buyers. Social media influencers might even create videos demonstrating these features to gain likes and followers.
But here’s the disconnect: the gym equipment and its features are not your end goal. While the machines might aid your training, their features won’t directly add inches to your jump. The focus must remain on your objective: jumping higher. Your coach’s role is to align your training with this goal, not to marvel at the equipment’s bells and whistles.
This example highlights a critical point: there is often a gap between the objectives of those selling tools and the objectives of those using them to achieve results.
2. Chess: The Difference Between Strategy and Pieces
When I was about ten years old, my parents bought me a chess set. I eagerly learned how the pieces moved, with the knight being my favorite due to its unique movement. However, whenever I played against my neighbor, I consistently lost. Despite my enthusiasm for moving the knight, I didn’t understand the game’s real objective: checkmate.
I was so focused on the literal—moving pieces I liked—that I missed the strategic purpose of the game. My opponent, on the other hand, played with a clear goal in mind: winning through strategy.
This example mirrors the high jump scenario. Focusing on the mechanics (moving chess pieces or using gym equipment) without understanding the overarching objective (checkmate or winning a medal) leads to failure. Success requires strategic thinking and alignment with the end goal.
3. Excel Applications: Meeting Management’s Requirements
In the business world, spreadsheets are often used to consolidate data from multiple sources, such as sales figures, budgets, or reports from various departments. A literal approach might involve creating a “pyramid” of external links across hundreds of spreadsheets to consolidate data. Anyone who’s attempted this knows it’s a fragile, error-prone process—a house of cards waiting to collapse.
Enter modern tools like Power Query, promoted as game-changers in data consolidation. While Power Query simplifies certain tasks, it doesn’t inherently solve the deeper issues of collaboration, real-time updates, or meeting management’s broader needs. For example, if the consolidated data changes, the process often requires manual oversight or re-sharing updated files. Despite using advanced tools, the fundamental inefficiencies remain.
What’s the solution? Creative and strategic thinking. Instead of relying solely on tools, we can leverage Excel’s built-in features to design a centralized, automated process. This approach eliminates the need for fragile workarounds and aligns directly with management’s requirements: efficiency, accuracy, and productivity.
The Key Lesson
In all three examples—the high jump, chess, and Excel—the underlying lesson is the same: understanding the goal is more important than mastering the tools. Whether you’re an athlete, a chess player, or an Excel user, the objective should always guide your actions. Tools and features are merely a means to an end, not the end itself.
Management doesn’t care about Power Query, dynamic arrays, or the latest Excel features. They care about results: streamlined processes, increased productivity, and accurate reporting. By focusing on these outcomes and thinking creatively, we can achieve far more than by simply mastering the tools.
Take a moment to reflect on your own work. Are you focused on the tools, or are you focused on the result? If the latter, then you’re on the right track. Let’s now explore a demonstration of how strategic thinking in Excel can transform your processes—and then revisit these examples to solidify the concept.
This is a podcast by Hiran de Silva. Narrated by Charlie.
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