By Hiran de Silva
This article is inspired by an excellent post by Md Ismail Hosen on LinkedIn today.
We live in a world where “truth” is no longer a single concept. Instead, truth comes in layers, variations, and distortions. Some are deliberate. Some are naïve. Some are engineered for clicks. Together, they create a fog where many professionals cannot see the difference between verifiable fact and a narrative that serves other purposes.
To illustrate this, imagine a circle in the centre of a diagram. Inside it is written:
Absolute Truth
Truth that is verifiable. Truth we can all study, test, observe, and agree upon.
This is surrounded by several alternative circles, each representing an “alternative truth.”
- Marketing Truth
This arises when marketers identify a demographic—defined by shared fears, frustrations, and aspirations—and craft a message that resonates with them. It doesn’t matter if the demand was there in the first place; it can be stimulated. Marketing truth is designed to persuade, not necessarily to reflect absolute evidence. - Novice Truth
The truth as understood by beginners. It is unchecked, unquestioned, and easily shaped by attractive ideas or popular sentiment. It feels true to the newcomer because they have not yet tested it against deeper experience or hard evidence. - Social Media Truth
This is the truth that gets likes, shares, and subscribers. It does not need to be accurate. It only needs to engage. On platforms designed for attention, “truth” is shaped by algorithms, not by evidence. Social media truth tends toward the literal—whatever can be shown on a screen in a neat demo—but rarely the lateral, the strategic, or the systemic. - Confused Truth
The composite of all of the above. Most people’s perception of truth today is not absolute truth but a fog of marketing spin, novice understanding, and social media noise. It feels convincing precisely because it combines multiple voices, each reinforcing the other.
The danger is obvious: the confused truth is mistaken for absolute truth.
A Case Study: Excel in the Enterprise
This framework is particularly useful when we look at how Excel has been treated in the business world.
For over two decades, the ERP and FP&A tools industry has published white papers demonising Excel. Workday Adaptive Planning, for example, produced a document titled The Nine Circles of Excel Hell—a comprehensive attack on spreadsheets. The central claim is that Excel is not scalable and cannot perform enterprise consolidations.
This is a confused truth. Why?
Because the industry message blends:
- Marketing truth (positioning their product against Excel’s alleged weaknesses).
- Novice truth (most users do work with Excel as a standalone desktop tool, and so they believe the accusation).
- Social media truth (influencers repeat the demonisation for engagement; “Excel Hell” is a catchy hook).
Repeated often enough, this confused truth is accepted as absolute. Many executives, consultants, and even IT leaders believe it without question.
But the absolute truth, verifiable by demonstration, is very different:
Excel, when architected in a hub-and-spoke, client-server model that leverages the cloud, scales beautifully and consolidates faster than many specialist tools. In fact, in many respects, it outperforms products like Workday Adaptive Planning.
This is not theory. It can be shown, live, to a global audience. It is observable, testable, and repeatable.
Then What?
This raises an ethical and professional question.
Do we remain silent and let the confused truth dominate? If so, industry continues to suffer enormous costs: wasted investment, unnecessary tool migrations, and missed opportunities for productivity.
Or do we demonstrate the absolute truth—clearly, visually, and repeatedly—so that both individuals and organisations can benefit?
The opportunity is immense.
- For industry: recognition of Excel’s enterprise-grade architecture unlocks efficiency and transformation without the costs of wholesale system change.
- For managers: sponsoring such a transformation advances careers by delivering high-impact value quickly.
- For individuals: moving from “just another Excel user” to “change catalyst” creates career leaps—often tripling one’s pay.
Why It Matters
This is not only about Excel. It is about understanding how truth functions in the modern world.
- Marketing truth exists because there is a product to sell.
- Novice truth exists because beginners lack reference points.
- Social media truth exists because platforms reward attention, not accuracy.
- Confused truth exists because these combine and reinforce each other.
But absolute truth remains available. It can always be tested, demonstrated, and verified. The key is not to dismiss alternative truths out of hand, but to understand why they exist, how they spread, and how to contrast them with evidence.
When we do this, we equip ourselves—and those around us—to navigate complexity more effectively. In the Excel case, this means cutting through decades of confusion and reclaiming a tool that is already in our hands, already capable of delivering enterprise transformation, if only we know how to use it.
In the next Mission Impossible episode, we’ll illustrate this contrast live: showing how Excel, leveraging the cloud, not only scales but often surpasses the very tools sold on the back of demonising it. That is the power of distinguishing absolute truth from confused truth.
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