Introduction to the Series: The Excel Divide and the Hidden Opportunity

The Pie Chart Sketch: Understanding the Divide in Excel Usage

Imagine all the spreadsheets currently in use across the world—there must be billions. To better understand their deployment, consider this breakdown:

• 75% of all spreadsheets are used within enterprises, playing a critical role in business processes that connect people, manual tasks, and automated systems with enterprise software at various points.
• 13% are used by solo entrepreneurs or small businesses where a single person manages all admin tasks, customer lists, orders, and accounts using Excel due to its intuitive nature.
• 2% belong to the social media influencer ecosystem, where Excel training and content creation occur, focusing predominantly on the needs of the 13% rather than the complexities of enterprise use.

This last category presents a fundamental problem: most of the educational content available on Excel caters to solo entrepreneurs and small businesses, reinforcing a stand-alone, siloed approach to spreadsheets. However, enterprise-level Excel use is vastly different and requires entirely different methodologies.

The Fundamental Mismatch: How Excel Content Fails Enterprises

The social media-driven Excel training industry thrives on engagement metrics—views, likes, and shares—rather than effectiveness in business settings. This leads to an overemphasis on flashy, visually appealing techniques that cater to beginners rather than in-depth, process-driven solutions required in the corporate world.

A key issue is the contrast between stand-alone spreadsheet use and enterprise process-driven solutions:

• Solo entrepreneurs work independently, collaborating only by emailing spreadsheets, leading to version fragmentation but manageable in small operations.
• Enterprises require scalable, automated, and interconnected processes where spreadsheets serve as part of a broader system, not isolated files passed around manually.

The consequence of applying single-user spreadsheet habits in enterprises is inefficiency and chaos. Workflows that should take one person a day often take ten people a month due to excessive manual effort, redundant tasks, and fragmented data.

The Opportunity: Transforming Excel Use in Enterprises

This series explores the untapped potential of re-engineering business processes using Excel to eliminate inefficiencies and create high-value solutions. Unlike conventional Excel training that reinforces outdated spreadsheet habits, this series will demonstrate how applying the right methodology can:

• Turn month-long processes into single-day tasks.
• Shift spreadsheet use from siloed, manual work to systemized, automated processes.
• Reduce workforce burden while increasing productivity and accuracy.

Demonstrating the Value: A Real-Life Example

I first discovered this opportunity in a low-paying, six-week temp job with a £6,000 budget. By identifying inefficiencies and applying Excel creatively, I provided a solution that impressed senior management. The result:

• My contract was extended indefinitely.
• My pay tripled immediately.
• Over six years, my consultancy fees totaled £1.4 million, demonstrating the immense value of process-driven Excel use in enterprises.

This transformation is not a one-off fluke. I repeated it across three different industries, achieving similar success each time. The key? Understanding the difference between stand-alone spreadsheet work and enterprise-level process automation.

What to Expect in This Series

In the following episodes, I will introduce the Dirty Dozen—12 common inefficiencies in enterprise Excel use—and show how to turn them into opportunities. These case studies will illustrate:

• The problems caused by stand-alone spreadsheet habits in businesses.
• The practical steps to re-engineer workflows for efficiency.
• How recognizing and implementing these changes can lead to career and financial growth.

Our next episode will introduce The Colombo Sketch, a case study that epitomizes how a small insight can create a game-changing impact in an enterprise environment. If you’re a fan of the detective Colombo, you’ll enjoy this one.

Stay tuned.