By Hiran de Silva
Imagine this.
You’ve done the work your boss asked for. You’ve built the spreadsheet. You’ve emailed it across. Task complete, right?
That’s how most of us think — inside the box. Job done, move on. But then the spreadsheet takes on a life of its own. Ten copies. Twenty versions. Different numbers. Some in inboxes, some on laptops, some lost on shared drives.
And suddenly your manager is stuck. He needs “the current truth” — but he can’t find it. Stress rises. Time is wasted. Risk multiplies.
This is the Jackson Pollock scenario — a messy splash of versions all over the organisation. And management knows it. They live with the pain of it every day.
Why This Matters to You
Most people at ground level shrug and say, “That’s just how things are.” But here’s the truth: that’s not how things have to be.
There is a better way. It’s called the Digital Librarian.
The Digital Librarian is a simple idea:
- Data sits in one trusted place.
- Spreadsheets don’t get emailed around — they fetch what they need directly from the source.
- Instead of confusion, you have clarity. Instead of chaos, you have control.
Here’s the opportunity: if you can show your boss this better way — using the tools you already have, like Excel and Access — you can transform not only the department’s performance but your own career trajectory.
Get Your Boss Promoted
Let me give you the line that underpins my lectures: Get your boss promoted.
That is the key. If you understand your boss’s pain points — the headaches of reconciling versions, of chasing “the latest file,” of presenting numbers that may not be current — and if you solve those headaches, you will make your boss look good.
And when your boss looks good to their boss, that ripple continues upwards. You’ve now created value that is visible across the chain of command.
Your boss will notice. Their boss will notice. And they will all know who made it possible: you.
How to Do It
You don’t need a £10 million system. You don’t need new licenses. You don’t need a new department.
You already have what you need: Excel, Access, and a willingness to think differently.
- Spot a pain point — the messy version control, the repeated manual consolidation, the endless emailing.
- Apply the Digital Librarian idea: put the data in one place and let the spreadsheets connect to it.
- Build a simple proof of concept. Don’t aim for perfection; aim for contrast. Show the “before and after.”
- Demonstrate it to your boss. Watch the spark in their eyes when they see the difference.
That’s your entry ticket. That’s the prototype that can travel up the organisation.
Why This Works
Because while many people are content to stay in the box, management desperately wants the mess solved. They want clarity. They want reliability. They want truth.
And when you provide that — not with a big-ticket IT project, but with the tools already in their hands — you look ultra clever. You become the one who made the impossible possible.
That visibility is career gold.
The Call to Action
So here’s my challenge to you: stop thinking like everyone else. Don’t just send the file. Don’t just tick the box.
Instead, see the bigger picture. See the stress your managers face. And then become the person who relieves it.
Embrace the Digital Librarian mindset. Build that prototype. Show what’s possible.
Do it not just to make your work easier, but to get your boss promoted.
Because when you make your boss look good, your entire organisation benefits — and so do you.
That’s how you stop being invisible. That’s how you become indispensable.
That’s how you accelerate your career.
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