Honestly, in school I have never loved Maths even a bit. I never saw him as my best friend either. It wasn’t me when I was sitting in class listening to Algebra and other dumb calculations. Well, at least I tried to listen to that dirty stuff which I never really didn’t want to see or hear or even know of. Yet those formulas got the best of my brain the effect of which I can still feel even today- boy! What a mess I had been during those Math classes. You are not gonna understand it man! Thank God for those Geometrical chapters and Compass box (again drawing....heh :)) along with tuition classes- I ended up getting pass marks in the final exams. (His)Grace Marks!! Really!
COSMIC ZONE
Anyway, here I was in my company looking into an excel sheet trying to create a table to record the count of some of my clients when I realised how much my hatred for Maths was still boiling inside me, and all because I had to prepare a table with some mathematical calculations- addition and subtraction! Not only was my fear of Maths present in me but also the fear that arose because of my cosmic belief that “I don’t know anything in computers as I did not do a course”. This really made me forcibly push myself into the back seat from where I was really in no position to recover as I just didn’t want to ‘disbelieve’ my cosmic belief! But because my situation- ‘boss waiting for me to complete her orders!’ demanded that the table be prepared, I had to open the back seat window and yell for HELP! Yes, I got the help I required thanks to my experienced computer literate colleagues and Senior Executives! Thank God for them!!
KING OF EXCEL.... FALLEN!
Well, having passed on from that stage of excel, I moved on to my next company where the scope for excel usage at work was my survival kit for successfully standing tall before my Manager and Senior Executives- especially when I’m in a comfortable office chair-soft and rotates too! in my company’s main Customer Care branch where customers of all walks of life storm in and give you those ugly ‘Do it or Die!’ stares. (Suddenly my chair isn’t comfortable...or maybe I have just become too hard to be placed on something soft....I wonder why...). Along with smiling and caring and assuring my newly made best buddies- clients, I also have to maintain my ‘daily’ walk-in excel sheet (yes that’s right I m so lucky to make new best buddies EVERY DAY!!....aaaargh!!!). Okay I’m smiling now. I tell you, they may be rough n tough but it’s my job to take care of them. It’s my responsibility now. Caring for them has hence been my duty inside that office. My attitude showed. They were pleased, for situations where no resolutions existed in my company, the communication from my mouth was pleasant to their ears and thus the echoes and stones from their mouth reduced. Tremendous changes!!!
In midst of this entire live and professional problem solving, I had to solve my personal problem solving as well- the excel sheet in front of me had to be filled in simultaneously while looking at my clients. By (His Grace!) now entering text details was my forte. Entering count of each walk-ins and the number of complaints was also beginning to be okay now. I don’t need my seniors to show me how to sum up the count and align the tables. I’m perfect in data entry now! Yaaay! Wow! And I haven’t even done a computer course!! Amen! Those numbers in the excel sheet are suddenly becoming very friendly to me. Dunno why. But 6 months later it’s time for my Appraisal and I have to now prepare a table showing the average and percentage analysis of all the type of complaints I have resolved and not resolved. The number of clients who walked in and the sales count for each telecom product had to be analysed as well. O my God! What’s this? What’s happening here? I thought I was King over here. Hey- just what exactly is going on!!!! Okay today I have humbled myself. I am no longer perfect in data entry and neither am I King- can someone help me out here please???....Thank God again for my seniors. Wow- I thought I would never see them again. I love them all! Today I learnt how to ‘select all’ and ‘sort’ and ‘copy and paste’ the required information which my Madam wanted. Amazing, I suddenly have more respect for my Madam :) Do you think Excel sheet produces Magic? I’m about to find out.
EXCELLENT EXCEL EXCELLING!!!
With very little, or equal to 0.001 %, knowledge in excel I have now joined my present company. Despite telling the truth about my excel knowledge, I was recruited in order to fill the shoes of someone who would be challenged each day of the month not only to enter, but also to monitor, analyse, forecast, present graphically and highlight the trends and provide suggestions to my team in UK. With a personal desire and interest to gain some computer knowledge, I challenged myself to utilise every opportunity that I came across to improve on my existing small database and at the same time take the pain to learn more so that I can fight and come out of my back seat. Each tool I learnt in excel brought me closer to my destination. By God’s grace I have sent my cosmic belief to space. I mentioned my confidence in picking up excel knowledge if I am trained for only a few days to the Manager (the BEST MANAGER to whom I’m currently reporting to). Yes, I am now the Data Admin Executive for almost 2 years. My team which comprises of Sales Managers and Account Executives depend and rely on me in order to get the accurate analysis required about their worldwide clients. Accordingly they can Strategize and make quick decisions. My Sales Manager- a gem of a person!, patiently waits for me to complete the CEO report so that based on my comparison reports and trend analysis, she can discuss with the CEO, and strategize, change forecasts and make decisions on monthly and yearly targets. These targets are then broken up and distributed on territorial basis and communicated to the rest of the departments who keep smashing the monthly targets!
GAME OF NUMBERS
What is this data? It’s the same numbers and formulas that I was afraid of and hated during my school days. But today, the need to extensively talk to this data with the help of excel tools has become my means to earn my bread and butter. Of course I always keep thanking my God for being my Ultimate Source by providing me with this opportunity where I not only am in the process of losing my fear for Maths, but I’m also learning new mathematical tools, and increasing my typing speed and computer knowledge. The numbers you have known since childhood is definitely an asset and the more you play with it in excel, the more assets you are gonna own. In Excel, you can enter the numbers for any group. The buttons for addition, subtraction, division and other formulas are all automatically available on the click of a button. If you want to present the numbers to show a increase or decrease in any field, you can easily show it with the help of graphs which are also available at the click of a button. All types of mathematical calculations are easily worked in Excel. Even if you forget something you can go to the ‘Help’ option and view it there. As a Data Analyst, this definitely will help me in preparing very complicated data and complex analysis in a very simplified manner which would be easy to grasp and quick to understand for the task owners. Excel Magic! Again Creativity is at my fingertips :)
Microsoft Excel is a great learning experience. Here is the link to the Excel Demos that Microsoft offers:
Sumod Sunny's Fave Live Microsoft Demos
Training for Microsoft Excel 2007
Training for Microsoft Excel 2003
Enjoy!
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