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1. FAR FROM HOME

By Chris Mortimer

I started my Excel data analysis journey far, far from home.  In a hot and humid Tokyo office in the middle of Summer 2008.  The financial crisis had just hit and my job, providing public relations services to semiconductor manufacturers seeking to break the lucrative Japanese market, was about to disappear as the economy nose-dived.  What to do?

I knew it was time for a change.  And going back to the UK, my home country, would mean a clean break and a new beginning.  But what to do … professionally?  I felt like something of a ‘dilletante’ – I had cultivated a diverse skillset and broad range of interests without ever nailing down a career path, and, more importantly, a clear way to give my life meaning.  I loved working with people – but I felt all fluff and no substance.  Little did I know, the thing that would bring everything together and set me off on an adventure I never thought possible would be … spreadsheets.


2. THE TALE OF CHRISTMAS EVE

If you watch the YouTube channel, you may have heard the story of Christmas Eve and the Chinese restaurant.  It was a tradition in my family to visit the same Nottingham restaurant each year, the night before Christmas.  Arriving home from a fun evening, I felt the need to open the laptop …  

I knew it would be challenging, with a ‘soft’ background, to attempt a Masters degree in Business Analytics (the programme manager tried to persuade me to do a Masters in Marketing instead), but things really weren’t going well.  My grades were bad and the possibility I might not pass the course was realistic.  A clutch of important assessments were due.  I knew it was crunch time, make or break, do or die!

3. A PERFECT STORM

The requirements of the course engendered something of a perfect storm of self-doubt and introspection for me.  I was jealous, I think, of the students who could do it all.  Whilst I struggled, the numerical analysis for them was no problem.  The smartest guys in the room.  The top dogs - future top earners no doubt.  A career path mapped out …

I found their assuredness, verging on arrogance, difficult to deal with, but, in our conversations, I did pick up some nuggets of wisdom.  Had they simply made better life decisions than me?  I felt conflicted – should I act with the same hubris, if I ever made it as an analyst?  They had earned the right to be terse and somewhat dismissive, right?  Somehow, I knew that was wrong.  Should I ever be in the position to teach analytics, I would do it differently … make people feel better.

4. PUNCH THE AIR MOMENT

Back to Christmas Eve!  Opening up my laptop, I made a commitment.  Tonight, I would learn one thing before bedtime.  Just one.  The topic?  Excel modelling with VBA.  The concept I chose to focus on?  The Offset method.  What did it mean?  What did it do?   “I’m tired but surely I can understand one thing …”

Aligning the VBA editor with the Excel window, I stepped through some VBA routines shared by a colleague and gradually got a feel for this abstract function.  It seemed to be controlling … position.  Building confidence, I gradually started ‘playing’: change something, observe the result.  Trial and error.  Some code from the internet.  Play.  A punch the air moment.

I’m not sure what time I went to sleep that night …

5. FAST FORWARD

Fast forward 10 years.  More financial crises have come and gone in a decade of geo-political turbulence.  Through it all, however, Tiger Spreadsheet Solutions has grown steadily: a roster of consultancy customers from high-net-worth individuals and global corporations, to charities, government organisations, schools and start-ups has taken shape.  The YouTube channel has blossomed with several million views and over 80 thousand subscribers accrued.  In house, we have a small team delivering a distinctive and unique service to professionals and learners across the world …

This didn’t happen through being the cleverest, smartest or sharpest.  Nor did it come through sheltering in an ivory tower of analytical superiority.  It certainly didn’t come from adopting powerful and expensive pieces of software that are out-of-reach to most professionals …

6. YOUR EXCEL SUCCESS

It came through relentless focus on people: how can Excel make people’s lives easier?  To what end are people using Excel?  What’s their Excel ‘success’?

This is the Tiger way.

Whether you’re a prospective consulting customer, member of our unique learning community, or simply a YouTube fan, I hope our story resonates with you, and that together we can find the path to your Excel Success.

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