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"OK, wow. THAT is SICK. Just. SICK."
-Lead Analyst at this week’s consulting/training client

"We just eliminated the need for our entire first development sprint in two hours."
-Director of Business Intelligence, same client

“We’ve been talking about how badly we need this particular analysis forever.  I can’t believe it – all this time we had the ability to just DO it, but didn’t know.”
-CEO, same client

Quite a Rush

It’s 5:45 am in Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.  I’ve just flown overnight after two intense days at a client in California.  I have ninety minutes until my next flight.  I have not slept.

And what am I doing?  I’m walking – practically gliding – through the vast tunnels beneath the airport.  For long stretches I am the only human being present.  I have no interest in the shuttles, nor the moving walkways.  I’ve got too much energy to burn off.  I simply feel too GOOD to sit down, or even stand still.

Why do I feel so good?  Take another look at those quotes up top.  Pretty damn cool.  But I suspect that it’s hard to relate to why I was flying so high without a little more background.

And even more importantly, I want you to understand why and how PowerPivot will take you to similar places.

In the company of amazing people

If you read the quotes above, and your reaction is something like “Rob’s client didn’t know what they were doing, and Rob went in there and opened their eyes,” I need to clear some things up.  This is simply an amazing organization, made up of amazing people.

Creative.  Sharp.  Energetic.  Nimble.  Successful.  Irrepressible.  Open minded.  Those are the adjectives that come to mind when I think of these folks.  In an incredibly short time, they’ve built a VERY successful business.  The kind that makes me envious, to be honest.

These guys are rock stars.  They’ve achieved things that in many ways don’t even seem possible.  Movies are made about teams like this – you know, movies like The Social Network.  Or the Pirates of Silicon Valley.

I’ve always had a reasonably positive view of my own capabilities.  But for most of my career I’ve simply been a cog in a monstrous machine.  Only recently have I been experiencing this new vibe – one where I can drop in on a team like this one, sit down with the leadership, and have this kind of impact.  It’s humbling.

Did I say “humbling?”  OK… Forget what I just said

“It’s humbling” – that’s what you’re supposed to say at times like these.  But it just isn’t true.  Experiences like last week are the opposite of humbling.  “Humble” doesn’t generate a rush.  It doesn’t excite or invigorate.  No, what I was feeling early that morning was…  power.  Pure, amazing power.

But not power in the Dr. Evil, “rule the world” sense.  No, the power available to us here is simply one of significance, of impact.  The ability to affect things – much closer to the definition of “power” in physics than what you find in politics.

I could get used to this… but it’s a brief window in time

Back to the tunnels underneath Atlanta:  I started thinking where this could end up going.  In the next year, as PowerPivot’s reputation spreads further, will I (and people like me) be travelling the world, helping leaders of international businesses around the globe revolutionize their ability to “see” clearly?

It certainly is plausible, and no lie, that’s unbelievably exciting.  But then I came down from my cloud just a little:  this is going to be a brief window of opportunity (to be the teachers), and won’t last for long.  Remember that PowerPivot derives its real power not just from superior technology, but also from its accessibility.  It is something that empowers Excel pros, and will do so for literally millions of people.  We’re just in a transition phase.

To illustrate, imagine if we had no spreadsheets at all today (and no PowerPivot either), and suddenly, out of the blue, someone invented Excel.  Not even Excel 2010 – let’s say this first version had the feature set of Excel 97, and nothing like PowerPivot.  Can you imagine the change that would be in store for the world, as the spreadsheet began to work its way into the business culture for the first time?  Imagine that happening in a world where PC’s were already ubiquitous and turbocharged (like today) – not like the world that spreadsheets first entered (where PC’s were still quite rare, and woefully less powerful).  If you were one of the first to learn this new tech, you would be very much in demand.

That’s kinda how I view where we are.  Naturally, people like us, who are on the leading edge of this wave, we have a huge advantage.  But it’s temporary.  This is where humility returns.  Humility is a good thing – it keeps things in perspective and positions you better for the next round of change.  Our roles, for now, are simply to help spread this revolution.  I’m starting to understand just how BIG the revolution is going to be, and it’s thrilling.  It’s a limited window of change, though, so keep that in mind.

But boy, it’s going to be quite a ride.  For all of us.

Post Script:  A Hat tip to Mike

Who’s Mike?  Mike is the guy who had to sit next to me on my next flight, from Atlanta to Cleveland, and deal with my overly up-tempo and chatty mood (at 7 am).  At one point he suggested I include Dr. Evil in this post.  Which is, of course, about the best advice I could hope for.

Mike was coming to the end of an interesting trip of his own, returning from Brazil.  Mike’s company is one of the few American firms that still actually MAKES things.  Physical things.  And sells them not only in the US, but abroad.  Fascinating conversation, thanks Mike.

Oh, and Mike is a longtime Browns fan who was in the stands for both The Drive and The Fumble.  Mike, you deserve redemption, I hope you get it someday.  And there’s another Mike (Holmgren) who I hope is listening.

While we are on the topic of football…

Also last week, on the flight out to the west coast, I was exchanging emails with a guy who used to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.  Did you know that Hugh Millen is an Excel pro?  Of course you did, right?

Anyway, as a former player and current TV/radio analyst, Hugh obviously has a deep understanding of football.  His passion for numerical analysis sets him apart though, and suddenly even someone like me has common ground to discuss with him…  like PivotTable macros.

How cool is that?  Here’s a guy who has enormous “cred” in his field – a field that you don’t typically associate with business intelligence.  It’s not like he NEEDS to be diving into spreadsheets in order to be successful at what he does.  But he knows there is still a lot of additional value he can provide by looking deeper than what his trained eyes alone can tell him.  So he’s been an Excel pro for a long time, probably longer than me, and is now becoming a PowerPivot pro as well.

Moral:  It doesn’t matter what field you are in.  There’s opportunity lurking in the numbers.

More Posts in the Pipeline

Sorry about the lack of posts last week, there was a lot going on.  I already have a short technical post written for later this week, and there’s another in my head about “Excel circa 2002 versus Excel Today” that I hope to get written as well, so stay tuned.

“When you wake, you will know how to use the EARLIER() function.”

Last time, I trailed off and promised some heresy in this, my next post.

But I realized in the meantime that I left out some other important observations, and I don’t want those lost in the smoke if I start tossing grenades.  So, let’s get those out of the way first.

Does your org need PowerPivot Training, or do you need Consulting?

Traditionally, the role of consultant loosely translates to “I will perform the required tasks for you.”  (Or in the case of pure “talk” consultants, “I will tell you what *you* should do” – ironically, these people usually charge the most).

Trainers, by contrast, have a different role:  “I will teach you how to perform the required tasks yourself.”

To the customer, there are advantages to each, of course.  But with PowerPivot, given that it’s a self-service BI tool, training is a natural fit.

You should not equate “training” with “go sit in a classroom,” however.  In my experience spinning people up on PowerPivot, the best training involves a lot of “collaborative consulting.”

Hybrid:  Training Against Your Own Data and Biz Problems

My preferred approach:

1. Cover the basics – there are some fundamentals that you just need to absorb, whether we are talking about PowerPivot for Excel or PowerPivot for SharePoint.  I have a few areas that I like to focus on specifically, rather than trying to cover everything.  The goal here is to get everyone on the same page for step 2, where the real learning takes place.
2. Pick a business problem and dive in – once the basics are in place, we pick a business problem and start building a model.  Typically this means *I* am building the model, but unlike a consultant, I build it in front of you.  This is a means of explaining the principles learned in part 1, and fostering retention.  It also becomes the natural agenda:  I introduce new techniques and principles when they are needed, rather than up-front in some abstract format.
3. Repeat on a few more problems – Pick another business problem.  Or a different approach to the first problem.  And dive in.  Repeat. 
4. Backfill the remaining “patterns” – There are about 10-20 useful patterns that I use in my own work, over and over again.  Naturally, steps 1-3 cover a subset of those, but at some point it also makes sense to take a break and make sure the rest get covered as well.

The Changeover is the Proof

Invariably, at some point in this process, after we’ve covered enough ground and been through the cycle a couple of times, “it” happens:  The clients take the keyboard and mouse.  You almost don’t notice it, because it’s such a natural transition.  And at first, there is still a LOT of interaction between consultant/trainer and client, as I guide, explain, help troubleshoot, introduce new techniques as needed, etc.  
 

The movie goes on and no one notices  

But an hour or two later, I typically find myself sitting quiet for minutes at a time.  And that is how it is supposed to be!  You know your data, business rules, and needs better than anyone. 

If you (or your designated Excel pros) are not “driving” before your PowerPivot consultant/trainer leaves, something has gone wrong.

Summary of Why Hybrid is Better than “Pure” Consulting or Training
 

1. Greater Relevance – PowerPivot offers a lot of power, for a lot of different situations.  You are not realistically going to sufficiently cover every aspect of PowerPivot in 1-3 days, nor do you need to. 

   Using your own data and problems is a natural way to focus the training on the features and techniques most relevant to your business today.  You will naturally learn more over time.

2. Better Retention – it’s a fact.  Human beings are just much more engaged with things that directly affect them (like their own data, problems, and questions).
3. Troubleshooting Skills and Agility – especially when you first start out, you will make mistakes.  Figuring out how to fix mistakes, or even just finding a better solution, requires constructive skills that you just don’t learn in a classroom.  

   When you have encountered even a handful of real-world problems, and participated in solving them, you are in a mindset that prepares you much better for the next unknown.  (This is very much like normal Excel or any other computer skill).

4. The Artifacts are Templates – the natural product of hybrid training is a collection of working models that speak your business language.  These are by far the most powerful kind of templates and references for future work.  As a bonus, they also serve as “proof of value” for colleagues who come along later and ask if PowerPivot can help them.
5. Validation of Value – A subtle but important point.  How do you know, after sitting through classroom training, how much you have really retained?  Similarly, if a consultant comes in and just builds something for you, how do you know you can extend it later?  If you train on your own data, however, and are part of the process, there is little room for doubt. 

   (Plus, I suspect that only PowerPivot pros who really know their stuff are willing to conduct a rolling, dynamic training approach like this, whereas the quality level of classroom trainers and consultants who work out of sight will vary quite a bit.)