I’m really excited to be speaking at this year’s PASS Business Analyst Conference in San Jose California. I will be sharing what I have learnt in my time working as BI Director at The Coca-Cola Company about how to share Power Pivot (and other Excel) Workbooks with people that simply want to consume the data.
Part of the problem of many workbook sharing tools is (in my view) the default settings are far too focused on giving a “Full Excel” experience instead of providing a “Web Browsing” experience. People that want to consume the labours of our Power Pivot Workbooks don’t care about Power Pivot or Excel, they care about the numbers and the insights.
The techniques I have learnt and will share at the conference will show how any Excel user with access to SharePoint Enterprise (or a cloud hosted equivalent) can deliver a positive web browsing experience while still having the full Power Pivot interactive capabilities. When you configure your shared workbooks for the consumer of your data rather than an Excel User, they can simply focus on the numbers and insights and get on with business.
Why you should attend this year’s conference
The Organising Committee has done a lot of work for this year’s conference and is targeting the content for Analysts that use Excel as part of their every day job by inviting a lot of Excel experts to speak. There has never been a better time for you to meet and learn from these full time Excel professionals. If that sounds appealing, then you should consider investing a small amount of your time in attending this event. I spent 25 years working for Coca-Cola before becoming a professional Power Pivot consultant, so I know about the challenges of getting time away from work. But I also am reminded of a story I read in Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”. My abbreviated version of this story (as I remember it) goes like this…
Two men were in a forest cutting down a tree using a long bow saw. It was very hard work because they had cut so much wood that the bow saw was becoming blunt. A third man was walking along and noticed the 2 men working very hard. The third man spoke to the wood cutters said “That looks like hard work – your saw is blunt. Why don’t you stop what you are doing and sharpen the saw?”. One of the men replied – “We don’t have time to stop and sharpen the saw – we are too busy and have all this wood we need to cut”.
This story leads in to the 7th Habit of Highly Effective People – “Sharpen the Saw”. If you want to be more efficient and effective in everything you do, you have to invest at least some of your time “sharpening” your tools of the trade. In the case of most Business Analysts, one of your most important tools of the trade is Microsoft Excel. There is no better event each year than the PASS Business Analysts Conference to improve your Excel skills which in turn will deliver you and your company payback in the years ahead.
How do I find out more?
Here is a link to learn more about the topics and tracks that are on offer at the conference: http://ow.ly/Hg4hM. You can use the discount code BASPMN to receive a $150 discount of the cost of registration. Here is the link to the website for more details and registration http://passbaconference.com/2015/Home.aspx
Hi Matt,
Is there a recording of your presentation that is available for purchase?
Cheers
Nick
Hi Nick
I am pretty sure that the recordings are only available for people that attended the workshop. I guess they do this to encourage people to come along, and not just buy the recordings.