A sufficiently high level of technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke
Jon Peltier is the wizard of Excel charting. On his PTS Blog, he describes how to make Excel do things with graphs that you not only likely believed to be impossible, but you may not have even dreamed up the concept in the first place.
A big part of Jon’s toolkit is his ability to control Excel via VBA, the programming environment that’s built into every copy of Excel. There are ways to control every aspect of Excel programmatically, and this includes a number of ways to handle charting tasks.
Charts are a big component of Charley Kyd’s solutions too, but Charley knows that a lot of Excel users prefer programming free solutions, so you won’t find much program code on ExcelUser.com. Having said that, Charley does understand that sometimes a bit of code is the best way to accomplish a regular task, so he doesn’t shy away from it altogether.
Over at Dick Kusleika’s DailyDoseOfExcel.com, on any given day you’ll find more Excel experts congregating and discussing all manner of Excel topics than in any bar in Redmond. From functions to interface design and general computer science topics, you’ll find a healthy dose of great advice; much of which involves VBA.
Chandoo isn’t adverse to recommending VBA solutions either.
I’ve posted a few times here about how you can make your Monarch work easier with automation, and I offer a free tool that uses VBA to help program Monarch to site subscribers.
But still, very few Excel users are comfortable, much less functional, with VBA. What does that really mean to you if the prospect of programming is a scary thing?
It means that you’re in the wrong group, and that you need to act.
Do you want to be the magician or the nameless assistant?
You’re constantly improving your Monarch skills to make your work easier and to be better able to handle challenging modeling problems. This simple act differentiates you. As you acquire and refine your Monarch skills, you improve your edge over others that struggle with acquiring and using data and information.
Those that can make the most of what Excel has to offer are far more productive than those who cannot, and hiring managers know this. Today you need every available advantage. It’s time to get out of your comfort zone. You can do this. You need to do this.
While it takes both parties to properly pull off the illusion, it’s the magician who is the star.
Get a spell book
In Fantasia, Mickey used the sorcerer’s spell book. You’ll need to get yourself a copy of either John Walkenbach’s Excel 2003 Power Programming with VBA
Then subscribe to ExcelWithMonarch.com site updates and you’ll receive my free Excel tool that you can use to automate your Monarch work. With this combination of skills, you’ll be in the valued minority, and you’ll be able to do far more than just extract data. You’ll be capable of single-handedly developing not just data models but great and valuable fully functional information systems.
Don’t worry; there are plenty of examples in the my document to guide you as you learn. It’s easier than pulling a rabbit out of a hat!
Be like Houdini
Great results for you, your work, and your organization, aren’t created magically; they’re within your control and grasp. All that you need to do is escape your comfort zone.
It all starts with your in-demand ability to excel with Monarch.
