Excel, Opportunity Costs and Strategy.

Author

Aerin Ridgway
May 22, 2024

Hey, what’s shackin’?

I have spent the last week living in Excel and working in the head office, and boy, oh boy, the vibe is different.

This week I have a few hot links for crushing excel so that you look like a genius (or least better than the guy next door) and some words on time, opportunity costs, and the secret of what strategy is.

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stack ‘em up

-stacking is to create simple and repeatable routines using ideas, tools and systems that build momentum and synergy.

Excel. I have met a lot of people who think they know Excel… and then they watch someone else use Excel, and they realize they haven’t scratched the surface. I think its the best example of the dunning kruger effect.

I have been to Mount Stupid. I am currently in the valley of despair trying to figure wtf pivot tables are and how to use them Seems easy until you’re still sitting there 3 hours later and have… nothing usable, smh.

Alas, one of my favorite things is following Excel tips on Instagram and the like because you can pick up tricks in a jiffy. I also just google everything as I need it,

Here are some goodies:

11 tricks (includes flash fill) one of my favourites

a Course from Udemy (I am not an affiliate) byt 400k+ reviews has to be a good start.

Excel is awesome but also has nuance. It shouldn’t be used after 7 p.m. Don't ask which way the decimals go; no one knows. You just have to use them and spontaneously get it right. Good luck.

Branding. It’s telling you something without telling you anything. Do you have it?

Branding is hard because it is such an ongoing thing. People think of branding as a color or a font or a logo, but it’s more.

It’s the feeling when you see it and interact with it and get from it.

Nike doesn’t make you feel like you're wearing cool shorts; it makes you feel like an athlete.

Lululemon and Ugg are elitist brands that make you feel like a billionaire yogi in lycra and wool.

Toyota makes a truck that has a cult of people with a secret society called tacos.

And that’s the secret… good branding creates a cult-affect. A bunch of people who simply want to wear the logo to be seen “in good company.”

Universities, cities, sports teams, and energy drinks can do it;

why can you?

sharp ideas

The phrase “mental model” is an overarching term for any sort of concept, framework, or worldview that you carry around in your mind. Mental models help you understand life.

Opportunity Costs

An opportunity cost is a benefit that an individual or business forgoes because they made one decision instead of another.

In other words, opportunity cost could be described with the acronym COMO: cost of missing out. Calculating opportunity cost involves systematically quantifying what you're losing while making a business, financial or investment decision.

There is always a cost. Saying yes to something means saying no to something else. Clarity on what you should say yes to in order to achieve the results you desire means you will get what you want.

No is hard. People struggle to take no for an answer. But understanding that working late costs you family time (seems obvious I know), actually has quantitative and qualitative costs.

Define your values and goals. Be clear on the sacrifices (costs) required to meet the challenge, and stick to it.

quote I’m musing

Buddha said, “what you think, you become…” so while quotes won’t change your life, I do think they can shift your perspective, and that can be life changing.

❝

“Strategy is how you choose to allocate your limited resources.”

Alex Hormozi

I like strategy. I can’t win a Monopoly game to save my life, but I can plan out a project or vision to optimize the sequence of events for maximum results in a streamlined manner.

I think of this as a game. How do I get as many pros or kill as many birds as I can in a straightforward path (ie. least number of backtracks).

I have learned there are 700 ways to skin a cat (so to speak; I don’t actually kill birds or skin cats, for the record), and the ways in which people opt to skin cats depend on their experience, knowledge, and skills.

The right people, on the right things, move the needle.

That’s all for this week.

You can also email me here if you want to share any feedback, or share some cool things you have found.

Until next week,

-a.