For almost an hour, I sat on the park bench and watched both my kids play in the sandbox with 2 new friends.

No kicking, crying, or snatching.

Instead, they shared a pale & shovel, made pretend food together, and I’m happy to report that nobody got sand in their eyes.

Proud papa moment.

A year ago there’s no way I could have taken such a back seat. I would have been right there in the sandbox, guiding their behavior, mainly leading by example.

I’ve come to realize that to be a successful parent, I must change gears constantly, and apply different strategies to new situations, sometimes at the drop of a hat.

Similarly, to be a successful Excel consultant, I must go through multiple stages for every project.

I start out holding the client’s hand very closely. Once I understand their requirements I enter the creative problem solving phase, and then slowly I start whittling down the solution to be more simple, clear, and efficient.

Eventually, I must completely let go and take a back seat while I let the end-user interact with the tool that I created.

Ideally they don’t just leverage the Excel tool in a singular, limited way either. If I’ve done my job well, I’ve built the tool to be dynamic and scalable, while also teaching the end-user how to expand the tool’s scope and functionality to suit their future needs.

It’s a truly beautiful progression that I feel privileged to experience regularly.

If you’re building an internal Excel tool for your team or department, or even a client-facing Excel tool, and would like some guidance on how to navigate and optimize the process, drop me a line and I’ll be happy to share my pale and shovel skills with you :).

#proudpapa #constantevolution #shiftgears #parentwisdom #excelwell #sharetheexcellove

Over the past few days Amina has been exhibiting some “cranky pants” behavior. In other words, an irritable, irrational, and erratic presence.

Even more than usual for a toddler.

My main challenge is that she is not quite old enough to identify or articulate exactly what is bothering her.

I suspect it has something to do with the change in her schedule and temporary decrease of stimulation during the day. But, all I can really do as her father is start reading between the lines, gathering clues, and making educated guesses.

Fortunately, as an Excel instructor and consultant over the past 14 years, I have some experience in this area.

Allow me to explain.

In order to be an effective instructor, I am constantly looking for signs in my students of confusion, frustration, or anything else that could be interfering with their ability to learn.

Sure, they have a great deal of responsibility here as well. But, as the chosen Excel expert, I have a sacred responsibility to help my clients learn Excel. And if I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s that my students (much like my children) won’t always tell me what’s bothering them, and it’s up to me to dig deeper.

And you know something?

I’m cool with that.

#igotyourback #crankypants #readbetweenthelines #minimysteries #parentwisdom #excelwell #sharetheexcellove