Spreadsheet Models for Managers


Getting Access to Spreadsheet Models for Managers


If Spreadsheet Models for Managersyou use Excel to model businesses, business processes, or business transactions, this course will change your life. You’ll learn how to create tools for yourself that will amaze even you. Unrestricted use of this material is available in two ways.

As a stand-alone Web site
It resides on your computer, and you can use it anywhere. No need for Internet access.
At this Web site
If you have access to the Internet whenever you want to view this material, you can purchase on-line access. Unlimited usage. I’m constantly making improvements and you’ll get them as soon as they’re available.

To Order On Line

Order "Spreadsheet Models for Managers, on-line edition, one month" by credit card, for USD 69.95 each, using our secure server, and receive download instructions by return email.
Order "Spreadsheet Models for Managers, on-line edition, three months" by credit card, for USD 199.00 each, using our secure server, and receive download instructions by return email.
Order "Spreadsheet Models for Managers, downloadable hyperbook edition" by credit card, for USD 199.00 each, using our secure server, and receive download instructions by return email.

To Order by Mail

Make your check payable to Chaco Canyon Consulting, for the amount indicated:
  • For the download: USD 199.00
  • For access online for three months: USD 199.00
  • For access online for one month: USD 69.95
And send it to:
Chaco Canyon Consulting
700 Huron Avenue, Suite 19C
Cambridge, MA 02138

To use the course software you’ll need some other applications, which you very probably already have. By placing your order, you’re confirming that you have the software you need, as described on this site.

Spreadsheet Models for Managers

The practice of business is changing 1/20
Session Links
  • Information technology is changing how we do business
  • Information is now decentralized and easily copied and dispersed
    • Shared databases (computer networks, client/server, cloud)
    • Internet, intranet
    • Email, photocopying, fax
    • Overnight delivery (aircraft-based messenger networks)
  • Managements no longer “own” the big picture view
  • Organizations are decentralizing the decision-making process
    • They can respond more quickly to dynamic markets
    • Their competitors are doing it — or they’re afraid they will
  • Smaller units are making complex decisions

Need: Smaller business units must upgrade their
modeling skills to support more complex decisions

A mainframe computer
A mainframe computer. Photo courtesy U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Until the arrival of the desktop computer, the tools for business modeling were expensive and few, and resided on mainframe computers. Building business models required special expertise. Most modelers were PhDs, MBAs, and mathematicians. Modeling was a tool available only to the largest and most sophisticated organizations, and even there, the activity was highly centralized and used only at the largest scales.

The desktop computer and the organization-scale network changed all that. Today, even the smallest part of the organization has the tools it needs to make models that are complete enough to aid in decision-making. Small business can also make models useful to them.

One piece is missing — the modeler. The skills needed to create useful models are rare. Of course, to you, that might be a good thing, because after you complete this course you’ll have a rare skill. But for companies, it’s a problem. They have the equipment they need, but they lack the people to do the modeling work.

This course gives you those skills. It also makes you a better manager of people who have them.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 27-Apr-2016 04:15:26 EDT

Deciding What to Read

The first homework assignment has a fair amount of reading attached to it. Some students feel that the best approach is to read it all, and then try to do the homework. For most of us, such an approach doesn’t work very well.

Before you begin the course, read the general material, such as “Getting Started,” “Software You Need for This Course,” and “How to Work.”

Later, as you begin the homework, let the homework drive your reading choices. For instance, the first homework assignment does require that you master certain techniques. Read “Names” and “The Ripple Principle.” Then, if something confuses you, read up on it: examples are “The Basics of Recalculation” and “References.” Learning something when you need it, and only when you need it, is usually the best way to go.

Avoid Redundant Parentheses

Parentheses sometimes make a real difference. For instance A1*B1+2 is very different from A1*(B1+2). But A1*(B1*2) is exactly the same as A1*B1*2. When the parentheses don’t make any difference in the value of the result, it’s not usually a good idea to include them. They tend to make the formulas harder to read, and there’s always the chance that you’ll put them in the wrong place. More