I’ve seen many hideous sights since I’ve been working in consultancy. But the worst – so bad, in fact, that I even hesitate to commit it to writing, are the businesses drowning in spreadsheets. And, believe me, there are way too many of them out there.

1. Copyright 2020, Cognition24
www.cognition24.com
Is your business still drowning in spreadsheets?
I’ve seen many hideous sights since I’ve been working in consultancy. But the worst – so bad,
in fact, that I even hesitate to commit it to writing, are the businesses drowning in
spreadsheets. And, believe me, there are way too many of them out there.
Imagine it: dozens of people all trying to share the same information, all with their own
slightly different version of an Excel document, all sending them to individuals or random
groups via email, each doc somewhere close to the truth but probably with important little
bits missing… And every person who needs the information it contains, and is just trying to do
their job, ends up having the life sucked out of them, feeling anxious, stressed and out of
control of the situation.

2. Copyright 2020, Cognition24
www.cognition24.com
Or, nearly as bad, are the ‘single occupancy’ spreadsheets. They’re the ones where there’s just
one version allowed (so that’s OK), but persuading accounts to relinquish control so you can
work on it is like trying to remove a toddler from a sweetshop.
Then the very, very worst – the darkest depths of spreadsheet hell that can possibly be
plumbed – are the businesses that thought it would be safe to share confidential data or
intellectual property, contained on a spreadsheet, via email. Or leave the only version of said
spreadsheet on a laptop…
And, agonisingly, organisations that end up like this never plan it that way. They always start
with the best intentions. They think, “One small spreadsheet won’t hurt us. We can handle it.
We can stay in control.” But, before they know it, they’re hooked, the spreadsheets have
spiralled out of control and taken over the entire functioning of their department. Then, soon
enough, the department ceases to operate in a manner that has anything remotely to do with
the words ‘efficient’, ‘customer-focused’, ‘secure’ or ‘compliant’.
Sounding familiar? If this goes some way to describing your working environment, don’t
despair. There is an escape route that doesn’t involve the agony of going cold turkey. Follow
our simple seven-step path, and you’ll soon find your way back to calmer waters and business
success.
1. Create a master set of data and agree with your team/stakeholders that this is the
master. There can be no other versions, no other masters.
2. Delete or archive any additional copies.
3. Clean the data. Make sure it’s accurate, make sure it’s complete. Create a big sign for
your office that says: ‘Rubbish in, rubbish out’. Reminding everyone that the decisions
you make based on your data are only as good as the quality of the data you have in
the first place
4. Now back up the master.

3. Copyright 2020, Cognition24
www.cognition24.com
5. Replicate the fields in your CRM. This is where it gets clever. A cloud-based CRM system
(such as Salesforce) is the easiest, most efficient, safest means of managing your
customer data in a way that suits you, your business and your employees.
6. Import the data.
7. Archive your master for the last time. Just in case.