Oz du Soleil’s Post

It's been an intense few weeks and it's not over! I was in London for the #GlobalExcelSummit produced by Tea Kuseva, Elena Lalovska and the main sponsor Sheetcast represented by the inimitable Celia Alves. I went as an attendee and it was so nice to ingest the event, mix with other Excel enthusuasts, meet old friends and make new friends, and not have to think about my own presentation. Fay Bordbar and Giles Male delivered at hosts! That warning not to miss the opening of the show ... well ... 🤷🏽♂️. If you missed it, you just have to live with your decisions. I'm gonna pray for you. 🙏🏽 There were so many good presentations and I'll highlight a few that were especially meaningful for me. Mark Proctor, carlos barboza and Ann K. Emery stood out as examples of what a presentation can be. They used humor, music and energy to convey their messages. Beyond "click here and there" to get a result. Ian Schnoor, CFA, CFM did a presentation on a topic that's been heavy on my mind with all the changes in Excel and how we work with data. Titled: The Hardest Thing to do in Excel, I wondered if this would be about VBA? Copilot? What??? It was really about trying to bridge 2 different people: 1. The know-it-all who forces their "better way" onto people who may not be ready. 2. The person who resists the "better way." They might not be ready. They might be stubborn and not interested. This just might not be the right moment. Ultimately, we have to respect people where they are. That doesn't mean stop teaching. It does mean that the posts about "stop using _____ in Excel" might just be marketing but they inject confusion and dismiss the person who's using a 7-level IF statement and getting accurate results. Hopefully, at some point that person will learn to set up a look-up range or feed a variable into Power Query. If they never do ... that's ok, too. As long as the people paying them are satisfied. ----- #GES2026 was so worth the effort to be there and I can't say enough about the community. People from around the world sharing a passion for making this world's data useful. ----- Soon, I'll sum up my experience with the Microsoft Excel European Open, a brilliant event by Financial Modeling World Cup and Microsoft Excel Collegiate Challenge (MECC). Right now I have to get in the car for a 5-hr drive to San Diego. See y'all soon!