Gather round boys and girls and let me tell you a tale of a man who blazed his own trail, who played by his own rules, and who fearlessly tried things that had never been tried before. I am that man, and last Friday I made a decision that will likely change way corporations operate for decades to come. Last Friday I said "no" to Oracle Discoverer and "yes' to Microsoft Excel.
OK, so maybe I overhyped my decision by just a bit, but considering the topic of tonight's post, I figured that it was the only way I'd be able to keep your attention. So here's the story:
As I'm sure that my faithful readers are aware, I work as an analyst for US Airways. I won't get into the details, but basically my job can be boiled down to using large amounts of data to help the airline make smart decisions. In my department, more often than not said data is accessed using Oracle Discoverer. Discoverer is a fantastic program that allows its user to access and sort ridiculously large amounts of data. My main issue with the program is the amount of time it takes to do the sorting. Before switching to excel (more on that in a moment) I often found myself waiting minutes any time I slightly changed the way I wanted to look at the data. Unacceptable.
After mentioning the problem to several of my co-workers, it quickly became apparent that my department is split up into two camps: the Discoverer faithful and the Excel converts. Although the version of Excel that we use has it's own set of annoying flaws, it is undeniably significantly faster at pivoting data than Discoverer. This value proposition was good enough for me to at least give Excel a try. So I spent my Friday morning creating a Discoverer report that pulls the data I want (data always comes from Discoverer, regardless if you use Discoverer or Excel to analyze it) and an Excel spreadsheet that displays the data in a useful fashion.
Yes, I am aware that it is pretty difficult to argue that switching from Discoverer to Excel was function of my creativity. If anything, it was a function of necessity. None the less, the change was an attempt to try something new and I believe that I have learned something from the experience.
Here I am, just two days after my initial decision to make the switch, and I'm glad to say that I am happy with my choice. Not only has switching to Excel remedied the speed problem that I experienced with Discoverer, but I have also improved my knowledge of both programs because of the transition. If you are somehow still reading this admittedly dry post, I'm glad you're still with me, because I'm just about ready to get to the point.
Don't be afraid to try new things because you never know what you will learn in the process.
Obviously, trying new things often results in improved performance for a business or increased excitement for an individual or group, but regardless of the situation, trying new things almost always involves simultaneously learning new things. In my example, I improved my skills with two programs that I use often at work, but this "try new things and learn" philosophy can be applied to pretty much any activity. Maybe a person who doesn't get outside often decides to go for a hike and learns about some of the local flora growing in their town; or an avid skier tries snowboarding for the first time only to learn that being talented in one activity doesn't automatically transfer to all related activities; or whatever- you get the point.
So go out there and try new things and maybe you're learn a thing or two along the way. Just try not to hurt yourself in the process.
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