If You Want to Run a Successful Business, Do Not Make This Rookie Mistake

Your Spreadsheet Is Not Reality

It’s easy to want a spreadsheet to become reality. But they tell the story of your business — they aren’t the real thing. Your business is a complex, dynamic ecosystem. Think about it. It’s the hub for customers, suppliers, service providers, competitors, regulators, creditors, employees, and owners.

If that wasn’t complicated enough, your business has to survive a constantly changing world.

Nothing in business ever stays the same — social media algos stop sending you traffic, hackers blackmail you, new technology may kill you, employees go on strike, and your warehouse has flooded three times because of climate change. There is always a business fire to put out.

Business is not a “set it and forget it” proposition.

In the midst of so much uncertainty, it’s tempting to desire what can be measured, tracked, and calculated. A spreadsheet will give you the illusion of precision, but all those numbers tidily tucked into cells can’t capture the complex world that we live in. Spreadsheets can’t predict the future nor can they guarantee that what worked in the past will work again.

You are the brains of your business, not your spreadsheet.

By all means, do scenario and sensitivity analyses. Hone those free cash flow projections. Set those sales and profit margin targets. Watch that satisfying wave of calculations flow through your spreadsheet like a tidal wave. But do not forget that your business is alive and real while your spreadsheet is a fantasy.

This is a rookie business mistake.

Photo credit: Mika Baumeister on Unsplash