Playbook #20
Extract key points from an Excel table
Transform large tables into actionable priorities, even if Excel is not your specialty.
The Challenge
You receive Excel tables of 100, 200, or 500 rows, often produced by other teams. You scroll, sort, filter somewhat randomly, hoping not to miss anything. Result: wasted time, constant doubt, and the real risk of missing an important signal—not for lack of calculation, but for lack of reference points.
What this playbook brings you
You go from laborious reading to structured, pragmatic analysis. In moments, you identify what deserves your attention, what can wait, and what's problematic. AI helps you extract the essentials, without turning you into an Excel expert, nor inventing calculation rules. You gain clarity, confidence, and decision-making capacity.
"A good manager doesn't read everything. They know what to check." — Anonymous
When to use this capsule
- When Excel is not your primary work tool, but a necessary step.
- When you need to work with tables prepared by colleagues in finance, sales, or operations.
- When you don't know exactly what to filter, compare, or ignore.
- When your challenge is not to create advanced formulas, but to quickly understand what matters.
- When you need to decide, prioritize, or communicate from data without becoming an Excel specialist.
What you'll need
- Your Excel or Google Sheets table open in the tool (Copilot or Gemini), or the table content to provide if you use ChatGPT or Claude.
- A minimal understanding of what the columns represent (without being an expert on the file).
- A clear idea of what you want to obtain from the data.
- Confidentiality note: files may contain sensitive information. Use a tool offering confidentiality guarantees adapted to your context, or anonymize critical data before analyzing.
Which tool are you using?
Copy-paste this prompt into your tool
Act as a senior operational analyst.
Step 1 — Clarify the objective (mandatory)
Before any analysis, ask me ONE question to clarify what I want to obtain from this Excel workbook.
For example: prioritize actions, detect risks, prepare a summary for management, understand a trend, identify anomalies.
Wait for my response before continuing.
Step 2 — Define the analysis framework
Once the objective is confirmed, propose 3 to 5 relevant analysis criteria, deducible only from the data visible in the workbook.
Briefly explain why each criterion is relevant.
If a threshold, rule, or comparison is necessary and not explicitly present, ask for validation before using it.
Step 3 — Workbook analysis
Analyze the workbook strictly respecting the objective and validated criteria.
Identify a maximum of 5 decision-making points.
For each point, indicate:
– the priority level
– the subject concerned
– the exact figure or indicator used
– an associated action or management question
Constraints
– Base yourself only on data visible in the workbook
– Do not invent any business rule, target, or implicit interpretation
– If data is insufficient, ask a targeted question rather than conclude
Reminder: AI can make mistakes. Always review the content before sharing it.
Your feedback on this playbook
As a beta tester, your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve the experience.
Less than 30 seconds