Everything Starts With a Spreadsheet

After years of working with hundreds of professionals—across my organization and with partners and leaders around the globe—I’ve developed a belief that might surprise some: if you want to understand how a person thinks, how they lead, and how a project will perform, look at their spreadsheet.

At the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM), I lead a global coalition. We manage complex initiatives on multiple continents, across sectors, languages, and time zones. And today, I can often tell whether a project will succeed—or run into trouble—based on the structure and logic of its spreadsheet alone. That’s not an exaggeration. I’ve seen it repeatedly.

In the past 15 years, I’ve watched many projects succeed—and many fail. I’ve learned that behind nearly every success is someone who thinks strategically and acts with clarity. Strategic thinking, anchored in critical structure, is a force of nature. It transforms abstract ideas into real, lasting impact. And often, the first sign that someone has that force is in the way they open Excel and begin to build.

Some of my team still laughs when I say it, but I stand by this: Everything starts with a spreadsheet. Not because I’m obsessed with Excel—but because I believe in performance, discipline, and excellence. And excellence begins with clarity. A well-structured spreadsheet is often the first sign of a strategic mind. It’s a reflection of someone who can not only dream big, but also build the systems to get there.

I didn’t learn this on my own. Early in my career, a mentor of mine pushed me hard—very hard—on the spreadsheets I was building for my projects. At the time, I thought it was just busywork. It took me a while to understand that this wasn’t about control. It was about cultivating excellence as a way of life—and as a prerequisite for real success. That lesson stayed with me. And it’s one I now pass forward.

To me, how someone builds a spreadsheet is often more telling than a CV, an interview, or even a polished presentation. Résumés show what someone has done. A spreadsheet shows how they think. The logic, the flow, the attention to detail—or lack of it—gives you real-time insight into someone’s cognitive approach, their priorities, and their mindset under pressure.

This isn’t just about budget tracking—although that’s critical to avoid costly mistakes. This is about how someone lays out a roadmap, identifies priorities, structures information, and translates ideas into execution. It’s where vision meets method.

A spreadsheet can reveal far more than numbers. It shows you how a person handles complexity. Whether they plan for others or just for themselves. Whether they think in terms of today—or build for what comes next. The best ones are clear, logical, scalable, and built with intention. That’s not just a sign of a good analyst. It’s a sign of a leader.

In this post, I’ll share what I’ve learned from observing spreadsheets as a window into four core traits:

1. Order and Structure – How a person imposes clarity on chaos.

2. Strategic Thinking – Whether they’re building toward a bigger picture.

3. Execution and Ownership – How they act, anticipate, and leave a trail others can follow.

4. Pragmatism in Decision-Making – How they balance precision with progress.

   
   

And on a more philosophical level—because I do believe this runs deeper—we only get one chance in this life. We don’t come back. So why settle for mediocrity when we can choose excellence? Even in the smallest things—even in a spreadsheet—choose to build something that reflects your highest standards.