Spreadsheets for Non-Analysts
A free guide by Kamran Imam — Instagram · TikTok · YouTube
Your spreadsheet knows things you don’t. Not because the math is hard — because nobody ever taught you which questions to ask it. AI closes that gap: you bring the file and plain-English questions; it brings the analyst’s instincts.
Step 0 — the safe export
Copy the sheet, delete columns with personal identifiers you don’t need for the question (names → categories if needed: /r/safety), export CSV, and attach or paste it. Include the column headers — they’re half the context.
Step 1 — make the AI look before it leaps
Here's my data: [attach/paste]. Before any analysis: what does each column appear to be, what's the date range and row count, what looks dirty (duplicates, gaps, outliers, inconsistent labels), and what questions is this dataset ABLE to answer? Don't analyze yet.That last constraint stops the eager-wrong-answer problem: analysis on misunderstood data is confidently useless, and this one prompt catches most of it.
Step 2 — the five questions that find every story
Run them one at a time:
- The trend: “How has [main metric] moved over time? Steady, seasonal, or shifting — and where exactly does the story change?”
- The concentration: “What share of [result] comes from the top few [customers/products/sources]? Where am I dangerously dependent?” (There is always a concentration story.)
- The comparison: “Compare [segment A] vs [B] on the metrics that matter. Which differences are real patterns vs noise?”
- The outliers: “Show me the rows that don’t fit — unusually high, low, or weird. For each: likely data error, or genuinely interesting?”
- The leak: “Where is value quietly leaking — declining repeat behavior, shrinking margins, growing costs, aging items nobody touched?”
Step 3 — the “so now what”
Given everything we found: the 3 findings that most deserve action, each as — the finding, why it matters in money or time, and the smallest action that responds to it. Then: what should I track monthly so I catch this earlier next time?Formula help
The classic spreadsheet pain, solved:
I want a column that [plain-English goal]. Sheet: [columns]. Give me the formula, explain it like I'm smart but new, and tell me where it breaks.Paste any formula error back verbatim — deciphering those is one of AI’s most reliable party tricks.
Chart choice, settled in one line
I want to show [finding] to [audience] — what chart, and what should its title *claim*?Titles are claims, not labels — “Revenue” is a label; “Q3 growth came entirely from returning customers” is a chart worth putting in front of someone: /r/decks.
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