Excelling with Excel Formulas: How I Used Nested If-Then Loops and Vlookups to Accomplish The Impossible

I love Excel formulas. I love the complexity and intricacy. The more difficult and mind bending the scenario, the more I love to sink my teeth into it to figure out some way to solve it.

Such was the case with this problem. I was asked by a fund manager if it could be solved. Two partners in the bonds department of this financial firm told me they had worked on it off and on for 3 years and it was impossible to do this work with Excel. Impossible? That perked my ears.

I spent the next six weeks working after hours, toiling away late into the midnight hours trying to crack the code and then finally solved it. It had become an obsession to figure this problem out. Even during the day, when I was not allowed to work on it, my mind was still trying different approaches to make it work. Kind of like a Rubik’s Cube. You try one combination after another. When that fails, you trying a different set of steps and see if that works. You get closer and closer. A few sides of the Rubik’s Cube have been unified and are all one color. That now gives you extra momentum to push harder and keep on pushing.

If you love Excel formulas, this book walks you through step by step explaining the thought process in detail. So let’s jump in with Excel and do the impossible!