Learn Excel 2007 Essential Skills with The Smart Method ISBN 978-0-9554599-1-7 9780955459917 ISBN 978-0-9554599-2-4 ISBN 9780955459924 Testimonials

Smart Excel 2007 training used exclusively for large electronics company

Tim Keen, Atlanta Georgia

The "Smart Method" is all I will be using to train our company's Administrative, Customer Service, and Management employees. After extensively searching the web for the right training materials, I have found "Essential Skills" to be the easiest training for self study or classroom presentation. The "Smart Method" is great for those with no Excel experience or for those that are upgrading from a previous Excel version. In a few words, "GREAT JOB" on the "Essential Skills" book and videos.

Fantastic Resource

C.M. Hawkes, Hampshire, England

Whether you are a newcomer to Excel or already a user of an earlier version, this is THE book to get you up to speed on Excel 2007. Not only did it teach me how to use the many new features of 2007, such as the ribbon, but it is also stuffed full of general Excel hints and tips, all presented in a way which makes them easy to practice and assimilate.

The A4 book comprises 7 sessions, which are designed to be covered in about an hour, each of which has 14 - 21 lessons, each of which covers a particular topic, explaining it clearly and giving you practice in using it.

My the time I had finished the book I couldn't wait to get started with Excel 2007 for real.

Mike Smart's books, which are based on his courses, are, in my opinion, the best way to upgrade your skills.

Fantastic

J. Morris New York

This Excel 2007 Essential Skills manual by Mike Smart is fantastic. I have little experience using Excel and after training with the manual, I now consider myself at the intermediate level.

The author provides you with his website and gives you Excel files to download in order to do your lessons.

I got stuck with my lessons two times and I wrote the author an email. He was very quick and courteous in his response. He answered my email and provided me with the instructions I needed to continue my lessons. I was surprised by his outstanding customer service in standing behind his product.

I can highly recommend it as a starting point for all those who need to learn Excel.

Best Excel Book on the Market

R. Beste, IT Instructor, Canberra Australia

Finally I've found a book that teaches the way that I teach; Cover everything but fast if the student knows where they are and slower where the skill is new. And using interesting example spreadsheets (Fastest cars in the world, Best-selling music albums of all time and so on)

My first thoughts at seeing this book were disappointment at the fact that it is in black and white and self-published by an IT training company without the slick graphic design of the big publishers. But, as they say, 'never judge a book by its cover'.

The layout is really easy to read with each step title summarized in bold font so you can see where to skip the stuff you (or your students) know and where to concentrate. Some of the larger publishing houses could learn a thing or two from this layout.

Each chapter has a summary exercise to consolidate the learning.

Every page seems to have gems that not many people know at all. For example, if you select a single cell at the top left of a set of figures, say, and then hover over the right edge and double click, it selects to the right edge of the figures. Double-click on the bottom edge and it selects the table downwards. And, Excel has a fast, accurate, text-to-voice command that will read back your figures to you to check them (either along the row or down the column as you want).

I would have liked the book to say that it covered the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist exam syllabus - which I think it does (or at least, in combination with the soon-to-be-published Advanced Skills book but this is a minor quibble.

Overall, I've seen many books on Excel but this one is the best I've found so far. I'm looking forward to trying Mike Smart's other books.

Impress your boss

Heidi, Maryville, Tennessee

I am an intermediate Excel user and this book is just what I needed. It has tips and tricks for doing routine tasks more efficiently, and adding details that give my workbooks that 'Wow' factor. This book took me from being an Excel user to the 'go to' person for Excel help in my office. I couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. (c:

SUPERB resource

C King

Being equally spooked by the prospect of working with Excel AND working with numbers themselves, I approached this book with some trepidation, but the organization and presentation of the material make the learning easy and rewarding. Each step is explained in thorough detail, with particular attention paid to highlighting the actual graphics you'll see on your own screen. The sessions are presented in a series of manageable blocks, so that even if you don't have the time to complete a whole session at a given sitting, you'll be able to stop at a convenient spot having learned something useful, ready to forge on next time. And, for the self-tests as well as general brush-up, each section is clearly labeled and cross-referenced in later chapters, so it's a snap to go back for any necessary repetition or reinforcement. Throughout, the style is informal and engaging without being overly cutesy.
I also had occasion to inquire with Mr. Smart himself, and he was prompt and generous with his reply. He truly stands behind the product.
In all, I HIGHLY recommend this book. 

Simply Awesome

Bookaholic

I have used a number of books and courseware to learn excel but have always been left confused. Most books showed too many ways of doing the same thing and I never perfected a single way. Also, other books tended to focus on simple and complex topics together. The essential skills and the sequel Expert skills attempt to teach excel in a graded fashion without being overwhelming. The Essential book is comprehensive enough to ensure that we can do all day to day tasks. Most books don't have data files to work on and it is a boring/tedious task to create one. Here all data files are readily downloadable and referenced to each chapter. Formatting a single topic in two pages is really helpful and completion of a session and exercises gives a feeling of accomplishment and motivates one to prod on further. To sum up, the book is "Simply Awesome" and I am anxiously waiting for the Expert Skills book. I only hope, Mike Smart writes a series on Word 2007, power point 07 or the entire office Suite 07.

Great, to-the-point foundation

David Pancoast (Bend, OR, USA)

Before I bought this book I went to a couple of bookstores and checked-out what was available. I found two broad categories: super-intensive and utterly superficial. The Smart Method gave me just what I wanted: a broad overview and straight-forward how-to examples. Now the jargon makes sense and I have enough insight into the numerous features to know where to look to learn more. This book is a great resource for someone who wants to learn Excel and needs a place to start.

right brain reviewer

J. Johnson  (Laurel, MT)

This book is excellent in providing keystrokes and process to be productive with Excel 2007. The process of highlighting a block of cells and the easy movement in that block of cells is something I am now using every time I am entering data in a block. If you want to improve your knowledge of data entry and setting up Excel by spending a small amount of time this is the book. It is detailed and short not a tomb of every feature.

Excellent learning & training material

Marty (Toledo, Ohio)

I'm a certified Excel (2003) user and sometimes train others on the topic. I have an Excel 2007 class that I'm supposed to deliver in about a month and have been looking for resource materials for the class. Having been an enthusiastic user of the Smart Method Access course I thought I'd review the Smart Method Excel 2007 guide to see if it was suitable for the class.

All I can say is that it is written in the same easy to read, easy to learn style as the Access guide and it helps one get thru the material in both an entertaining and thoughtful way. I also looked at other training materials including the Visual series which I like also but was a little light for this audience and then another course designed for a community college audience which I though as too verbose and required too much lab time to convey the concepts.

My opinion, hands down, Smart Method was right speed and deep enough intensity to satisfy almost any commercial audience or any self-paced learner for that matter.

Lives up to its claim!

J. Smith "ICT Coordinator" (Portsmouth High School)

Early on in the book the author makes the bold claim that "even the most advanced Excel user will find some nugget of extremely useful information in every session". This is a bold statement that I put to the test by reading the book through from cover to cover. It is true! Although thought of by my peers as an advanced Excel user the book taught me some very useful tips that either I had missed altogether in 2003 or were new to 2007.
I can thoroughly recommend the clear teaching style and love the A4 layout. It is well worth getting if you are new to Excel or you are in the progress of upgrading.

Great self-study guide

M. Casey (London)

This book provides an excellent self-study guide for Excel 2007. It is suitable for both beginners and those who wish to become proficient in using Excel in the workplace. The lessons are well presented and easy to follow as each new skill is explained on 2 facing pages of A4. There are revision exercises at the end of each session to allow readers to practice these skills.

Does what is says on the box

A. Wilcox (UK)

Excellent product. Systematic, coherent and well structured. Starts off leaning towards the rather obvious and easy but works towards reasonable complexity quite quickly. Very useful for anyone who wants to update their skills from a lower version of Excel.

Fantastic!

Richard A. McLeod (Rochester, MN, USA)

What a great book. It is so well done that I can think of no way to improve it. The lessons are awesome being crystal clear, accurate, and practical. The free web videos are super and I think they are the best I have ever seen. If you want to learn Excel don't miss this great book.

Highly Recommended

H. Shalit (Atlanta, GA, USA)

I have been an Excel user for many years and consider myself to be an intermediate level user. Recently, as a result of being a graduate student, I have had to expand my usage of Excel. It became very obvious to me that there are many Excel capabilities which are between those that I knew, and those that I was learning in grad school. To bridge this gap, I got the Mike Smart book and it has proven itself to be immensely useful.

Even though I am an intermediate level user, I decided to start at the beginning and I've learned quite a few things. Each lesson, which is on two facing pages take approximately 10 minutes to read and complete. Sometimes, I complete five lessons and sometimes I complete only one or two. At the end I always feel that it was time well spent. When I finish this book, I will purchase the advanced skills book.

I recommend this book without any hesitation.

Excellent for learning at your own pace

Jay Berkenbilt (Annandale, VA USA)

After browsing through many books on Excel, I'm thrilled to have found this one. The author recommends reading the book from cover to cover (and I concur!), and the organization of the book makes it easy to do this just a few minutes at a time if that's all you have. This book presents the material in small, easy-to-digest lessons that are organized into longer sessions. If you're a complete beginner, all the information you need is presented, and if you're a more advanced user, you can skip over stuff safely and go at a good pace. There are also interesting side notes throughout the material that you can read or not. All this is explained very well in the introduction, which you should definitely read!

Although I'm a computer professional with over 20 years of experience, I was a complete beginner with Excel when I bought this book. Until recently when I took a volunteer role as treasurer of the community band I play in, I had never really needed to use Excel. When I took this role, I found myself fighting with Excel when working with budget files and so forth. I decided to stop wasting my time and to learn Excel properly. This book is perfect for that. It explains everything in context and is about as hands-on as a book can be. There is no shortage of material out there on Excel, but I haven't seen any of it as well-presented as this. Most of the books I've seen are either really dumbed down, highly specialized, or presented like cookbooks for people who'd rather not understand what they're doing. This book really helps you understand the tool, which empowers you to make the most out of it. After just a few hours with the book, I have already become much more comfortable with Excel. I'm now finding that it actually helps me do my work rather than just being in the way, and I haven't even finished the book yet! I have already purchased the Expert Skills book and look forward to reading that when I finish with the Essential Skills book.

If you really want to understand how to make the most of Excel and not just have a few out-of-context recipes, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it.

I love this book

Seneca

I felt very excited about what I learned in this book, and excitement was certainly the last thing on my mind when I decided I needed to learn Excel. The instruction is top-notch. It's very helpful to have the files to download and practice on. And the end-of-chapter self-tests allow you to see where you need review.

I have done other Excel classes, one all-day workshop through a top university and one extremely long online class through Element K. I learned significantly more from this book and it felt effortless.

Excellent learning tool for Excel

JoAnne McNamara

I am finding this book a great help in learning the Excel program and I highly recommend it to anyone. It is very easy to understand and implement.

Easy to learn!

J. T. Chapman

I love the excel tutorial that they have on their website and I will definitely buy this book. In a short period of time I've learned a lot and it's so easy to follow. Very amazing and I love it! It's worth it!

Good Job Mike Smart and Thank you so much!!

Buy this book!

D. Richard

Having no formal training, I have fumbled with using Excel for years. When presented with a tough spreadsheet request at work recently, I decided to get the training I needed.

I could not be happier with this book. It is easy-to-read and well written. The step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. The author does not repeat information but makes reference throughout the book to the chapters that reference the original lesson. I spent no time at all searching for information to review. The summary exercises at the end of each chapter boosted my confidence.

I did encounter an issue I had trouble getting through, but one email to the author produced a very timely response and solved the operator error. I was surprised and delighted by this level of customer service.

Kudos to the author, Mike Smart, for the best experience I've had with a computer tutorial! I am so impressed I've just purchased the next book, Excel 2007 Expert Skills.

Smart Course is everything it says it is

DRCN

I have taken many software training courses offered by professional training companies over the past 15 years. This is a great course for anyone who needs a text that starts from the beginning and takes you to advanced levels. It also is structured in short lessons so you can easily move at your own pace. I would recommend this course for anyone who wants to learn Excel on their own.

Finally a book that teaches Excel rite

P. L. Mallory)

I really enjoy it when you find a book the teaches you something in a way that makes it easy to remember the information. I have several books on Excel but it almost seems like the authors are trying to impress you with thier ego and the tricks they knows rather than teach you to use Excel in a effective way.

The Smart Method starts you with square one and takes you to Excel understanding in bite size lessons that are well organized and really help you to remember the key points of each lesson. I find this format is very easy to learn from.

I only wish my high school text books had shared this enlightend format. I would have done much better in high school if they had. Don't be afraid to buy this book. It is well worth the money. Maybe Mr. Smart will branch out into text books for our children in school some day. We can only hope. Sincerely Pat M.

Brilliant

SBN

A brilliant book. Prior to this book, I was able to use Excel but was self-taught and subsequently completely unaware of the many functions/shortcuts available. It is easy and enjoyable to use, so much so I have just ordered the Expert Skills book from the same series!

Just Brilliant

Roz Carder (UK))

What a wonderful series of books and videos, I have purchased both the Excel 2007 Essential Skills and the Expert Skills. These books and videos don't assume that you know or have used Excel 2007 before, the books are very clearly written and easy to understand and I recommend that you buy both the books and videos as they complement each other, it's nice to check that you have it right by watching the video, which can be paused whilst you practice.

I am an Excel 2007 user at both work and home but there are always things that you don't know or haven't used for a long time, these books/video shows you how it should be done............Brilliant Mike, I have tried other books that are useless (only one place for those to go - bin). If you want to learn how to use Excel 2007 with confidence buy the Mike Smart series. Thanks Mike......Roz Carder

Learn the 'Smart' Way. Title says it all

W F Leatherland (UK)

I am 46 years old and suffer from Multiple Sclerosis, which due to the condition, prevents me from being employed. These books are a way of proving to myself that I DO have something to live for and the ability to learn new things.

I have no need whatsoever to learn Excel but am just so pleased to have found the courses and throughly enjoy them. Do you need to learn Excel? All I can say is "Get the books, enjoy and before long you will become amazed at how quick you can learn"

Ab Fab Book

N J Wallace (Scotland, UK)

I bought this book to try to learn Excel in a short period of time. This book is absolutely brilliant!! It is very easy to follow and downloads are available to help you through it. Every different function of Excel is shown in a double page format and there are assessments for you to take after each block of lessons.

I got through this book in one day and I am now an intermediate user of Excel. If you want to learn Excel this is definitely the book to get!!!

Great book!

Didi (UK)

I am learning new, easier and quicker ways to do things that I didn't know was possible. I really like that it's a book and I can skip straight to the subject I'm interested in. This tool is perfect for: someone who has finaly decided to convert to excel 2007, a total beginner (very easy to follow step by step), or someone already using excel but never really learned how properly (like me and the majority of the people). I will definitely save a lot of time in the future thanks to this book.

Awesome

R H W Gower (Berkshire, UK)

Not going to say anything other than adds massive value for a modest investment. Brilliant.

Excellet learning tool for Excel

Andrew E. (UK)

This is an excellent learning tool for Excel and having just completed the first course, I've learned masses. What I like about it is that it's not just a huge "reference" style book, where you dip in and out in search of a particular function etc. Instead, you go through a comprehensive, but interesting, walkthrough of the core basic functions of Excel. By doing so, you learn a lot of shortcuts and tips that you probably didn't even, even if you've used Excel for a while, which was how it was in my case.

Perfect for beginners!

A O (UK)

After finishing the book, you will be an intermediate excel user, knowing all the small, but very vital tricks how to use Excel more efficiently and faster than others! Highly recommended! You can finish the book off within a day! :)

Easy

Steve (UK)

Great book, easy to learn from without dealing with the unimportant stuff. A good way to learn the basics efficiently.

Life Changing

O. Melo (South London, UK)

I am sooo happy with this product that I feel like screaming! I thought I knew the basics of Excel but this CD has changed my life. With well explained, short videos and a very pleasant voice and British accent, Mike has made my learning experience very easy and pleasant.

I firstly bought the Excel bible and I must say I ended up with a headache every time I tried to read those difficult and indigestible chapters!!!

I'm so happy with this product that I have just bought the Excel Expert Skills CD on Mike's website. This weekend I started with the first chapters of Excel Expert Skills and I'm over the moon. Thanks so much Mike.