Explore a wide range of software applications, including their features, benefits, and best practices for maximising their potential in various business and personal contexts.
This is the last in the Performance Management series. We have already looked at the first 3 stages of Performance Management; Setting Expectations, Assessing Performance and Performance Reviews. Today we will look at the final stage in the process, Developing Individuals. The first 3 stages will enable you to identify any learning and development needs. […]
Assessing Performance – targets Before we dive into assessing performance against targets, a quick reminder of part 1: In the first blog in this series of 4 – Setting Expectations for Performance, we looked at how expectations can be broad. With that said, we can break them down into two broad categories: Measurable Results and Targets […]
Have you ever pulled in data from various places to restructure it in Excel? Have you found yourself repeating this long, manual process every month when new data is added? The solution is to use Power Query. This blog is the first in a series of four. We will show you what Power Query can […]
To perform well, employees need to know what is expected of them. Well-defined expectations produce effective teams with employees who know the role they play and the purpose they serve. When you and an employee set clear expectations about the results that must be achieved, and the methods or approaches needed to achieve them, you […]
Tired of interrupting your PowerPoint presentation just so that you can show the live version of your report in Power BI? You can now create interactive PowerPoint presentations which connect live to your Power BI reports! This blog will show how you can let your data tell the story with Power BI. Imagine that you […]
In all our careers there will be occasions where we need to have difficult conversations with our colleagues, these may be focused on performance management, poor behaviour, giving bad news, or be of a personal or sensitive nature, whatever the issue is, many of us do not look forward to these moments. Why do we […]
Power BI Desktop can work with a large number of visuals to make sure that the audience of your reports are best informed to make the right decisions. It is your responsibility to make sure that the data is presented a way, so the audience of the reports are given a clear picture of the […]
Your Power BI report needs to be as user friendly as possible for an end user to make insightful business decisions efficiently. So, what better way to grab their attention with the most salient sections of your report than to use Bookmark Navigator buttons. These buttons usually appear on the opening page and work by […]
If you want to add dynamic text to give your audience more detailed Power BI reports, you can follow STL’s LinkedIn page. This is first part of the series, but more will follow. In another series of blog posts from STL about AI visuals, you could see how the smart narrative visual could analyse another […]
DAX can be complicated and challenging. If it is not done right, DAX can be particularly difficult to debug and can slow down the underlying queries. In other words, you do not know if you have the right results. This means the audience of your reports could be sitting and waiting for the output when […]
Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking or giving a presentation, is extremely common. Experts estimate 77% of the population has some level of anxiety when giving presentations or public speaking. There are many things you can do to feel more comfortable when presenting, but practice and preparation really are the key. Our fantastic Presentation […]
In Power BI, you can apply Drilling tools to certain visuals in order to ‘drill down’ through your data. It works by building fields into your visuals that take you from ‘top level’ information (e.g., Sales by Country) right down to specific sales (e.g., Sales by Salesperson) known as ‘granular data’. Drilling down will change […]
Today I’m asking Jens, one of STL’s top Excel trainers, if there is a quick way to fix date issues in Excel. Can I solve date problems in Excel with Power Query? Hi Jens, do you have advice for me on how to handle date issues in Excel? Jens: I cannot count how many times […]
Today, I’m talking with Martin, one of STL‘s outstanding Power BI trainers, about the importance of Data Modelling. I’m asking Martin how I can maximise my data’s performance with data modelling in Power BI. Hi Martin, thanks for taking the time to have a chat with me. My Power BI Reports often take ages to […]
Microsoft has created some very interesting AI (Artificial Intelligence) visuals for Power BI. Power BI offers four AI visuals – Q&A, Key Influencers, Decomposition Tree, and Smart Narrative. This is Power BI AI Visuals Part 4 – Smart Narrative. AI visuals are very useful. All four can provide your report with insight information from your […]
Microsoft has created interesting and engaging AI (Artificial Intelligence) visuals for Power BI. The desktop app offers four AI visuals – Q&A, Key Influencers, Decomposition Tree, and Smart Narrative. This is Power BI AI Visuals Part 3 – Decomposition Tree, the third in a series which looks at all four AI visuals. AI visuals are […]
Microsoft has created some interesting AI (Artificial Intelligence) visuals for Power BI. Power BI offers four AI visuals – Q&A, Key Influencers, Decomposition Tree, and Smart Narrative. This is Power BI AI Visuals Part 2 – Key Influencers. AI visuals are extremely useful and all four can provide your report with insight information from your […]
The words we say make up only 30% of our communication. So we need to think about how we say them. To ensure that we are communicating effectively on the telephone, therefore, we must make the most of the 30% we have. Read on for four areas to focus on to improve your telephone technique. […]
Microsoft has created some very interesting AI (Artificial Intelligence) visuals for Power BI. Power BI offers four AI visuals – Q&A, Key Influencers, Decomposition Tree, and Smart Narrative. This article is Power BI Artificial Intelligence Visuals Part 1 – Q&A. It is the first in a series of 4 which will go through all four […]
Power BI desktop can easily connect to an amazing range of different sources. This allows you to always keep your reports updated whenever you add new records or original data changes at source. It also helps you to be more efficient and productive and saves a lot of time in the process. This article shows […]
This blog is for both Power BI and Excel users. In it, we demonstrate how you can automate reports with Power Query M coding What is Power Query? The Power Query tool in Excel and the Query Editor in Power BI are identical. They are important tools for both applications. In Excel, many tasks can […]
DAX (Data Analysis eXpressions) is the function language in Power BI desktop. When DAX is used to create measures, it can hard to understand the logic at times. Especially one piece, the Calculate function, can be challenging. This is the fourth part of a series of blog posts, which will investigate the mysterious Calculate […]
If you need to make an impact in your meetings, you’re going to need some tactics. Our Facilitation and Meeting Skills and Effective Communication courses discuss some ideas to help you do just that. Statistics reveal that 11 million meetings take place every year. 91% of staff admit to daydreaming, 95% admit to missing […]
DAX (Data Analysis eXpressions) is the function language in Power BI desktop. When DAX is used to create measures, it can hard to understand the logic at times. Especially one function, the Calculate function, can be challenging. We visit the mysterious Calculate Function for the third time, in this four part series of blogs. […]
DAX in Power BI Desktop is an amazing tool that allows you to fully analyse your data giving you real insights to achieve profitable outcomes. You can get a lot of Business Intelligence from your reports without any DAX whatsoever. However, you may want specific information that is only possible to obtain with DAX. For […]
DAX (Data Analysis eXpressions) is the function language in Power BI desktop. When DAX is used to create measures, it can hard to understand the logic sometimes. Especially one function, the Calculate function, can be challenging. This is the second part of a series of blog posts, which will investigate the mysterious Calculate function. […]
DAX (Data Analysis eXpressions) is the function language in Power BI desktop. When DAX is used to create measures, it can hard to understand the logic sometimes. Especially one function, the Calculate function, can be challenging. This is the first part of a series of blog posts, which will investigate the mysterious Calculate function. The […]
“A picture paints 1000 words”. This quote has been used to suggest that sharing information with graphics or imagery is easier to digest than written text alone. The same is true with data – a mix of text and numbers is more user friendly when we present it using graphics. Power BI desktop has a […]
The Analytics Pane in Power BI desktop is an amazing tool. You can use it to create a variety of different analytical lines inside your report visuals to highlight trends, target lines and forecasting. This blog will explain how to create these analytical lines and show how useful they are in gaining insights into your […]
Dashboards are incredibly useful in helping business users gain insights into their data. In Power BI desktop the visualisations in a report are published to the cloud and then shared with key stakeholders in the Power BI service. This blog will explain what a dashboard is and how reports, once they are published, can be […]
Conditional Formatting is an amazing tool that allows you to track and monitor data more efficiently. It highlights information of interest. For many years, it has been the ‘go to’ tool in Excel, and now it is also available in Power BI desktop. What is Conditional Formatting Conditional Formatting is based on setting rules on […]
The different versions and configurations of Power BI can be confusing. In this blog, we are comparing Power BI Desktop to Power BI Service. This will shed light on how to use each of these apps. Power BI Desktop Power BI Desktop is a free application you can download and install on your local PC. […]
Using the right tool in the Power BI Desktop can bring efficiency wins and productivity gains to users. This blog will give you a clearer understanding about how and why this is a common issue and how to solve it. “When should you use Power Query M Functions(M), and when is it better to use […]
You can improve your profitability by ensuring clear and concise communication. Business writing is present at every level of any organisation and assumes many forms. In this blog, learn 5 key tips for business writing, as well as a checklist of considerations. Business Writing – what is it? Business writing is any type of writing […]
Why is Power BI taking over the world? Why are so many organisations currently implementing Power BI? Power BI is the most efficient tool to manage business intelligence in a world where the data sets are getting bigger and bigger. The importance of making quick and correct decisions is a key factor in running a […]
You can improve efficiency and accuracy when pulling and transforming data from various sources by using the Query Editor Tool in Power BI. It’s a marked improvement on using macros in Excel for this function. Read on to see why. Why use the Query Editor The Query Editor is where data sourced from a variety […]
In this piece, Professional Development Trainer Karen tells us how to make sure Presentations hit the mark. From preparation to delivery, there are six crucial elements to consider. Karen shares them with us here. In conversation with Karen from our learning solutions delivery team Karen, we were talking about the welcome growing levels of face-to-face […]
In conversation with one of our Excel / Power BI trainers. In this post, we sit down with one of our training delivery team to look at the pros and cons of Power Query in Excel, as a new way of working with data. Jens, how would you describe Power Query in Excel in one […]
In this article we will introduce you to Power BI’s new Navigator tools used to enhance the functionality and appearance of your multi-page reports. If you use the app, this will help you increase productivity with Power BI’s new navigator tools. The scenario So, you’ve got your data all ready to be made into visuals […]
Whether you are hosting a PowerPoint presentation in person face to face, or for an online audience using Teams or Zoom, nerves can get the better of you and cause you to forget important points or even to seem unprepared. In this article, you will learn how to improve PowerPoint presentations with Presenter View. In […]
Power BI is an ever evolving app with Microsoft releasing new features on a monthly basis as voted for by users. It’s almost a fulltime job just keeping on top of all these new developments, not to mention sifting out which features are going to be most beneficial. Well fear not, our dedicated Power BI […]
Working days are usually very full and busy. Most of us do not always complete all the tasks we set for ourselves every day, so we end up with a backlog while feeling bad about it. Many people use PowerPoint to create presentations for business purposes, but wish they knew quicker ways. In fact, some […]
(In conversation with Jens, one of our Excel/Power BI trainers) In this post we sit down with one of our training delivery team, Jens, to look at the pros and cons of Excel and Power BI when considering which reporting path is best for you and your organisation. Jens, you mentioned a frequently occurring question […]
When a Director once gave a talk on the importance of developing relationships, I was left thinking I had to buy someone a gift. Maybe it isn’t too far from the truth. When developing skills that can influence a relationship, having a giving attitude is what can help make them spectacular. Find out here how […]
One word That describes Power Query in Excel – MAGIC! Power Query will completely change the way you work in Excel! For most Excel users, Power Query could be the tool that reduces time spent in Excel dramatically. Power Query could also minimise the use of VBA coding in Excel. It can be seen as a […]
Using Live Events efficiently in Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams meetings are great for a few people to meet, but for a larger scale online webinar, the option of a Live event will be more efficient. This blog discusses how to use Live Events efficiently in Microsoft Teams. The organisers can line up content for a […]
The Right Language for Resolving Conflict In English speaking workplaces, it is important to voice complaints and frustrations by using the right language. When you are dealing with problems, the right approach and level of directness can ensure you don’t cause offence. This article looks at essential language along with 4 tips to resolve conflict […]
Why won’t you answer? So many time’s we send emails praying to get a quick response. Far too often that one reply necessary to move forward on our work doesn’t materialise. So, what are the secrets to getting that quick response? In this article we will try and shift the power back into your corner. […]
When managing a project using Microsoft Project, stakeholders often need to receive progress updates. Because not everyone can read a Gantt chart, MS Project comes with a set of pre-designed reports and dashboards to help you better understand your data. You can easily create amazing reports with Microsoft Project. Below is an explanation of the […]
If You Fail To Plan, You Plan To Fail! How to plan a presentation The success or failure of a presentation is determined long before you walk into the venue and try to engage the audience. Let’s consider how you can plan your presentation effectively, making it as relevant, concise and targeted for your audience […]