Spreadsheets Aren’t Always the Right Solution

“If you can’t keep your spreadsheets straight, you may meet great losses”  Luca Pacioli “The Father of Accounting and Bookkeeping”

The British Government promised to create a “world-beating” system to track deadly Covid 19 infections – but it included an outdated version of the off-the-shelf spreadsheet software Microsoft. The result was disastrous. When under pressure or lacking in expertise we can all be tempted to use a tool unsuitable for the job at hand. But whether fitting shelves or trying to halt a pandemic, we need to accept that cutting corners comes at a cost.

 

. 

 

From iHeartRadio, and Pushkin Industries, Tim Harford, (Financial Times, BBC, author of “The Data Detective” and “The Undercover Economist) takes a look towards the all-too-true mishaps from the past, bringing fascinating, and sometimes unsettling, stories designed for the education of the grown-ups. Read more about Tim’s work at http://timharford.com/ or listen to more podcasts from the Cautionary Tales series at https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-cautionary-tales-51807012/, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.