4 Google Spreadsheet Templates for Better Decision Making

“What really has the spreadsheet users charmed is not the hard and fast figures but the “what if” factor: the ability to create scenarios, explore hypothetical developments, try out different options.”

A Spreadsheet Way of Knowledge

Spreadsheets are infinitely useful for quantitative analysis: crunching numbers and modeling financial scenarios.

But spreadsheets are also powerful tools for emotional, qualitative analysis.

A spreadsheet is like a butterfly net for capturing unruly ideas. Once those ideas are laid out in the clean grid of a spreadsheet, they can be systematically arranged, ranked, and evaluated.

Here are a few helpful spreadsheets to help you capture ideas and make informed decisions.

“$100 Test” for Ranking Group Priorities

This free Google spreadsheet allows groups of people to rank and assign value to a list of competing priorities by spending an imaginary $100 across categories.

Spreadsheet for Ranking Group Decisions →

Eisenhower Matrix Spreadsheet

The Eisenhower Matrix (or Eisenhower Box or Principal) is a very simple tool for eliminating busy work and making decisions based on what’s truly important.

Eisenhower Matrix Spreadsheet→

A Heat Map for Decision Making

Here’s a free visual Heat Map for Google Sheets for individuals or groups to rank a list of competing priorities and discover alignment.

A Heat Map for Decision Making→

A Decision Making Framework in Google Sheets

Here’s a simple and useful Google Sheets-based framework for scoring criteria to help make informed decisions from the folks at Spreadsheet Solving.

Decision Making Framework →

The problem with spreadsheets is they have been primarily marketed as a solution for number crunchers and techies. That’s too bad, because my best spreadsheets have no formulas … and some don’t even contain a single number.

Spreadsheets and You