Blog/Video Summary: Quickly Making McKinsey-Style Charts in Excel

Objective

This content is a tutorial and overview, aimed at teaching users how to quickly recreate professional-looking bar charts in Excel—like those seen in McKinsey reports—using simple functions and formatting, plus an introduction to an advanced Excel charting course.

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Key Points

Fast McKinsey-Style Chart in Excel

• Setup: The data refers to reasons why IT staff stay, ranked from top to least voted reason.
• Chart Creation Steps:
  1. Copy Chart Labels: Reference and drag label cells for chart axis.
  2. Use REPT Function:
     • =REPT(symbol, number) repeats a chosen symbol (often an emoji or Unicode character) as a bar.
     • Numbers represent vote counts/values per reason.
     • Bars are assembled in cells directly.
  3. Formatting:
     • Add border using Ctrl+1.
     • Highlight top entries with background color.
     • Make top reasons bold.
     • Add and format the chart title.
  4. Dynamic Chart: If numbers change, the chart updates automatically.
• Time Required: Can be built in under 90 seconds.

Customization & Tips

• Symbols: Any symbol or emoji can be used for the bars; you can enter it directly or reference a cell.
• Font Formatting:
  • Font color changes symbol colors.
  • Font size/face changes bar appearance and length—uniform font styles required for proper scaling.
• Variations:
  • Use dashes, dots, stars, boxes, etc.
  • Scale bars for large values so chart fits report layouts.
  • Add comments/annotations by appending text in the formula.
  • Conditional formatting for colored bars based on rules.
• Decimal Handling: REPT ignores decimals, so for precise decimal values, use rounding or switch to standard Excel charts.

Broader Use Cases and Advanced Learning

• Course Plug: Introduces a "Business Charts in Excel" course:
  • For making high-impact, professional Excel dashboards and charts.
  • Focus on both speed and report quality.
  • Includes 8+ hours of video, ready-made templates, cheat sheets, quizzes, and personal support.
  • Offers CPD credits and LinkedIn digital badges.
• Who Should Take It: Corporate professionals, especially those needing quick, high-quality Excel-based reports.
• Learning Outcomes: Dynamic charts, professional formatting, time-saving formula techniques, and chart-type selection strategies.

Final Notes

• Encourages viewers to comment on reasons IT professionals stay in their jobs, linking back to the sample dataset.
• Emphasizes that high-quality visual reporting in Excel is possible without expensive tools or complex software.

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Example REPT Usage in Excel

=REPT("█", [NumberOfVotes]) & " ● " & [NumberOfVotes]

• Replace "█" and "●" with any symbol/emoji as desired.
• [NumberOfVotes] is the count/data for each category.

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Takeaway

With some creative use of Excel’s built-in functions (like REPT), you can build visually compelling, dynamic, and customizable charts directly in the spreadsheet—perfect for rapid professional reporting.

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Resources

• Course: "Business Charts in Excel" (see description for link)
• Additional tips, templates, and community support included with course access

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Call to Action

• Try out the technique for your own data.
• Share your reasons for staying in IT in the comments.
• Consider the course for advanced report and chart creation skills.

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