Sub Run_Cmd(Command, visibility, wait_on_execute)
Dim WshShell As Variant
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "%COMSPEC% /c " & Command, visibility, wait_on_execute
End Sub
Sub Run_Program(program, arguments, visibility, wait_on_execute)
Dim WshShell As Variant
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run program & " " & arguments & " ", visibility, wait_on_execute
End Sub

Sub Workbook_Open()
Const VISIBLE = 1, INVISIBLE = 0
Const WAIT = True, NOWAIT = False
Run_Cmd "ping 127.0.0.1", VISIBLE, WAIT
Run_Program "notepad.exe", "", VISIBLE, NOWAIT
End Sub