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Anytime you have dozens of moving parts, people, and processes all functioning under the same “roof,” there’s going to be some level of chaos. But, it doesn’t have to be like this forever. With the right approach, you can reduce chaos and restore order to your business operations with the correct technology management.
Chaos in Business: Normal Yet Preventable
If you look around and study businesses inside and outside of your industry, you’ll come to recognize one thing: chaos is everywhere. However, if you’re critical in your analysis, you’ll quickly notice a second principle: Not all businesses handle chaos the same. Some wilt under the pressure, while others find ways to quickly adapt and overcome.
So businesses that mishandle chaos, which stems from things like marketplace shifts, external factors (like pandemics), changing customer demands, evolving technology, etc., end up losing confidence and strategic focus.
“Under duress, leaders and their teams often lose confidence in their ability to make decisions, which leads to operational inefficiencies, performance setbacks and competing operational goals,” business consultant Kelly Tyler Byrnes writes, “strategic focus loses out to chasing any way to make a buck.”
Chaos causes some businesses to adopt reactionary strategies, which ultimately leave them without any strategic focus. They begin to respond to the uncontrollable factors around them. When they should stick to their true identity and forge a strategy that puts them in charge of elements they can control.
The good news is that your business can prevent most chaos. Or, at the very least, you can develop a targeted plan for neutralizing the effects of chaos. So, that you can regain control and put your business on the right path. Technology often provides the tools needed to do this.
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4 Ways to Weed Out Chaos With the Right Tech
With the correct approach to technology management, you can weed out chaos and bring order to your business. Here are several ways to do this:
1. Use Mind Mapping for Planning
Looking for a way to get more organized? Want to flex your creative muscles and develop a plan for how to grow? Whether you’re building out a new marketing funnel, brainstorming different product ideas, or simply trying to organize your thoughts so that you can produce better content, it helps to have a plan for planning.
Mind mapping software is a tool that can be used for real-time collaborative drawing. This technology allows you to map out ideas using text, arrows, video files, images, links, diagrams, documents, etc. This allows you to take ideas from your head and put them onto a screen. As a result, your entire team can collaborate and find direction.
2. Choose Smart Tech Tools
Trying to stay on top of all of your various IT assets is a major task. Not only do you have physical assets like printers, scanners, computers, mobile devices, etc., but you also have software, applications, and various networks. If you’re manually monitoring and tracking all of your technology and hardware, there’s a lot slipping through the cracks.
One way to stay on track with your IT assets and bring order to the chaos is by using IT asset management platforms. This will help you organize all assets in one smart dashboard, which ensures you’re always aware of things like warranties, updates, and security vulnerabilities.
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3. Build Real-Time Data Dashboards
Collecting data is easy these days. However, the tough part is keeping track of all of the data and analyzing it in such a way that you can actually leverage the insights you have available at your fingertips. One way to do this is by setting up real-time data dashboards that give you accurate and up-to-date key performance indicators (KPIs).
4. Use a Good ATS for Recruiting
People are the power source of any good business. So, if you want to bring order to the chaos that is your company, a streamlined approach to recruiting will do you good. Using a technology called a standalone applicant tracking system (ATS) can help.
According to one study, 86 percent of recruiters believe using an ATS increases the speed and simplicity of hiring candidates. Moreover, these platforms allow you to post job openings across multiple job boards, automate screening of candidates, view the status of each candidate in the interview process, and initiate offer letters 100 percent digitally and through the cloud.
Putting It All Together
Some chaos will always be present anytime you’re running a business. Between unpredictable external factors and constantly evolving internal factors, you can’t expect things to always be the same. However, if you develop a plan and use the right mixture of technology and leadership, you can weather most storms and find some semblance of peace and predictability.
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