The Chaos Quotient

Eliminating Chaos and Putting the Puzzle Together

Have You Experienced Chaos?

Look around today, and you’ll see organizations regularly experiencing chaos caused by a whole range of problems. Why should you worry about how your organization handles chaos? Because if you don’t, it can impact the organization's probability of survival.

Chaos can be obvious, such as weather-related natural disasters. But it can also be subtle.

Here’s an example:
Does everyone in your organization know the top three initiatives Senior Management has set for this year? What happens when someone diverts resources to an urgent, painful problem?

Senior management established transitioning customer support to digital self-serve as a strategic initiative. Why are resources diverted? Because in the meantime, customers are complaining and employees wanting to help customers are burning out. In response to the problem, resources are diverted from the strategic initiative, undermining its success.

To eliminate chaos in this situation, I established governance for decision-making and KPIs to measure strategic initiatives and operational health. This improved management's visibility and their ability to make timely, informed decisions for the organization. The organization responded rather than reacted to problems — no more chaos.

If you can eliminate Chaos in your organization, it will help you:

  • Align resources with strategic initiatives

  • Increase customer engagement

  • Reduce organizational risk

  • Increase employee commitment

Take the quick survey below or download the survey HERE to see how your organization’s doing.

Survey Instructions

For each question, circle the number that best represents your organization. Based on our experience, the total number of points will indicate the level of success in dealing with chaos. There are no right or wrong answers. This is one of our diagnostic tools used to help define the issues and plan a course of action.

Not At All     Some What     About Avg.     Above Avg.     Best In Class

Strategic Planning

  1. We have a strategic plan. 1 2 3 4 5

  2. The organization understands the strategic plan. 1 2 3 4 5

  3. The organization is dedicated and moving forward on the top 3 initiatives. 1 2 3 4 5

  4. We have an active risk and mitigation review process. 1 2 3 4 5

Management

  1. We have a defined set of KPIs. 1 2 3 4 5

  2. We have regular meetings to review progress on KPIs. 1 2 3 4 5

  3. We have developed a middle management team capable of carrying out our strategic plan. 1 2 3 4 5

  4. We have provided the team with time and resources to achieve the strategic plan. 1 2 3 4 5

Engagement

  1. Employees are clear on expectations. 1 2 3 4 5

  2. Employees have a confidential outlet for raising risks and concerns. 1 2 3 4 5

  3. There is an active mentoring program at all levels. 1 2 3 4 5

  4. The organization embraces and accepts change. 1 2 3 4 5

Total each column and add the columns together for an overall score.
Overall Score: __________  

Column Totals: _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

© 2025 RKC Management Consulting, LLC; all rights reserved

Scoring

52+ — Congratulations! You are doing it right. The organization is executing on priorities and realizing a high return on investment.

42–51 — You are in the top quartile. There are some weak spots that need improvement, and returns can be increased, but overall you are doing a good job.

19–41 — There is a lot of talk but inconsistent action. It is time to increase the commitment to organizing the chaos so real progress can be made. There is probably a need for better strategic planning, KPIs, and employee engagement. (Please note: this range of scores is average for most organizations that are struggling with chaos.)

9–18 — There is no strategic plan, management KPIs, or employee communication. Or leadership of the organization is brand new. In either case, there are basics that need to be implemented if the organization is going to succeed in overcoming chaos and producing results.

0–8 — The organization is in chaos and in danger of being outmaneuvered or becoming obsolete. It is time to invest in strategic planning, management KPIs, and employee engagement to gain control of the chaos.

Additional Inputs

This final section is meant to help you think about your organization. The answers provide clues for diagnosing issues and opportunities within.

What are the organization's top 3 initiatives?

Describe the top 2 challenges facing your organization.

Know you are not alone in dealing with chaos. Chaos impacts every company differently, and there are different ways to resolve it. Visit RKCMANAGEMENTCONSULTING.COM for ideas and methods to guide your organization away from CHAOS and toward steady, reliable progress.