Our latest podcast episode of “In Systems We Trust” featured Ben Lejfer, the founder of Ripe Capital, a business that acquires and operates niche SaaS businesses. His first acquisition was with Velocity, an analytics tool for project management. As we spoke, one key moment stood out: Asana helps change our business for the better.
If you’ve been on the fence about project management software, especially Asana, this is a must-read (and listen!).
Who should use project management software?
A lot of businesses think that project management software is just for large companies with many employees. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Project management software is becoming increasingly popular, and just in time. With the pandemic shutting down many businesses for the better part of a year, those who were not adapted to a remote environment suffered.
Project management software is for businesses that are remote and those who work in offices. It helps keep things organized and establishes expectations that can reduce what we like to call “work about work,” which are mundane tasks like reminding people where a file is or when something is due. All of these can take time, energy and a major toll on small businesses.
Why is Asana the project management software of choice?
As we spoke to Ben about multiple management software, we asked him why Asana was the choice for his business. Ben’s response? It’s less about what software you use, and more about how you utilize it. If you don’t use the software to its full potential, there’s no reason to have it. Asana is great because it’s so adaptable.
1. Ease of use
One benefit of Asana is that it’s fairly easy to learn how to use. It’s also easy to keep using. Ben works with a lot of people around the world, and Asana has revolutionized the way he does business. Instead of waiting for a person to wake up in their time zone to get a report, tasks can be assigned at any time, which allows for faster turnaround times and expectations that are consistently met.
2. Compatibility with other software
Another benefit of Asana is that it can be compatible with many other applications or software. This was a big deciding factor for Ben and his team because they acquired Velocity. Velocity integrates with Asana and delivers even more analytics that are constantly updated. Instead of having to constantly download reports, Velocity allows you to see what’s happening, or what’s happened in real-time.
3. Reduces meetings
So many people sit through a meeting only to say, “Couldn’t that have been an email?” at the end of it. The great thing about project management software like Asana is that it greatly reduces the need to have meetings, which allows your employees to work harder at their actual job.
4. All-in-one setting
With Asana, you can do everything from approving projects, to submit invoices or other forms. So if your company has a lot of files coming and going, it’s imperative that you work with Asana to keep track of everything. It’s always easy to look through Asana and find the project, and all the documents that go alongside the project. This prevents people from losing documents or asking to help to find something.
How Velocity manages their systems
Velocity has a lot of moving parts. Ben has his hands full building new integrations and automated workflows. Because he has worked with large companies in the past, he knew one of the biggest problems is that people get analytics and data back, but then they don’t do anything about it. So, Ben wanted to solve this problem within his own organization.
They use Asana to keep track of due dates and inform everyone what needs to be done. They also use Slack, which allows them to communicate back and forth in real-time while also leaving messages for any coworkers who may not be online at the same time.
This conversation is full of amazing information regarding Ben’s love of systems and some practical tips to help you through your own digital transformation.
Check out the latest episode here, and don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast!
