Another thing that has camped in my head for several months if not years, but never found the time, had the energy, because my kids exhaust me… fine, I just procrastinated too long and didn’t want to do it anymore because I waited too long.
But as I said in my former post already, I’m getting coached now and I had to write a blogpost about it.
Either way, on with the post!
So, what is ASOSA?
ASOSA is a methodology I came up with for whenever you want to change a way of working or whenever you see a not-working-like-you-want-but-could-be-changed-process (or a NWLYWBCBCP as I like to call them).
The method is simple, effective, cost-efficient and doesn’t require a sh*t ton of money to be able to use (looking at you SCRUM, Agile, Prince2 and the likes).
It’s not rocket science, everyone with some kind of analytical mind can do it. But you will need to purchase one or more tools if none are available. But that’s for another time.
Now let’s focus on the methodology.
Is it an acronym?
No, it’s the name of my unborn son…
Of course it’s an acronym and it stands for this:
- Analyze – The phase after you realized where the f*ck you ended up
- Simplify – Reduce the amount of steps in this process
- Optimize – Transform that simplified process into a flow
- Standardize – Standardize that flow in order to be used and re-used
- Automate – Now make sure that all the boring repetitive stuff
But why ASOSA?
Well… I worked for the last 20 years in a lot of (big) firms and all of them had one thing in common: the way people worked was purely based on legacy. What I mean by that is that a (bad) habit has been taught from the start and has never been questioned or improved.
And one phrase that makes me shrink an inch every time I hear it and embodies this whole thing, is this one:
“We always did it like that”
Arthur McSimpleton
For me, this is the worst thing you can ever say in a professional environment, because by saying this, you actually tell me the following things:
- you don’t want to change anything
- you don’t care
- you don’t know any better
If you are one of these persons, I can’t do much about it and this and the following posts won’t interest or help you.
BUT if you are like me and you always find things you want to improve, the upcoming posts are for you.
So, what can you expect?
One post for every phase, starting with the A from Analyze, simple as that, hopefully in a timely matter.
Thanks Fabio, I am regularly faced with this, especially with well-established “autonomous” teams. I guess what follows will resemble different process-optimization methods but your take on it will make it less boring *lol*. Great writing by the way, regards, Faisal.
Thanks Fais, I always love your comments 🙂
It is indeed about increasing efficiency at the workplace, which is really needed in every company.