Discovery of the collaborative tool Asana
Tables, lists, agendas, notebooks, post-it notes, … I searched, tested, …, without finding a satisfactory method to manage my actions.
Determined to progress, I explore the web in search of a solution.
Early 2017 begins then what I call today my “Asana Adventure”.
Trello, Wrike, Asana, Basecamp, Smartsheet, Azendoo, …
I discover a wide range of tools at my disposal. After a few weeks of testing, my choice goes to Asana !
The tool offers many more possibilities than I could have imagined, and a crazy idea comes to my mind: “What if my company used Asana to improve project management and collaboration? It would just be great!”.
Start of deployment and training
After convincing a few colleagues to test together, word of mouth gets around …
And quickly, new employees have to be trained.
One of Asana’s strengths is its flexibility, so I cling to one principle from the very beginning:
if a team decides to use Asana, then I must be able to propose several ways of doing things, and the team will choose the one that best suits their needs and habits.
For this, I have at my disposal at the time:
– the Guide Asana,
– and especially the Forum Asana,
because I need feedback from users who use the tool in agencies, companies, industries, …
So I’m looking for information everywhere …
…,4, 5, …, 10, …, 40 users.
There is an urgent need to set up a team of volunteers to support employees in their use of the tool at each of the sites in France and Europe.
And with several people, it is also easier to face headwinds …
At the same time, I always spend hours reading posts and I even start answering on certain topics.
…, 50, 60, …, soon 100 users!
Meeting with my management :
“We hear the words “Asana” and “Julien” a lot in the same sentence, can you tell us more?”
This day marks a turning point with a strong choice of direction.
The initiative is recognized: Asana becomes an official tool for our project management … and its deployment will continue to be supervised by the employees and not directly by the IT department.
First contacts with the Asana team
I’m getting an email from the Asana Team!
A videoconference follows and I am officially recognized as an expert by Asana among 15 others worldwide.
And we are only 2 French!
100, 150, …, we reach a plateau of about 200 users.
Being an Asana expert gives me the opportunity to take part in monthly visions organised by Asana, bringing together world experts from France, Ireland, Australia, Germany, the United States, …
Exchange of best practices, collaboration, these meetings are a real asset!
At the beginning of 2019, Asana structures its community and its Forum by launching the Asana Together program.
July 2019: 1st event organized in France by Asana, to which I was invited to speak about “The art of teamwork”.
It’s an opportunity to meet:
– several members of the Asana team : Niamh, Logan, Josh, Corentin,
– Bastien SIEBMAN, historical French expert of Asana!
Little anecdote: with Bastien, we didn’t know each other before becoming Asana experts, and we discovered that our fathers had worked together during their careers. So Asana will have reunited the sons, incredible!
A new status: auto-entrepreneur
September 2019 : I create my auto-entrepreneur status, and I become Asana Certified Pro to support and train start-ups, companies, individuals, …
February 2020: Creation of the first version of this website.
April 2020: Launch of a series of webinars in French to introduce Asana from the field
September 2020 : It’s the big jump!!!
I dedicate myself to my auto-entrepreneur activity!
The rest I don’t know yet…
THANK YOU to all those who have been or are still actors of this “Adventure”:
(non-exhaustive list)
Comap Team: Antonin, Bertrand, Célio, Dorian, Emmanuelle, Guillaume, Hervé, Jean-Christophe, Jean-Noël, Marie-Lou, Maxime, Mélanie, Mickaël, Pauline, Patrick, Pierre, Pierre-Antoine, Vincent G., Yann
Asana Team: Alexis, Niamh, Corentin, Francesca, Logan, Kimberlea, Josh, Tim, …
“Special thanks” à :
– Marie T. : for her constant good mood, her animation of the community, her availability and her advice,
– Bastien S. : Asana expert for years, who shows an inexhaustible creativity and with whom I enjoy collaborating.
The most important part of deploying Asana is explaining your vision to your employees, to make them full participants in the change, and to adapt the solution to the needs of each team.
Motivation, collaboration, perseverance, listening and continuous learning are the keys to success.
Julien RENAUD
