ORIGIN Onboarding Tests
Act 07, How ORIGIN runs Section 10 of 11

Most work that goes wrong was asked for badly. ORIGIN has one way to ask for something, and it works equally well on a colleague and on Claude.

5Questions to answer before you ask
3Sentences at most, in the brief
7Steps at most, each starting with a verb
Shape the ask
Three people in conversation by an office window, from the ORIGIN real estate company profile
Part 1

The thinking behind a good ask

An ask is our word for a request. Before you write one, answer five questions. If you cannot answer one, you are not ready to ask.

Ask yourselfIt becomes
What is this about, what should happen, and by when?The title
What is needed, why, and where are the files?The brief: three sentences at most
What are the actions, in order?Three to seven steps, each starting with a verb, each one something that can be ticked off, marked as done
When is it needed?One line: Due
How will we know it is finished?One line: Done when

Lead with the ask. Your reasoning, your evidence and your references are real and useful: they go in a separate note, linked at the bottom.

You are about to ask a colleague to review a competitor. You know what you need, but not by when. What do you do?

If you cannot answer one of the five, you are not ready to ask.

Remember

Title, brief, steps, due, done when.

Part 2

A working example

One ask, in full

PartWhat it says
TitleClient report, send week 41 to the client, by Thursday.
BriefThe client expects the weekly report every Thursday. This week it must include the new launch date. The files are in the client folder under Deliverables.
Step 1Open last week's report and copy its structure.
Step 2Update progress from the Asana project.
Step 3Add the new launch date and what it changes.
Step 4Send it to the Team Lead for review.
DueWednesday, end of day, so the Team Lead can review it before Thursday.
Done whenThe Team Lead has approved it and it is in the client's inbox.

One trap

A step must be something that can be finished. "Keep the client updated from now on" can never be ticked. It is a way of working, so it belongs in the brief.

In practice

Rewrite the last request you sent to a colleague in this shape. Notice which of the five questions you had not answered. That gap is usually why the work came back wrong.

You are writing the steps of an ask. Which of these is a step?

It starts with a verb, and it can be finished.

Remember

If you cannot fill one in, you are not ready to ask.

Your part

Before you move on

Three questions before you move on. Type your answer, send it, then check it.

Your answers stay on this device.

1What are the five parts of a good ask?

The answerTitle, brief, steps, due, done when.

2How long is the brief, and how many steps are there?

The answerThree sentences at most, and three to seven steps, each starting with a verb.

3Where do your reasoning and your references go?

The answerIn a separate note, linked at the bottom.

Answer all three and this section is yours.
ORIGIN

A clear ask gets done.

Know what finished looks like before you start. That is owning the outcome. Next: cybersecurity, the last section of this act.

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