The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawandee

The checklist manifesto

By Atul Gawandee

The nice thing about living near a library is that on a rainy weekend, or a sunny day on the beach, you can grab a book and learn something new. ThIs weekend I picked up The Checklist Manifesto. It's a quick read but an interesting read. It has a few insights that might be worthwhile - some gleaned from reviews. The book focuses on the usage of checklists in relation to a problem that afflicts virtually every aspect of the modern world–and that is how professionals deal with the increasing complexity of their responsibilities  of daily and professional life

Gawande suggests that people tend to fail for two main reasons. The first is ignorance – having only a partial understanding of the task in front of us. The second is ineptitude – instances where we have the knowledge but we fail to apply it correctly.

But it’s not ignorance that leads to mistakes in today’s world. We have access to more and more information and our knowledge base is growing every day in every field. It’s the complexity of our world that is increasing, making it more difficult to deploy our knowledge predictably and routinely - like a weekly preprint or massive catalog. We need a strategy that builds on experience and takes advantage of the immense knowledge we all have in our brains, and in our hands, but also makes up for our inevitable human inadequacies

As the complexity of the challenges, problems, and tasks we face increases, we can’t just rely on memory or our “routine” to help us perform at the highest level. Gawande points out that, “[checklists] remind us of the minimum necessary steps and make them explicit. They not only offer the possibility of verification but also instill a kind of discipline of higher performance.”

Gawande offers some tips for building good checklists:

Make them precise.

They should be efficient, to the point, and easy to use even in the most difficult situations.

Do not try to spell out everything.

Provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps – the ones that even highly skilled professionals using them could miss.

Above all, make sure they are practical.

“…Under conditions of complexity, not only are checklists a help, they are required for success. There must always be room for judgment, but judgment aided – and even enhanced – by procedure.”  

I“We have an opportunity before us, not just in medicine, but in virtually any endeavor. Even the most expert among us can gain from searching out the patterns of mistakes and failures and putting a few checks in place. But will we do it? Are we ready to grab onto the idea?”,

Here are three suggestions on how we can implement checklists more effectively:

1. Identify areas of opportunity: What areas of your business could benefit from a checklist? How could you begin to reduce the number of mindless mistakes that lead to unhappy customers, failed execution, or even something far worse?

2. Check your ego: Throughout the entire book, ego more than anything seems to be the largest obstacle to implementing checklists. Remember, they are not intended to undermine your intelligence or ability. They are a tool to combat the increasingly complex nature of our lives.

3. Curate: Not everything requires a checklist, nor are they effective for every situation. The key is using them only in the most essential places and to be diligent about making them practical and precise.

Make a checklist!