The Checklist Manifesto – How To Get Things Right

As a new feature of Thinking Business Blog, I plan to publish a brief, one paragraph summary of the business books that I am reading. This will be a very high level synopsis of the book and what I gained from it. I will publish these summaries as I complete the books and not on a predetermined schedule. I trust you will benefit from them.

The first book I reviewed was Procrastinate on Purpose.

The second review was Bill Browder’s book, Red Notice

The third review is Atul Gawande’s book The Checklist Manifesto

I spent more time readying this book than most. It is really that good! Gawande’s entertaining writing style, engaging examples and the underlying message that we need to systematize as much of our business and activities as possible so that we minimize mistakes and maximize value is something that I really support.

My takeaway from this book is that an organization needs two types of checklists to be successful;

1. A checklist for the process itself
2. A checklist that identifies clear role responsibility and communication paths. Communication between all stakeholders involved in a process is just as important as executing the process itself.

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Watch for the upcoming release of my two new books: 12 Steps to Business Transformation and The Thinking Business System