Reading List: “The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right” by Atul Gawande
Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, saw the value of checklists to ensure better procedures in hospitals. By implementing checklists, hospitals reduced infections and suffering and, in turn, in
surance costs. In the book, Gawande described the successful application of checklists for processes in other industries. He looked at the role and use of checklists by contractors in construction projects, by pilots for flight preparation and by staff supporting surgeons in surgery. He also investigated why checklists are effective in process, can encourage better collaboration and communication between people on a team and prevent sloppiness and oversight of apparently unimportant, but significant, steps in a process.
This is an interesting book for businesses where multiple steps are involved in the delivery of a product or service and where neglecting any of the steps can cause complications, damage and higher costs.
