Checklist Manifesto, The (R/J)

The book is great with good quality and it has great paper quality and all. The book is easy to read also.

I am not a big fan of self-help books, but I made an exception for “The Checklist Manifesto” for a couple of reasons: (1) I consider one of Gawande's later books, “Being Mortal,” the best non-fiction book I have ever read, and (2) I expected interesting anecdotes about the history of checklists, written in Gawande’s breezy, engaging style. While well-written and easy to read, this book is no "Being Mortal." Although it encourages readers to use checklists more consciously in their daily lives, it discusses a subject that most of us intuitively understand and does not seem very insightful or groundbreaking. Gawande's logic is sound and compelling. He argues that the increase in available knowledge has both saved and burdened us. The instances of fallibility due to ignorance have been overtaken by those due to the complexity of modern systems and processes. Checklists, he suggests, are the straightforward solution to prevent mistakes that arise from this complexity. The book is quite short at about 190 pages in the Kindle version, making it a quick and accessible read. Gawande covers the use of checklists in various industries such as aviation, construction, investments (an industry I am somewhat familiar with, and his examples seemed somewhat manufactured and less convincing), music, and restaurants. However, most of his narrative focuses on hospitals and the medical field, making it somewhat repetitive despite its short length. Despite its shortcomings, the book is probably worth a read, especially given its brevity. As Gawande points out, using a checklist can often feel beneath us and even embarrassing, but this book might make you rethink that notion and appreciate the simplicity and effectiveness of checklists in achieving efficiency and preventing errors. A fun fact to highlight (according to Gawande): when airlines merge, one of the fiercest battles is between pilots over whose checklist will be adopted and used going forward. This underscores the importance and impact of checklists in critical operations. Pros: Gawande’s typical breezy and engaging style, brevity making it a quick read Cons: Lack of significant insights or new revelations, somewhat repetitive narrative

The Checklist Manifesto – How To Get Things Right. Atul has picked up and analyzed real life examples from different fields like : medicine, Aviation, Construction, Cooking, Finance, and proved that Checklists do work, especially in fields like Medicine, Aviation where a single small mistake proves fatal to a group. In my opinion Making and following Checklist brings down your error rate substantially down. Atul beautifully explains that how routine matters gets overlooked easily, under the strain of more pressing events. Atul being in medical profession cites few examples to make the reader understand that. Checklists can make you disciplined and by following it, you can get higher performance, and at the same time it provides protection against failures. Atul also advices about making good checklists, one which should be precise, efficient, up to the point, easy to use in difficult situations, focusing on killer items and lastly it should be practical. He further says that checklists should be updated from time to time depending on the circumstances and results. In flights when a pilot faces a catastrophe, they are astonishingly willing to turn to their checklists, instead of relying on their skill, years of experience. Coming to investment world, making and following a check lists saves you a ton of money. Especially in financial world greed and fear forces you to make wrong decisions even though you are skilled, smart, knowledgeable and experienced. For example, the partners of LTCM ( Long Term Capital Management -hedge fund in 1997) were Harvard, MIT Graduates, a couple of partners were Nobel Laureates. In fact LTCM’s team was called as the most elite and brilliant team in the world of investments, but they eventually failed because they were not able to assess their risks properly. Had they a checklist in place they would not have risked their position by using excessive leverage. In short this is not a book typically on medical, investment, construction or aviation, but it’s a book which can help anyone in his life, profession etc. This book helps you to minimize your mistakes and in turn maximize your successes in any area of your life. Excellent book and must read for anyone.

THE CHECKLIST MANIFESTO – How to get things right – Atul Gawande It is a difficult proposition classifying Dr Atul Gawande, the Boston based surgeon who writes really profound books into any genre. Is he a doctor writing on medicine or is he a philosopher discussing issues of life and death or do his books fall into the now popular category called ‘self-help’ or can one think out of the box and refer to him as a Management Educator. I think he is all of them. My introduction to Dr Gawande’s writings was thru ‘Being Mortal’ which I rated 6/5 last year and also listed it as the best book that I read in 2014. I followed this up with one of his earlier books ‘Complications’ which also was thoroughly readable and insightful. CHECKLIST MANIFESTO is one of his earlier books. While the world was simple and not overwhelmed with as much of science and technology, it was easy to do things…simple straightforward steps…mastered over a period of time…and the masters did it right. Unfortunately the world did not stay that way….from simple…it went into complex…..with multiple rules / algorithms / procedures….so how do you ensure that everything is done the way it should be done…so that nothing gets missed out…and we get results right ? Burrowing thru his experience as a Surgeon and also from real life examples, Dr Gawande finally comes to the conclusion that ‘check lists’ is the best way of ensuring that everything is done the right way…when multiple work together and any complex job almost becomes an orchestra playing a symphony….if you want to get all the notes right…..let us be clear who does what, when before we embark onto a complex job…whether it is removing a tumor from a patient’s brain or serving customers in a Michelin starred restaurant. While the stories from the world of medicine come naturally to him, what is really admirable is Dr Gawande picking up real life stories from industries as diverse as haute cuisine and aviation. His description of the miraculous landing of a packed to capacity jet liner into Hudson without any casualty is riveting. As I said earlier this is not medicine or philosophy or self-help or management education. It is all of them rolled into one…and an eminently readable book. The deftness of his writing is like a surgeon’s scalpel. One of the best books that I have read in the last 6 months.

The book itself is great but after reading two to three chapters i realised that this much should be enough for me to understand importance of checklist and apply it for daily productivity, i was amazed by the vast usages of checklist and this but gorgeously describes it , but the book goes on and on describing the usage of checklist and interesting stories, however what's missing from my pov , is that it should have also included a guide to writing a successful checklist for any individual , what are the important things to be kept in mind and what are short comings of checklist etc etc however i really kept only giving story about where and how other professionals used checklist.I couldn't finish this book because at last i was bored and didn't find this book a practical guide.. it had really interesting stories though , but it didn't contribute to my personal productivity much since i had to figure out on my own how to utilise vast knowledge of this book.. anyways this book is good if you want a intresting story type Book but you'll have a time figuring out what to do with the knowledge pf checklist at different scenarios..

Let me begin the review with the fact that GAwande''s one of those few non fiction writers who drive home their msg without boring u to the core.... in that unputdownable way we find only in a Jeffrey Archer/ J.K. Rowling book :) ( another guy isRobin Sharma - Who will Cry When U Die) An Icu, that too in forgettable areas of USA, brings down its Central line infection rates (from 30% to <1%) doing nothing but following all aseptic steps in a checklist confirmed by a nurse standing near by.....n doing so, they saved a WHOPPING 120 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!! The only take home message he wants us to have is --- make a checklist for things u want to improve , and follow it meticulously ,,, and see yourself achieving perfection...!! With medical knowledge (for that matter, knowledge in all fields) becoming so vast,,, it is becoming impossible to implement effectively, consistently that knowledge,,, with so many steps to follow, the best of Doctors/ pilots tend to miss a step here, a step there--- memory lapse/ ignorance/ more dire things to do/ belief that it is not impt.--- are the culprits.... but this leads to infections/ death/ imperfect results// crash/ .... all this can be easily avoided by just making a check list, asking ur nurse to place a tick with each step completed,,, andd prompting us if a step is missed.... The author (of whom i am a big fan :-)) explains all this giving such gripping examples, in such a lucid manner,,, even the most cynical person will buy his concept.... :) a MUST READ FOR PPL ( NOT JUST DR.S) WHO YEARN TO BECOME MORE PERFECT DOING WHAT THEY LOVE DOING... P.S. - His other book, COMPLICATIONS, is a must read for all MBBS students,,, Surgeons,,, a truly astonishing insight into Medical field...

It’s an excellent book that gives insights on how a well thought and precise checklist will improve our work efficiency to large extent. Really a good read

Book :- The Checklist Manifesto How to get the things right Author :- Atul Gawande What the book is about:- Book is method driven approach to achieve consistent results and reducing errors in every growing complex environment of medical science, construction, aviation, finance, cooking etc. Book lays the importance of checklists used in above fields and shares the success stories related to above fields. Pros :- 1. Explains the importance of checklists in carrying out the complex jobs in various fields like flying aircrafts, value investing, performing surgery, construction of high rise buildings. 2. Examples has been given from various fields regarding the success of checklis 3. Explains how method works as success in any field Cons :- 1. There are complex terms related to medical field in the book which is beyond scope of normal person 2. Book sometimes deviates from one story and inserts new story in between, which disrupts the flow. Overall review:- It is different type of book which deals with complex situations and provide a way for consistent results with very low percentage of error. Overall an good read

The book takes off gruelingly, but picks up the pace and reads like an exciting quest in search of holy check list. The book has inspired me to introduce check lists in some routine tasks i perform at work.

Ottimo

I’ve had the checklist manifesto in my “to-read” list for about 5 years now. It’s a book I’ve had reccomended to me many times and, in a nutshell, it’s a manifesto for the use of checklists. Atul Gawande who wrote it is a surgeon who has a history of process improvement projects. The checklist manifesto is his attempt to convince people that checklists, simple as they are, can massively improve the output quality and consistency of tasks that we repeat frequently. What is more surprising though, is that his research uncovers that even in areas where there are complex problems for which we can’t cheklist – checklists can help significantly in resolving complex and unforeseen problems. The thesis is simple. Checklists raise output quality and consistency. The reason they do this is simple – we overestimate our ability to routinely perform series of tasks dramatically. In scenarios where there is stress or complication, the rate at which we overestimate our ability rises dramatically. Gawande examines three key scenarios – flight checklists, large scale construction projects and his own home – the operating theater. IN each scenario, he tackles simple, routine problems and also complicated and complex problems. What emerges is a surprisingly strong case for checklists as a tool to ensure consistency, and to change behavior, and also as a tool to aid resolution in complex and unforeseen circumstances. The bottom line is that we are inadequate repeaters of routine tasks, people routinely skip steps for one of two reasons – either they just forget through distraction or inattention, or they don’t know about, or don’t believe in the efficacy of a step – so they skip it. In each of these cases, checklists function as a kind of spot audit – telling people that they didn’t perform a step, and ensuring that they do. In many cases, authority was granted to people responsible for overseeing the checklist to stop a process if people didn’t perform it as written. What followed in each case, was a dramatic improvement in performance – in one case, a US hospital system had 1500 fewer yearly deaths after introducing checklists to key procedures. Routine tasks aside, complex tasks were also found to benefit. IN routine simple and complicated tasks, the series of steps required to be carried out were documented in order so that they could be directly followed. In Complex tasks however, this wasn’t possible because what was required to be done was typically an emergent phenomenon like an accident or disaster and needed to be analysed and dearth with on the fly. While task based checklists were not capable of operating in this environment, what was shown to produce results was checklists describing mandating communication among team members and the best results were found in cases that included delegation of authority to act away from a central organisation. The book contains excellent tips on how to make checklists work. It boils down to keep them short, precise, and practical. They don’t over-describe – they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps. The point of invocation of the checklist needs to be clear for it to be useful. Checklists also come in two distinct types – Do-confirm and read-do. One is about an audit of what you carried out, the other provides steps to follow – which you do in order and tick off. Checklists should also be a maximum of 5 to 9 items – which is cognitively about all we can handle. There is also some very specific advice on formatting – right down to fonts and typeset. One interesting point made repeatedly was that there were substantial improvements in the ability to cope with crises by teams that came together at the start of a surgery to work through the checklist. Checklists are the simplest way to protect you, and others, from you – and the systematic mistakes you make by believing that you’re systematic – when you’re not. They’re also the simplest way to get an advantage without being smarter or first, you can be more thorough – EVERY time

Atual Gawande is an American-raised indian Born surgeon practicing in Boston and he is also a writer for the New Yorker he has written 3 books, all three of them excellent. Complications his first is a revelation, better his middle one I enjoyed less, and this third one, the Checklist, is spellbindingly good Gawande is no mere doctor he was also a Rhodes Scholar (i.e seriously bright) earning a PPE in Oxford England in the late 90s. To me, it seems that this is the secret to his appeal, he is a seriously intelligent and gifted academic, who later turned to the practical art of surgery. So he is very well rounded. The central feature of his writing is to convey to the layperson that there are no easy choices, no bravura macho surgeons who can reliably fix everything. He is searingly honest about the shortcomings of medecine and his own shortcomings in particular, relaying again and again over all three books where he has screwed up, often very badly. These accounts read very well as fair accounts of how difficult it is to actually do any significant surgery on anyone without killing them, or making them iller. He is neither too harsh nor seeking to exculpate himself. He starts with the premise that (nearly) all doctors want to help, but that medecine can be horribly complicated and difficult, that they make mistakes and they are sometimes out of their depth, and that they are all learning on the job. What is magnificent about checklists is that, you'd think there wouldn't be much to say about them, that could hold your interest for very long. In this you'd be seriously wrong. it turns out that our prejudicial views on checklists (we don't like them and find them patronising) is in inverse proportion to how useful they are regardless of your levels of commitment to excellence, ingenuity or sheer brilliance. In the heat of an emergency many of the things that go wrong are EXACTLY the kinds of things that simple checklists can help you spot when your mind skips steps to focus on what you think is essential. in this book, Gawande focusses on the usefulness of checklists in medecine, commercial flying, architecture/engineering and finance and he does a masterful writerly job of keeping you engaged and enlgightened as he slowly builds a very compelling case for dropping the prejudice and adopting the checklist in more and more areas of life. One fascinating aside to me, is that the going through a checklist with other people (say before operating) was no mere mechanical procedure, but that it had a 'activating effect' of equalising the status and hierarchy of all concerned, suddenly you were no longer just some nurse or mere technician in awe of the surgeon. In fact, taking responsibility for your own part of the checklist made you a vital member of a team, and it was this team building spirit that made people work better together, think better and most importantly handle disasters with far greater focus as they knew each other and didn't waste time on blame or evasion. Much more commonly checklists even prevented disasters because since everyone felt part of a team, the junior members were not so intimidated into not pointing out errors which could later develop into disasters. It's a list on a piece of paper, but adhering to it in this public and collegiate way, had a profound impact on the psychology of the practitioners solidifying their sense of being part of a team and therefore being steadfast in calling things as they saw them, rather than simply deferring to authority and keeping quiet (a frequent cause of all types of disasters). Gawande is a good friend of Malcolm Gladwell, but he is no mere wannabe, Gawande has his own unique authorial voice and he comes across as a genuinely likeable, clever decent and highly sophisticated but down to earth human being. He is such a good writer that not least of his skills is how funny he sometimes is when he points out the absurdities of human foibles (especially his own) and of taking on any ambitious human endeavour. He is no pious preacher.

Greta book that help me with getting the things right!