Nonfiction

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-25 06:56:27
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Atul Gawande
  • ISBN：0312430000
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Summary

A New York Times Bestseller

In latest bestseller， Atul Gawande shows what the simple idea of the checklist reveals about the complexity of our lives and how we can deal with it。

The modern world has given us stupendous know-how。 Yet avoidable failures continue to plague us in health care， government， the law， the financial industry—in almost every realm of organized activity。 And the reason is simple: the volume and complexity of knowledge today has exceeded our ability as individuals to properly deliver it to people—consistently， correctly， safely。 We train longer， specialize more， use ever-advancing technologies， and still we fail。 Atul Gawande makes a compelling argument that we can do better， using the simplest of methods: the checklist。 In riveting stories， he reveals what checklists can do， what they can't， and how they could bring about striking improvements in a variety of fields， from medicine and disaster recovery to professions and businesses of all kinds。 And the insights are making a difference。 Already， a simple surgical checklist from the World Health Organization designed by following the ideas described here has been adopted in more than twenty countries as a standard for care and has been heralded as "the biggest clinical invention in thirty years" （The Independent）。

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Reviews

Bkwmlee ，

Looking through my reading log the past couple weeks， I realize that I’ve been a bit behind with my reading the past couple weeks。 This was due mainly to a few projects that I had to be involved with at work， which ended up requiring a bigger time commitment than I originally anticipated。 Luckily， those projects will be completed by next month， so I will be able to get back on track very soon！With that said， one of the books I was able to squeeze in during this time period was Atul Gawande’s non Looking through my reading log the past couple weeks， I realize that I’ve been a bit behind with my reading the past couple weeks。 This was due mainly to a few projects that I had to be involved with at work， which ended up requiring a bigger time commitment than I originally anticipated。 Luckily， those projects will be completed by next month， so I will be able to get back on track very soon！With that said， one of the books I was able to squeeze in during this time period was Atul Gawande’s nonfiction bestseller The Checklist Manifesto。 Though this book came out 12 years ago， I actually only heard about it recently， when it was discussed on one of the book podcasts I listen to。 I will admit that， going into this book， I was expecting it to be a “how-to” manual of sorts on designing checklists， so I was anticipating a long and arduous read （as most nonfiction books in the “self-help” category usually are for me）。 To my surprise though， this book proved to be the complete opposite of what I thought it would be。 The “how-to” piece was actually less than 10% of the book; majority of the book was filled with fascinating anecdotes about several industries （primarily medicine and aviation） and how checklists contributed to various successes in those industries。 It was obvious to me that Gawande is a passionate advocate for the use of checklists and while most of his focus here is of course on his profession （he is a renowned surgeon） and how checklists helped him in his line of work， I still found quite a bit of relevance in what he wrote。 I think that anyone who works in a highly complex field （or has tasks that require a fair amount of complexity） can definitely benefit from incorporating checklists in the way that Gawande describes。 In fact， before I even got to the end of the book， I already started thinking about possible ways to incorporate checklists to a few of my own tasks at work。One of the things I appreciate most about this book is how well-written it is。 Medicine and aviation are two fields that I would normally find boring to read about in such painstaking detail， but Gawande managed to make the subject matter interesting to the point that I wanted to keep turning the pages to see how things would turn out。 I actually ended up finishing this book in one sitting， which usually never happens with me when reading nonfiction books！ I think what also helped is that Gawande writes in an honest， down-to-earth manner with a good amount of self-deprecating humor sprinkled throughout， which is very different from the “preachiness” of many “self-help” books out there （especially the business-related ones， most of which tend to have a condescending tone that usually turns me off the getgo）。While definitely not perfect by any means， there is a lot of good insight here — to me， this is a useful book that is well worth a read-through regardless of what profession you are in。 Though with that said， Gawande does describe some of the medical situations he encounters in explicit detail， so just a word of warning， in case stuff like that makes you queasy （I personally read through these scenes quickly and in a few cases， skipped some of the descriptions altogether）。 Overall， this book was both helpful and entertaining （plus， at about 200 pages， it’s relatively short）， so definitely a recommended read！ 。。。more

Jeron Wong ，

This book， written by a doctor， has an important message to give to us about checklists and teaches the usefulness， effectiveness， and methodology to write the most optimal checklist。 However some parts of the book feel too technical when it comes to medicine and other parts drag on。 Still worth the read。

Z。 Aroosha Dehghan ，

کل کتاب:چک لیست چیز خوبیست。چک لیست داشته باشید。

Kendra Ramada ，

I love every book this doc writes 😂 if only we could all be as efficient and as disciplined as the airline industry！

Robert ，

Not at all what I thought。 This book is mainly about the medical and aviation industries and how to more effectively and reliably use and recreate past successes in these fields。"Medicine has become the art of managing extreme complexity。"Lots of food for thought。It's hard to argue with results。 Not at all what I thought。 This book is mainly about the medical and aviation industries and how to more effectively and reliably use and recreate past successes in these fields。"Medicine has become the art of managing extreme complexity。"Lots of food for thought。It's hard to argue with results。 。。。more

Linden ，

Rec by Jill D

Madison Yonlisky ，

Amazing informative book whether it be for work or personal reasons…regardless of your profession。 I’m not an organized by nature， and as someone who has a full time job in project management this has been extremely helpful！

Rose Mary Rinkevich ，

This was a interesting book which is really about checklists。 The stories behind checklist and the use of checklists in the surgery which the author is a surgeon。 He also tells stories about aviation checklist and the "Miracle on the Hudson"。 He tells stories about builders checklist which I working home building on the accounting side。 He even had stories about financial analyst checklists which I love with my accounting nerdiness。 This might sound boring but it is told as stories and was fanta This was a interesting book which is really about checklists。 The stories behind checklist and the use of checklists in the surgery which the author is a surgeon。 He also tells stories about aviation checklist and the "Miracle on the Hudson"。 He tells stories about builders checklist which I working home building on the accounting side。 He even had stories about financial analyst checklists which I love with my accounting nerdiness。 This might sound boring but it is told as stories and was fantastic。 。。。more

Nolan ，

I wouldn't consider this book life altering， but it does reveal a pattern that emerges in the ever developing complexities of modern day life and a way to handle it。 Purchased this book expecting it to be a guidebook on checklists- types， methods， various approaches， troubleshooting， and the like。 While I did get a few of those answers it was more about the history and development of the medical field and the various methods different professions use to handle their tasks。 It went over problems- I wouldn't consider this book life altering， but it does reveal a pattern that emerges in the ever developing complexities of modern day life and a way to handle it。 Purchased this book expecting it to be a guidebook on checklists- types， methods， various approaches， troubleshooting， and the like。 While I did get a few of those answers it was more about the history and development of the medical field and the various methods different professions use to handle their tasks。 It went over problems- cultural， traditional， egotistical- and presented ways those problems could be smoothed over， being the checklist。 The writing was smooth， enjoyable， and informative， and the author argued his point in such a way that I'd find it difficult to refute。 I appreciate the amount of cross-pollination the author argues for between professions and think there is more to be explored on that topic。 I would recommend this to others， and will take a few notes on it- mostly to get the bare-bones on checklists。 Don't think I will keep it on my bookshelf though， it doesn't strike me as a book one would read multiple times。 。。。more

the_storied_life （Joyce Santiago） ，

Not sure how to rate this book， but it was super interesting。

Claire Wilson ，

Know-how and sophistication have increased remarkably across almost all realms of endeavor， and as a result so has our struggle to deliver on them。 p。 11The volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability to deliver its benefits correctly， safely， or reliably。 p。 11Failures of ignorance we can forgive。 If the knowledge of the best thing to do in a given situation does not exist， we are happy to have people simply make their best effort。 But if the knowledge exists and i Know-how and sophistication have increased remarkably across almost all realms of endeavor， and as a result so has our struggle to deliver on them。 p。 11The volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability to deliver its benefits correctly， safely， or reliably。 p。 11Failures of ignorance we can forgive。 If the knowledge of the best thing to do in a given situation does not exist， we are happy to have people simply make their best effort。 But if the knowledge exists and is not applied correctly， it is difficult not to be infuriated。 p。 11No， the real lesson is that under conditions of true complexity - where the knowledge required exceeds that of any individual and unpredictability reigns - efforts to dictate every step from the center will fail。 People need room to act and adapt。 p。 79The most common obstacle to effective teams。。。is a kind of silent disengagement， the consequence of specialized technicians sticking narrowly to their domains。 "That's not my problem" is possibly the worst thing people can think。 p。 103“What is needed， however， isn't just that people working together be nice to each other。 It is discipline。 Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and skill and perhaps even than selflessness。 We are by nature flawed and inconstant creatures。 We can't even keep from snacking between meals。 We are not built for discipline。 We are built for novelty and excitement， not for careful attention to detail。 Discipline is something we have to work at。” 。。。more

Nina Post ，

Brilliant，simple guidelines to follow to minimize errors。This author is awesome on all he writes。Thank you。

Bindu Upadhyay ，

We are all afraid of failure。 We don't analyse our failures enough to come up with ways to reduce them。 One way is to have a Checklist。 Checklists can also reduces our cognitive load， leaving mental space to handle surprises。 💯Recommend this book - filled with good writing。 We are all afraid of failure。 We don't analyse our failures enough to come up with ways to reduce them。 One way is to have a Checklist。 Checklists can also reduces our cognitive load， leaving mental space to handle surprises。 💯Recommend this book - filled with good writing。 。。。more

Jimmy Cavero ，

ExcellentThe different fields covered where checklist had marked an improvement， and the different ways they were adapted is what I take from this book。I'm a believer of a checklist and this book encouraged me even more。Loved the book， and the different stories along with the statistics。 ExcellentThe different fields covered where checklist had marked an improvement， and the different ways they were adapted is what I take from this book。I'm a believer of a checklist and this book encouraged me even more。Loved the book， and the different stories along with the statistics。 。。。more

Dan Zwirn ，

A short， well written book with clear examples for support that advocates for Gawande’s assertion that brief but well constructed checklists can materially improve results in organizations needing to apply programmatic steps to great numbers of highly variable cases。

Lisa Brown ，

This book was much more impactful than I expected it to be。 Part way through I thought he started repeating himself， thinking that this book could have been an interesting article。 But then digging into the statistics of how much checklists have helped in surgery and detailing what a checklist is and isn't really re-framed the whole endeavor for me。 As someone who deals with high staff turnover and complicated systems daily， I have been working on refining checklists for several years。 This prov This book was much more impactful than I expected it to be。 Part way through I thought he started repeating himself， thinking that this book could have been an interesting article。 But then digging into the statistics of how much checklists have helped in surgery and detailing what a checklist is and isn't really re-framed the whole endeavor for me。 As someone who deals with high staff turnover and complicated systems daily， I have been working on refining checklists for several years。 This proved to me that the effort wasn't in vain， refined my thinking on how to best structure these documents， and reiterated the power of communication once more。 I recognize that if you are just reading this to learn interesting things it may be a little long for what you are looking to get out of it。 When you are in the thick of these issues every day， it becomes gold。If you deal with complex， long term projects， large systems， or high pressure scenarios， or honestly just struggle with forgetting routine things， I highly recommend this book。 He talks in depth about medicine as that is his area of expertise， but also delves into building， aviation， finance， and more。 This is not aimed at one profession， but all of them。 Quotes:"That routine requires balancing a number of virtues: freedom and discipline， craft and protocol， specialized ability and group collaboration。 And for checklists to help achieve that balance， they have to take two almost opposing forms。 They supply a set of checks to ensure the stupid but critical stuff is not overlooked and they supply another set of checks to ensure people talk and coordinate and accept responsibility while nonetheless being left the power to manage the nuances and unpredictabilities they best they know how。""We don't like checklists。 They can be painstaking。 They're not much fun。 But I don't think the issue here is mere laziness。 There's something deeper， more visceral going on when people walk away not only from saving lives but from making money。 It somehow feels beneath us to use a checklist， an embarrassment。 It runs counter to deeply held beliefs about how the truly great among us - those we aspire to be - handle situations of high stakes and complexity。 The truly great are daring。 They improvise。 They do not have protocols and checklists。 Maybe our idea of heroism needs updating。" 。。。more

Alex Lanious ，

Interesting。 Eye opening。 Encouraging。 I am now thinking about a checklist applicable to my profession。

Bret ，

As with his other works， Dr。 Gawande uses his surgical and medical experience to assist those of us in other fields。 I particularly loved how he tied the construction of skyscrapers into the book。 Moving from microscopic surgery to 80-story buildings made the case for the checklist and all the details around it。 Should be read by all project managers。

Leela ，

Brian Johnson talked about this book in one of his videos。 I liked the context of it and decided to give it a read。 Atul Gawande is a general surgeon in Boston。 He starts the book with a time when he was exchanging emergency room and other complex surgical stories with one of his friends。 The complexities they encounter in their work drive home a key point。 The myriad of things that go into taking care of an emergency case needs to be made independent of an individual or a group’s memory and rec Brian Johnson talked about this book in one of his videos。 I liked the context of it and decided to give it a read。 Atul Gawande is a general surgeon in Boston。 He starts the book with a time when he was exchanging emergency room and other complex surgical stories with one of his friends。 The complexities they encounter in their work drive home a key point。 The myriad of things that go into taking care of an emergency case needs to be made independent of an individual or a group’s memory and recall。 That is where checklists become a key tool for their teams。It is not just for healthcare， but in today’s world where almost everything is super specialized， checklists bring up the defense for years of education and practice。Gawande goes beyond the medical field and brings stories from construction industry as well。For example， in construction the role of the master builder has become obsolete， similar to medicine where a general surgeon’s role is not sufficient to address the countless types of healthcare needs。Gawande then views Katrina disaster through the lens of poor decision making paradigms， inefficiencies in the overall process and centralized vs。 decentralized command structure From construction to Katrina， Gawande goes to a high quality restaurant kitchen。 The organized nature of the kitchen has a major role in the excellent ratings that Rialto in Boston gets。He leveraged his learning and observations from all these when he worked with WHO on a global program to reduce avoidable deaths and harm from surgery One more source of his insights was Boeing。 It was a fascinating tale of how the plane manufacturer leverages checklists to help the flight and ground crews have a safe， repetitive and clean process with every flight。 In Gawande’s experience， Boeing got the checklist creation， update， distribution and application down to a science， in addition to having some key rules of thumb around the factors that make a simple， effective， transmissible and cheap process。One case of bringing experience， expertise and the discipline of following a routine （checklist） that Gawande demonstrates is that of “Miracle on the Hudson” involving US Airways flight 1549。Overall this is a great read; insightful， fast， informative and experience based。 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

Atul Gawande is not only an incredible writer， he is a surgeon， too lol。 Anyway， this book is proof that he can write about even the most mundane of subjects （checklists， in this case） and make it engaging， interesting， and fun。 I am a big checklist user myself， mainly to keep myself organized。 It was interesting to learn how checklists are standard in construction and flying， and how he was part of a team that introduced it to surgery。 Very good read！

Leah Elstrott ，

This had been on my list for awhile， and I’m glad I finally read it！ It’s based on a super interesting premise that we’ve now accumulated more knowledge than we know what to do with， and mistakes that are made can no longer be blamed on not having the information。 I enjoyed the anecdotes and data he collected across 8 very different hospitals to prove his point that checklists work to prevent this type of mistake， and more than that， they turn previously individual tasks into collaborative effor This had been on my list for awhile， and I’m glad I finally read it！ It’s based on a super interesting premise that we’ve now accumulated more knowledge than we know what to do with， and mistakes that are made can no longer be blamed on not having the information。 I enjoyed the anecdotes and data he collected across 8 very different hospitals to prove his point that checklists work to prevent this type of mistake， and more than that， they turn previously individual tasks into collaborative efforts， so no longer is the surgeon solely responsive for all the knowledge， it’s the full operating team。 Very cool to see how a little checklist accomplishes this， and I agree with him that this has applications across industries （ie venture capitalists， pilots， etc）。 The hard part is getting people to adopt them， for which he doesn’t really have an answer but book， I surmise， is a start！Note: I listened on audiobook though not sure I’d recommend that format， a little dry。 。。。more

Laura ，

4 stars for the first part about life-saving techniques1 star for the rest。 I tired of all the examples and wanted more tips for how to apply this successfully in my own life

Digger's Mom ，

Not as compelling or engaging as his other books， but clearly there is evidence for widespread use of checklists。

Simon Vincent ，

Must read IMHO

Christine Zac ，

4。5。 Great examples on the benefit of the "simple" overlooked checklist！ 4。5。 Great examples on the benefit of the "simple" overlooked checklist！ 。。。more

Chiara Battaglioni ，

Un breve saggio sulla nascita e i benefici dell’utilizzo della checklist in campo medico。 Per poi da qui spaziare ad altri settori e lavorare meglio， riducendo i potenziali errori e superando， attraverso la comunicazione e la disciplina， l’idea che l’eccellenza dipenda dal talento e dal contributo del singolo。

RK Byers ，

I’ve watched 19 minute Earl Nightingale videos that essentially said the same thing。

Luis ，

Checklist Save LivesFrom saving you precious time to saving lives， checklists are proven to allow us to focus on the complicated and complex things life throws at us。Great book。 A must read for everyone living in our era of great complexity。

Tim Miller ，

Read it。 Implement it。 Highly recommend。

Charity Mack ，

Favorite Quotes 1。 In the end， a check-list is only an aid。 If it doesn’t aid， it’s not right。 But if it does， we must be ready to embrace the possibility。2。 Good checklist， on the other hand， are precise。 They are efficient， to the point， and easy to use even in the most difficult situations。 They do not try to spell out everything- a checklist cannot fly a plane。 Instead， they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps- The ones that even the highly skilled professional us Favorite Quotes 1。 In the end， a check-list is only an aid。 If it doesn’t aid， it’s not right。 But if it does， we must be ready to embrace the possibility。2。 Good checklist， on the other hand， are precise。 They are efficient， to the point， and easy to use even in the most difficult situations。 They do not try to spell out everything- a checklist cannot fly a plane。 Instead， they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps- The ones that even the highly skilled professional using them could miss。 Good checklists are， above all， practical。3。 I came away from Katrina and the builders with a kind of theory: under conditions of complexity， not only are checklist to help， they are required for success。 There must always be room for judgment， but judgment aided- and even enhanced - by procedure。 4。 Man is fallible， but maybe men are less so。 5。 Failure of ignorance we can forgive。 If the knowledge of the best thing to do in a given situation does not exist， we are happy to have people simply make their best effort。 But if the knowledge exist and is not applied correctly， it is difficult not to be infuriated 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0