Thursday, May 17, 2012

The Checklist Manifesto

I've been a big fan of checklists since as long as I can remember. So much so that a lot of friends and family mock my obsession with them.

In high-school, I had an exam-day checklist (set alarm, carry extra pens, make sure of the time-table etc.). I have about five different types of travel checklists, depending on whether I am flying, driving, going camping, or to a conference etc. I have checklists for writing proposals, and papers and on and on.

You get the idea!

So it was with much delight that I read Atul Gawande's article in the New Yorker called The Checklist a few years ago, and his book called "The Checklist Manifesto" which fleshes out some of the major themes from his article, last month.

While it was "preaching to the choir", I thought some parts were very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the chapter called "Hero in the age of checklists".

It was a worthwhile read.

Here is a link to a recent talk at TED by Atul Gawande.

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