How to avoid killing people

In praise of the humble checklist

Can you imagine if, every day, a single mistake could result in someone’s death?

Fortunately, as a commercial lawyer it’s not a situation I ever find myself in but there are things we can learn from those who do make daily life and death decisions, such as former surgeon Atul Gawande.

In his book “the Checklist Manifesto” he describes how a simple checklist, introduced into various New York hospitals drastically reduced fatalities & how such a simple tool can (and does) save lives every day (used by airline pilots, astronauts and cleaners) and how the same can be applied throughout the world of business.

It’s the reason that I still use checklists in my work, whether its about data, buying technology, implementing AI or other processes. None of mine are likely to save lives, nor have a lasting impact on the world, but they’ll likely make some businesses more compliant & hopefully make the business a little bit easier to run.

If you’re keen on getting consistency in your business (or even just to ensure that others can take over from you when you decide to take that long holiday) then the book’s well worth a read.