Thread by @rjnestor

"The Checklist Manifesto" by Atul Gawande (@Atul_Gawande) makes a powerful case for developing and using checklists to avoid common mistakes.

Here are some of my takeaways:

@Atul_Gawande 📝 In the modern world we have incredible knowledge—so much that it is unmanageable. No one person can carry out the complexity of our work from memory alone. But it's possible if the necessary knowledge is translated into a simple, usable, systematic form: a checklist.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 Failure can occur because of ignorance (unknown unknowns) or ineptitude (unknown knowns). Ineptitude is when we have the knowledge but don't apply it—when skyscrapers are built wrong and fall down, for instance. Checklists can help us fix ineptitude.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 Checklists protect against all-or-none processes, where one key failure can derail the entire process. They remind us of the necessary steps and encourage a discipline of higher performance.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 People don't like checklists. It makes us feel insecure or embarrassed, and we can't imagine we have the time to deal with a checklist anyway in the heat of the moment.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 People are afraid checklists will make them like robots, following a script instead of coping with the real world. But the effect is the opposite. Checklists get the dumb stuff taken care of so you can focus on the hard stuff.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 Simple problems are recipes—do this and you'll succeed. Complicated problems are multiple simple problems where difficulties arise—success may require multiple people and specialized expertise. Complex problems are like raising a child—expertise is valuable but not sufficient.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 Complex problems require "meta" checklists that encourage collaborative review of the simple checklists through communication between the relevant experts. These push the decision-making away from the center and shift responsibility to the collection of experts on the team.

@Atul_Gawande 📝 When problems are complex, teams must balance autonomy and cohesion (cf. Essential Balances by Ivo Velitchkov—@kvistgaard). They reason and accept responsibilities as individuals, but they coordinate their efforts, too.

@Atul_Gawande @kvistgaard 📝 The checklists required for autonomy and cohesion are in two forms: simple checks to keep the stupid but critical stuff happening, and other checks to require communication, coordination, and responsibility.

@Atul_Gawande @kvistgaard 📝 Bad checklists are vague, too long, hard to use, and impractical—made by people don't have to execute them. They spell out every step and turn brains off.

@Atul_Gawande @kvistgaard 📝 Good checklists are precise, efficient, and easy to use in hard situations. They don't spell out everything—they don't tell pilots how to fly. They provide the most critical steps, ones that even professionals might forget. Good checklists are practical.

@Atul_Gawande @kvistgaard 📝 Good checklists define pause points for when they should be used. They are either "read-do" (use the list as you work) or "do-confirm" (do the work then double-check it). And they're tested in the real world for efficiency and practicality.

@Atul_Gawande @kvistgaard As someone with a passion for #productivity, I was exhilarated—and entirely convinced—by @Atul_Gawande's paean to the humble checklist. Every aspect of my system is, in some way, a checklist. My job is to keep them simple and make sure they interact efficiently and effectively.