The Checklist Manifesto

The Book in Two Sentences

We typically view checklists as a sort of band-aid solution. But they are also the best kind of solution because they are inexpensive, can be applied broadly, and are easy to implement.

The Checklist Manifesto Summary

Disclaimer: these are my notes from The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. This summary may contain my own ideas, references to other resources, as well as passages from the book.
There are two types of failure. The first is failure by ignorance. This is when the knowledge to avoid failure has not yet come into existence. Early planes failed because engineers did not yet know how to build reliable aircrafts.
The second type of failure is avoidable - failure by ineptitude. This is when the knowledge for avoiding failure exists but it has been improperly applied. A baker whose cake is missing ingredients.
In complex fields such as medicine, law, and engineering, ineptitude is the leading cause of failure in spite the many years that these professionals spend perfecting their expertise.
Checklists set a precedence. A baseline standard of performance on good days and bad days.
Checklists free up mental space. They take care of mundane tasks so that you are able to focus on areas that require improvisation.
All fields have become so specialized today that individuals are no longer able to handle the immense complexity required of a major project. Master builders cannot exist. Today, we trust in a milieu of specialists for fields we know nothing about.
"In the face of the unknown--the always nagging uncertainty about whether, under complex circumstances, things will really be okay--the builders trusted in the power of communication. They didn't believe in the wisdom of the single individual, of even an experienced engineer. They believed in the wisdom of the group, the wisdom of making sure that multiple pairs of eyes were on a problem and then letting the watchers decide what to do... Man is fallible, but maybe men are less so."
When knowledge exists in the minds of specialized workers, efforts to centrally control a discipline often fail. Responsibilities need to be pushed away from the center, which gives experts room to improvise and adapt.
In the face of complexity, humans have two main areas of difficulty. We may simply forget a crucial component of task. Or we may delude ourselves into thinking that an item was completed when in fact it wasn't. Checklists protect against failures of memory and attention, as well as thoroughness.
Simple problems are those in which an easy-to-follow path we need to take to get from A to B is laid out. Baking a cake for example requires little more than following a recipe.
Complex problems are problems where even if you know how to get from A to B, following the instructions do not always lead to an outcome of success. Raising a child for example.
There are two types of checklists, read-check, and do-check.
Read-then-do checklists are for tasks that are costly and meticulous. Every step needs to be followed closely. When baking a cake, or preparing for lift-off, you read the item off the checklist, then do it.
Do-then-check checklists are for tasks that are un-costly, practiced, or time constrained. Their primary purpose is to make sure that no items were missed. You do the items, then check that nothing was forgotten.
Checklists are a sort of band-aid solution. As Malcom Gladwell points out, we overlook quick fixes because of their lack of glamour. In fact, they are the best kinds of solutions because they are low cost, easy to implement, and actually fix the problem.
Good checklists are composed of a small number of items. Ideally, they fit on a single page, are written in large Helvetica font, and empower the individual.
Good checklists remind the individual of a small number of critical tasks.
Good checklists are tested in the real world and iterated upon.
Bad checklists are lengthy, bureaucratic, finger waggy, require the individual to pay more attention to the checklist than the activity, and are often written by individuals far-removed from the expertise.
We are victims of single errors, unaware of the experiences of others. But errors that affect us can also affect thousands of other people without raising any suspicion.
In his blog post, Derek Sivers, founder of CD baby makes an argument that ideas are just a multiplier of execution. Gawande would agree here: "Finding an entrepreneur who can execute a good idea is a different matter entirely. One needs a person who can take an idea from proposal to reality, work the long hours, build a team, handle the pressures and setbacks, manage technical and people problems alike, and stick with the effort for years on end without getting distracted or going insane..." Here, Gawande argues that even great ideas are cheap. It's execution that's expensive.
"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."
We tend to optimize components, when we should be optimizing the whole: "We connect the engine of a Ferrari, the brakes of a Porsche, the suspension of a BMW, the body of a Volvo. "What we get, of course, is nothing close to a great car; we get a pile of very expensive junk."

👋 Thanks for making it to the end!