Substrat: checklists establish a higher standard of baseline performance
checklists have 4 advantages: simple, measurable, transmissible, low-tech
embracing a culture of teamwork and discipline is the ultimate goal
making people say something at the start activates their sense of participation
checklists are opportunities to communicate as a team
dispersing responsibility sends a message that everyone is responsible
how to build trust in checklists:
collect data on baseline performance first
have managers with final decision-making power involved in roll-out
good checklists
simple, brief, precise (fit on index card; focus on killer items)
bad checklists spell out everything (treat people as dumb)
"teambrief" & "everybody knows each others' names" are good items
visual cue to finish checklist can be helpful (e.g. metal tent over surgical instruments that is to be removed by nurse)
2 reasons for failure in situations under our control: 1) ignorance, 2) ineptitude
for nearly all of history mostly ignorance; today, often ineptitude
common dangers: faulty memory, distraction, false confidence
3 types of problems: simple, complicated, complex
simple: baking a cake from a mix; simple recipe exists
complicated: sending rocket to moon; interacting simple problems
complex: raising a child (no 2 alike - but rockets are) or daily life
checklists help guide behaviour in complex problems
other
4 health data points to assess how sick someone is: body temperature, pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, subjective pain rating
investment checklist items: revenues over- or understated due to boom/bust?; verify you read footnotes on cash flow stmts; review stmt of key mgmt risks; review financial stmts of prev. 10 ys; look whether cash flow and costs match reported revenue growth; review fine print of mandatory stock disclosures
in a study, only 1 in 8 investors applied checklists