While a simple checklist wouldn’t seem to have the power to eliminate mistakes and improve performance, this book proves otherwise. In his book, The Checklist Manifesto, surgeon and author Atul Gawande spins a fascinating account of the power of the checklist, citing examples of its effectiveness in building skyscrapers, investing in the stock market, piloting jets and conducting surgery.

Checklists are most effective, says Gawande, for complex tasks in which we benefit from systematic reminders of the proper steps. Checklists work because “They catch mental flaws inherent in all of us–flaws of memory and attention and thoroughness.

“The fear people have about the idea of the adherence to protocol is rigidity,” he writes. “But what you find when a checklist is well made is exactly the opposite. The checklist gets the dumb stuff out of the way, the routines your brain shouldn’t have to occupy itself with…and lets it rise above to focus on the hard stuff.” And perhaps just as importantly, when working with others, the checklist can improve communication and cooperation, transforming individuals into an effective team.

A good checklist slows you down and forces you to perform your task properly but it doesn’t put a stranglehold on your ability to adapt to the needs of the specific situation. “You want to make sure people get the stupid stuff right,” Gawande says. “Yet you want to leave room for craft and judgment and the ability to respond to unexpected difficulties that arise along the way.”

Of course, readers will begin to think about situations in their own life in which a good checklist might help them be more effective – at school, in the office, on a team perhaps, in job hunting, home projects, exercise plans–the list goes on.

Gawande.com