The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right |  | Author: Atul Gawande
Publisher: Metropolitan Books
Category: Book
New (50) Used (18) from $12.42
Rating:  127 reviews
Sales Rank: 257
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0805091742
Dewey Decimal Number: 610.289
EAN: 9780805091748
ASIN: 0805091742
Publication Date: December 22, 2009
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| • | ISBN13: 9780805091748 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2009: With a title like The Checklist Manifesto, it would be natural to expect that Atul Gawande is bent on revolutionizing that most loved-hated activity of workers the world over: the to-do list. But it's not the list itself he wants to change; there are no programmatic steps or tables here to help you reshuffle daily tasks. What you'll find instead is a remarkably liberating and persuasive inquiry into what it takes to work successfully and with a personal sense of satisfaction. The first thing you'll realize is that it takes more than just one person to do a job well. This is a toppling revelation made all the more powerful by Gawande's skillful blend of anecdote and practical wisdom as he profiles his own experience as a surgeon and seeks out a wide range of other professions to show that a team is only as strong as its checklist--by his definition, a way of organizing that empowers people at all levels to put their best knowledge to use, communicate at crucial points, and get things done. Like no other book before it, The Checklist Manifesto is at once a restorative call to action and a welcome voice of reason. --Anne Bartholomew
Amazon Exclusive: Malcolm Gladwell Reviews The Checklist Manifesto
Malcolm Gladwell was named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2005. He is most recently the author of What the Dog Saw (a collection of his writing from The New Yorker) as well as the New York Times bestsellers Outliers, The Tipping Point, and Blink. Read his exclusive Amazon guest review of The Checklist Manifesto:
 Over the past decade, through his writing in The New Yorker magazine and his books Complications and Better, Atul Gawande has made a name for himself as a writer of exquisitely crafted meditations on the problems and challenges of modern medicine. His latest book, The Checklist Manifesto, begins on familiar ground, with his experiences as a surgeon. But before long it becomes clear that he is really interested in a problem that afflicts virtually every aspect of the modern world--and that is how professionals deal with the increasing complexity of their responsibilities. It has been years since I read a book so powerful and so thought-provoking. Gawande begins by making a distinction between errors of ignorance (mistakes we make because we don't know enough), and errors of ineptitude (mistakes we made because we don’t make proper use of what we know). Failure in the modern world, he writes, is really about the second of these errors, and he walks us through a series of examples from medicine showing how the routine tasks of surgeons have now become so incredibly complicated that mistakes of one kind or another are virtually inevitable: it's just too easy for an otherwise competent doctor to miss a step, or forget to ask a key question or, in the stress and pressure of the moment, to fail to plan properly for every eventuality. Gawande then visits with pilots and the people who build skyscrapers and comes back with a solution. Experts need checklists--literally--written guides that walk them through the key steps in any complex procedure. In the last section of the book, Gawande shows how his research team has taken this idea, developed a safe surgery checklist, and applied it around the world, with staggering success. The danger, in a review as short as this, is that it makes Gawande’s book seem narrow in focus or prosaic in its conclusions. It is neither. Gawande is a gorgeous writer and storyteller, and the aims of this book are ambitious. Gawande thinks that the modern world requires us to revisit what we mean by expertise: that experts need help, and that progress depends on experts having the humility to concede that they need help. --Malcolm Gladwell
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 127
 Game Changing... December 23, 2009
D. Kanigan (CT, USA)
206 out of 216 found this review helpful
Amazon's December Book of the Month summary describes the author's mission of revolutionizing the "to-do list...without programmatic steps or tables to help reshuffle daily tasks." One may infer from this recap that this is a how-to-self-improvement book for making one more productive, more efficient and less stressed - this couldn't be farther from the core message of this book.
The author's key message is that the volume and complexity of knowledge today has exceeded any single individual's ability to manage it consistently without error despite material advances in technology, boatloads of more training and super-specialization of functions and responsibilities. Yet, despite demonstrating that checklists produce results, there is resistance to their use because of the (1) Master of Universe mentality (Rock Star; Fighter Pilot; Hero), (2) our jobs are too complex to reduce to a checklist, (3) checklists are too rigid and don't force us to look up and see and think ahead of what's in front of us. Yet, in a complex environment, he states that experts are up against 2 difficulties - the fallibility of human memory when it comes to mundane, routine matters that are easily overlooked under the strain of more pressing events and secondly, people can lull themselves into skipping steps even when they remember them - after all certain steps don't always matter...until one day they do. Gawande makes a persuasive case in his book as to why you should develop and implement a process checklist for critical processes/decisions.
* Whether you are from the medical field or not, you will benefit from the inspiring thinking and insights.
* This book is game changing - a call-to-action for generating better results despite the pull to run with intuition or gut instinct. If you are implementing via intuition rather than a systematic process, this book's message will force you to pause in your tracks to seek a more disciplined approach.
* The author uses a wide range of industries to make his case using an engaging blend of anecdotes, storytelling and research - from healthcare to aviation (US Airways 1549 landing in Hudson River) - - to high-end award winning restaurants - - to building massive office skyscrapers and shopping centers - -to setting up a Van Halen rock concert - - to FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans - - to money managers making investment selections.
* Can be read in 1-2 sittings. Page Turner. Fully engaging and riveting until the last page is turned.
* Author's determination, authenticity, inspired thinking, modesty and willingness to disclose personal mistakes makes this an inspirational book. Both brilliantly written and a pleasure to read.
My favorite excerpts:
"Despite showing (hospital) staff members of the benefits of using the checklist, 20% resisted stating that it was not easy to use, it took too long and felt it had not improved the safety of care. Yet, when asked an additional question - would you want the checklist to be used if you were having an operation - a full 93% said yes."
"In a world in which success now requires large enterprises, teams of clinicians, high-risk technologies, and knowledge that outstrips any one person's abilities, individual autonomy hardly seems the ideal we should aim for. ..what is needed, however is discipline...discipline is hard - harder than trustworthiness and skill and perhaps even than selflessness. We are by nature flawed and inconstant creatures. We can't even keep from snacking between meals. We are built for novelty and excitement, not for careful attention to detail. Discipline is something we have to work at."
"We don't study routine failures...when we look closely, we recognize the same balls being dropped over and over, even by those of great ability and determination. We know the patterns. We see the costs. It's time to try something else. Try a checklist."
"We're obsessed in medicine with having great components, the best drugs, the best devices, the best specialists - but pay little attention to how to make them fit together well""
"It somehow feels beneath us to use a checklist, an embarrassment. It runs counter to deeply held beliefs about how the truly great among us - those we aspire to be - handle situations of high stakes and complexity. The truly great are daring. They improvise. They do not have protocols and checklists. Maybe our idea of heroism needs updating."
The simple checklist December 23, 2009
Laura Sequeira (Puyallup, WA USA)
60 out of 70 found this review helpful
I work in a hospital as an intensive care nurse. We have been working on a multitude of projects to improve patient safety and outcomes. And in the midst of all the technology and knowledge and training, it is the simple thing--a checklist. Having a husband who is a private pilot and works for the FAA, I have heard about checklists for years. This book shows how pilots use checklists to avert disaster and save lives. It explains how the people who build complex buildings use checklists to plan the construction but also communicate and correct the changes and errors. And it gives a multitude of examples in medicine to show how checklists work and what happens when they aren't used. It is a fascinating, quick and easy read. And it will have you thinking very differently about checklists and safety, whether in the air, a building or a hospital.
Invaluable Reminder December 24, 2009
Drew Kugler (los angeles, ca)
26 out of 31 found this review helpful
As in all of his work, Dr. Gawande latest book brilliantly reminds us all of the huge value of getting the human interaction side right to accompany the advancements in science and technology that his (and other's) field of work has witnessed. It highlights the inadequacy of technical expertise when not joined by an equal (maybe greater) emphasis on strengthening our relationships with those we work with and care about. Though the medical narrative is gripping, I challenge you to not be moved by so many of the other stories of people under complex pressure trying to get things right. The beautifully written examples of Wal-Mart and Katrina and of Mr. Hagerman are worth far more than the price of the book just on their own.
10 Highlights of This Book January 24, 2010
AdamSmythe (Colorado)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I looked over the other reviews of this interesting book, and there are many of them that you will find very useful--so I'll just try to list some highlights. As Dr. Gawande points out, a checklist can't be too long (people won't use it), yet it must succinctly cover the most essential considerations of the situation at hand. Although what follows isn't a checklist, I'll try to focus on the most essential characteristics of Dr. Gawande's book:
First, this is an easy-to-read, engaging book. I'll bet that you will find it hard to put down. It is interesting enough to make you want to read the book and serious enough to deliver important messages.
Second, the value of using checklists springs directly from the complexity of modern life, whether we're talking about surgery (the author is a surgeon), flying an airplane or building a skyscraper. By the way, in reading this book I have developed a newfound appreciation of how complex the construction business can be.
Third, checklists are not just for simple, straightforward tasks. Checklists help people communicate and work together better, especially when the unexpected occurs.
Fourth, checklists are important regardless of the time available. Indeed, when the cockpit crew of US Airways flight 1549 lost both engines over New York City, they had only three minutes of airtime remaining. The first thing they did was to get out their checklists. (You can read Captain Sully Sullenberger's excellent book for more details.)
Fifth, checklist usage has saved numerous lives, including one of Dr. Gawande's patients. His candor in discussing that episode is laudable.
Sixth, humans being human, mistakes will inevitably occur. Checklist usage is important when the potential cost of human mistakes is great.
Seventh, the mere act of creating a checklist focuses the mind on the most important characteristics of our tasks.
Eighth, like anything else, it takes practice to produce and use checklists effectively.
Ninth, practice comes from commitment and personal discipline. Indeed, one of the most important things Sully Sullenberger did was to maintain his composure and discipline, even while the gravity of his situation must have been racing through his mind.
Tenth, as I read this book, my mind frequently reflected on how a checklist approach could be applied in some of the business and academic practices that I am familiar with. That's the real beauty of this book--it gets the reader thinking about ways to improve life.
It Just Makes Sense- An AH HA Moment! January 6, 2010
prisrob (New EnglandUSA)
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
As a professional nurse, I realize that life has become so complicated, that I want to give the best care possible, and that I need some help. Atul Gawande, is not the first person to come to the realization that checklists are the way to go. He has, however, written about his experiences brilliantly.
I have been involved in many health care improvement projects. This has all led to the realization that the way I practice my craft has changed enormously. One of the most important of these realizations is that we need to include the patient in every aspect of care. After all, is that not why we are here, for our patients? Who better to give us expertise from their advantage point. Dr Gawande has gone a step further and has looked at other professions and how they have overcome the complexities of their profession. The airlines, he discovered use checklists. Now, checklists can be cumbersome, you need to be able to make a checklist that is concise, does not take much time and will be used. Nurses understand that change with physicians can be a black hole. Often, each physician thinks their way of 'doing things' is the best. To corral them into using a checklist takes expertise and good outcomes. What Dr Gawande gives us is that by using a simple checklist for surgeons, outcomes for patients improved 46%. Unbelievable results. However, Dr Gawande has also told us that there has not been one day since he started using checklists that he realized he and his team might have overlooked a step. Certainly, not every step would have avoided a death, but each step will give better outcomes.
Such a simple thing, really, checklists. Busy people, caught in the complexities of life can change their ways and can produce better outcomes by using a simple checklist. Don't we make checklists when we go to market? Realizing, of course, we can't remember everything we need. Ah ha! A moment of recognition- it could work for any aspect of our life. Saving lives is Dr Gawande's method, but making our lives simpler and more productive is just as important. An ah ha moment in reality!
Highly Recommended. prisrob 01-06-10
Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science
Showing reviews 1-5 of 127
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