Name: Ritik Sahni's review of The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
Item: The Checklist Manifesto
Rating: 5
Author: Ritik Sahni

Atul Gawande

Today we find ourselves in possession of stupendous know-how, which we willingly place in the hands of the most highly skilled people. But avoidable failures are common, and the reason is simple: the volume and complexity of our knowledge has exceeded our ability to consistently deliver it - correctly, safely or efficiently. In this groundbreaking book, Atul Gawande makes a compelling argument for the checklist, which he believes to be the most promising method available in surmounting failure. Whether you're following a recipe, investing millions of dollars in a company or building a skyscraper, the checklist is an essential tool in virtually every area of our lives, and Gawande explains how breaking down complex, high pressure tasks into small steps can radically improve everything from airline safety to heart surgery survival rates. Fascinating and enlightening, The Checklist Manifesto shows how the simplest of ideas could transform how we operate in almost any field.

How to Get Things Right

The Checklist Manifesto

Ritik Sahni

It was just a first read, but I felt underwhelmed. I had already bought the premise when I bought it: “checklists can be awesome”. Unfortunately, I was left with impression that the whole book was a series of cases to argue why checklists are important, and I didn’t find what I was looking for: guidance to create my own awesome checklists. I might have missed it in the hear through.

Nast

Ed Kay

I ordered this for my Kindle assuming it was some kind of 'self-help' organisational tool that would turn me into a productivity wizard. The fact I was totally wrong was in no way a disappointment. I found this a riveting read. Gawande writes with real vigour, mixing anecdote with cold hard statistical fact and marshalling what becomes an incredibly strong and urgent argument. It's astounding that something as simple as a checklist has the power to increase surgical (and no doubt standard procedural) outcomes with very little cost, and bewildering that such an evidence-driven industry such as medicine would be resistant to something which promises great improvements with very little cost. This should be required reading for all NHS managers.

Jowanza Joseph

I learned a lot from this book, just a clear manifest to how checklists help simplify the most complex of tasks.  I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get things done.

Love the storytelling. I never felt bored reading this book.

Nadine 

I guess it would be no surprise to my friends that I liked this book. I believe in only thinking routine things through once, making lists or protocols and then moving on to more interesting things...
Great history / background and variety of scenarios where checklists work, when they don’t work how to make an effective checklist.

ANDREW BRYK

Great quick read. Fantastic writer. Highly recommend

Laura Nisioiu

It was a very interesting book and I've enjoyed it very much. So much that I started doing a small checklist for myself, which is doing wonders alltogether. I really recommend it, even on a small scale.

Luke Kanies

Short, simple, useful. Makes it clear that basically everyone would benefit from adding this simple process to their work, provides multiple examples of where it is useful (aviation, medicine, and finance), along with guidance on how to do it well. Also makes it clear how completely broken medicine is, given how successful this is but how rarely used it is.

Salam Kabbani

Dr. Atul Gawande explores the error-prone nature that is an inevitable side effect of being human. At times this can simply be due to forgetting because of the many moving parts that are involved in any given job. He explores how the simple creation of a checklist is extremely effective in reducing mortality in operating rooms, as well as ensuring success and minimizing errors in many other work arenas. 

Overall a great read. It was a bit dull at times; however, incredibly informative nevertheless.

Lloyd Dalton

Selected quotes:
http://www.daltonlp.com/view/567

Vladimir Udalov

not much actionable advice, nice premise, revealing anecdotes

Acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy to tackle immensely complex problems with the humblest of techniques: the checklist. In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction and business of all kinds.

Ilia Markov

Good book, could have been a long article. More general theory/argumentation on why checklists work, you'd have to dig a bit to understand how to build a good one.

Les Reynolds

Interesting, well-written. The premise is that checklists are applicable to many tasks, but most of the examples he gives are from medicine or aviation. It would be great to explore other industries.

Ritik Sahni &
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

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Ritik Sahni &The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

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Ritik Sahni &
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande