During one internal meeting at work, it was suggested among the team to read this book. I could not wrap my head around how so many pages could be devoted to discussing checklists. But when I finally lifted the book and opened the pages, the intro got me hooked!

Here are the top things that I took away:

  • Try not to go to the hospital if you don’t need to…. (read the book to understand what I mean 😝)
  • The construction industry is safer for humans than the medical industry (annual failure rate of less than 0.00002%!)
  • Even enhanced by technology, our physical and mental powers are limited. Two reasons we may nonetheless fail:
    • Ignorance
    • Ineptitude (not applying the knowledge we have consistently and correctly)
    • The aviation industry is the master when it comes to checklists!
    • Checklists help make sure simple steps are not missed or skipped and for communication to flow and resolve hard or unexpected problems
    • Good checklists have the following in common:
      • They are precise
      • They provide reminders of the most critical and important steps
      • They are practical
    • DISCIPLINE is key and it applies to individuals, companies, industries, etc.
    • Checklists have not been adopted widely across industries despite high amounts of research because of human pride that we don’t need a paper to help us
    • Appendix: checklists for checklists ⭐

This book revolutionized how I think. In the last pages, it even gave examples of how investors used them. If you only have time for one book, opt for this one!

Cheers, Gaby