The Virtues of Lists

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The Virtues of Lists
by Rosabeth Moss Kanter  |   2:04 PM March 18, 2009
Comments (8)      


When in doubt, ask for directions. When not in doubt, get them anyway.

Boston surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande made headlines with the results of a global study of his important innovation to reduce complications and save lives in the operating room: a simple checklist. This ritual ensures that everyone on the OR is on the same page, so to speak, and that all are responsible for every single step of preparation and precaution. Use of a checklist is so significant that the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, one of the world's leading patient safety advocates, wants 4000 hospitals to adopt this immediately.

Imagine the power of requiring review of the little surgical list. No surgeon who has performed the procedure a thousand times could be so overconfident not to join in this ritual - and a good thing too, because none of us would want to be the body on the operating table the one time Dr. Arrogant forgets just a little something.

Lists are one of my favorite management tools. Lists following meetings confirm the agreements. Lists of guidelines or instructions serve as reminders, and free our minds from the burden of remembering small things instead of thinking of big things. "To do" lists ease the worry that something will fall through the cracks, such as an important phone call or a child's dentist appointment. Lists make it possible for people to back up each other and do things the same way. The best thing about lists is that they help us get where we are going more directly and effectively.

The first time I had the pleasure of flying in a small private charter plane, I watched the pilot open a manual and read it before taking off. My reaction was utter fright. I thought I was with a student pilot who didn't know enough to operate the plane. Omigosh! I kept my eye on the emergency exit for the entire flight. Later I learned that reading the checklist is a requirement for every pilot, no matter how experienced. Presumably for the same reason that Dr. Gawande found that checklists reduce errors in surgical procedures. It is not a blow to professional pride to ask for directions. It is not a sign of weakness to read the instructions.

Lists work well when you make your own, too. When feeling overwhelmed by challenging projects or the juggle of many balls in the air, there is nothing more comforting than making a list. The longer the list, the better! That way, nothing is forgotten, no step left to chance. And we get the enormous satisfaction of checking off small items en route to the bigger goal.
More blog posts by Rosabeth Moss Kanter
More on: Managing yourself, Personal effectiveness, Productivity

ROSABETH MOSS KANTER
Rosabeth Moss Kanter is a professor at Harvard Business School and the
author of Confidence and SuperCorp. Her 2011 HBR article, "How Great Companies Think Differently," won a McKinsey Award for best article. Connect with her
on Facebook or at Twitter.com/RosabethKanter.



Link: http://blogs.hbr.org/kanter/2009/03/the-virtues-of-lists.html