This week’s Resource Recommendation: The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
This book is about the value of the “lowly” checklist. Its author is a working surgeon, a two-time author, a contributor to The New Yorker and a consultant to the World Health Organization on, among other things, checklists. It is, as I write, the #1 bestselling book on Amazon in the subcategory of Surgery.
It talks about how all around the world checklists have, and are, saving lives, eliminating mistakes and saving hospitals and patients millions of dollars. The breadth of the impact is extraordinary.
While this book is fascinating from a medical or social sciences perspective, and will make great cocktail party conversation fodder, that is not why I recommend you read it.
Underneath that level of content, the book is about change – personal, organizational and global. It brings together various professions, beyond medicine, to illustrate its points. It is also about quality, quality improvement and the value of documented work processes.
As a leader these two issues – change and quality – are both highly important. To read about them in an enlightened, entertaining and highly thought provoking way from a book that isn’t really “about” those subjects makes it even more valuable.
This is a book to read and enjoy. It may make you more interesting at your next dinner party. It may change the way you think about health care and your next surgery. And, it may make a difference in your ability to lead.
This book is highly recommended. Get your copy today.
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