On Check-lists

They sound a pretty dull topic. Not exactly break-through productivity material. But...

Next time you're waiting on the tarmac for take-off you can be sure everyone of the airline's team is working his/her way through a meticulously prepared and thoroughly polished check-list to ensure nothing is forgotten. Your lawyer will have a check-list of basic questions when you go and see him/her about a dispute. Your doctor has a check-list of standard bio-markers s/he wants to measure before any kind of diagnosis. Professionals rely on check-lists to cover the fundamentals so they can use their critical thinking and their reflective thinking for the diagnosis, the odd surprise and the necessary innovation.

Too often in business we're still scrabbling trying to run a decent meeting, wondering why we forgot our phone charger and why we never have time to think.

In a word: check-lists.