What Sort of Checklist Should You Be Using? – Justin Fox – Harvard Business Review
I worked with surgeons for more than 20 years as their publishing partner, and remember well hearing about Atul Gawande’s early research transferring the pilot checklist concept to surgical practice. (It was around the time that news stories were hitting about the wrong legs being amputated, or wrong kidneys being transplanted.) Dr. Gawande, a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, demonstrated how this low-to-no-cost practice saved lives almost immediately, proving that sometimes the simplest actions can have the greatest results. That research now appears in the NYTimes best-seller, The Checklist Manifesto.
In this thought-provoking article from his Harvard Business Review Blog, Justin Fox takes Gawande’s concept to the next level for business, suggesting some situations where checklists come in handy. His list: Task Lists, Troubleshooting Lists, Coordination Lists, Discipline Lists, and the ever-popular To-Do Lists.
What list-making do YOU use to keep you operating effectively and efficiently?
UPDATE: A business friend at lunch today contributed the list he sees regularly: the “honey-do list”!
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: Operations Management, organization
Some recent articles have included some extraordinary – yet not surprising – statistics: companies with just the strategic section of a business plan have 50% more profits and revenue than non-planning businesses. Another survey found business planning companies have 63% higher revenue growth and 100% more profit.
If that isn’t enough reason, here are a few more:
- To anticipate and prevent problems before they occur
- To successfully attract the funding you need to run your business
- To reduce anxiety from not being in control of your business
- To have an impact on your success rather than leaving it to chance
Check out this white paper if you want a place to begin. CLICK HERE
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: business planning, Focus, Management
Scrum for Social Media
Although this is an article specific to Social Media (a current passion!), there are some very practical and simple lessons for managers wanting a structured process to get things done thoroughly and quickly. No, the two are not mutually exclusive. It’s about FOCUS and ACCOUNTABILITY. Of yes, and if you happen to be planning, say, developing a company website there are direct applications.
My favorite learning is the new definition of “Scrum.” Not referring to Rubgy, the new definition:
“a project management process with less planning, more prototyping and faster turnaround. Taken from agile software development process, scrum is easy to learn; requires little effort to start using; and works ideally for social media [and OTHER!] projects.”
This isn’t the only way to manage introducing a new product, but it is one to consider. See how it fits your business!
written by Nancy Chorpenning
\\ tags: Accountability, Focus, Management, Marketing
