Monday Motivation

What a great response I got from last week's newsletter 6 Tips for Remembering People's Names. One of my readers, Chris, offered his insight by stating that you need to listen intently for a person's name to the same extent you would listen when someone gives you directions. How true!

This week I want to focus on a communication strategy that will improve results without the need to add skill.   Read below for this overlooked, underappreciated strategy......using a checklist.

Happy reading,

Diane

P.S.  Do you have a topic for a future newsletter?  Please email your idea to diane@dianeamundson.com

"Discipline is remembering what you want."

David Campbell 

Really? The tip I offer this week is to use more checklists? Yes, it is really that simple. I know what you are going to say....

• They take too much time and slow things down
• They seem childish
• They are no fun....not sexy or heroic
• Can't always get your hands on them or find them

So, why would I re-introduce a tool that does not seem to have a lot of backing? Simply because it works.   In Atul Gawande's book The Checklist Manifesto, the author argues how creating a checklist for surgeons in a pilot study of eight hospitals showed significant results with major complications falling by 36% and deaths falling by 47%! You may be thinking that makes sense for a high risk business like a hospital but I don't really need to use a checklist in my business or department.

On the contrary...I believe a checklist could be used to improve results when the following happens:

• Balls get dropped in a procedure
• Costs increase from mistakes
• Time is wasted from the inefficiency of doing things over

Whenever I ask my readers to take on a new strategy, I make sure to look inside myself to see if I am walking my talk. I realized in writing this article that I could use more checklists for training and consulting but at least I have a checklist for each presentation I make and what handouts, AV equipment and tools I need.

Question for You:

Are there processes in your organization, department or at home that seem to be inefficient because balls are being dropped or steps missed that cause problems down the road? Are you someone that takes pride in "winging it" and you find checklists confining?

Action for You:

Start on a small scale by identifying which of your processes seem to have the most impact on your success and seem to be inefficient. While it may seem like a lot of work upfront, keep your checklists shorter so that people will actually use them. Make certain you give a trial run of the checklist and ask for feedback on the list so there is "buy-in" from all that need to use it.

"If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself.....self discipline."

Harry S. Truman