The power of a good checklist

Yes - we all 'hate' checklists and all that infuriating 'box-ticking' that goes along with it... But are we in danger of overlooking the power and usefulness of a good checklist that has been well researched? 

Listening to the radio yesterday morning (BBC Radio 4) I heard a piece about how the airline industry & the World Health Organisation have been working with the NHS to deploy the 'Surgical Safety Checklist'. The main principle of this seems to be about team work and making sure that, at the start of an operation, everyone knows what they are doing. 

To quote a well known meerkat - "simples!" 

There are the other stories about these developments here, here and here. And there is more information about the whole approach to create "The Productive Operating Theatre" on the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement here. 

But back to checklists... how many other services could be improved for want of a good checklist? Whenever I talk about 'knowledge management' (which is often over complicated beyond belief) I talk about the value of a simple checklist as being the embodiment of practical knowledge. 

What checklists do you work with... and what new ones would help?

Original blog: http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/

10,000... 300... one blog of small & creative ideas!

Just a note to say that my 'small creative ideas' blog has now had 10K page loads since I set it up 10 months ago. The purpose of the blog is support, celebrate and disseminate the small and creative ideas that are making a difference in local government - and elsewhere in the public and third sectors.

Please visit and take a look if you have not already done so. There are more than 300 innovations there to save money, improve service or just make work better.

And if you have an idea to share - please let me know. Thank you.

http://smallcreativeideas.blogspot.com/

(And I have given it a facelift too - prompted by some feedback I got from one visitor)

Jon

jon@jonharveyassociates.co.uk 

Help wanted: Community safety / cohesion

Hallo

I am trying to track down Associations of people involved with either (or both) community safety and community cohesion. Is there (say) an Association of Community Safety Managers / Practitioners ? Or similar for Community Cohesion?

(I am doing some work with the Department for Children, Schools and Families and I want to contact people from these associations to be involved in some intervention design work.) 

Many thanks!

Jon

jon@jonharveyassociates.co.uk

+44 (0) 7771 537535

+44 (0) 1280 822585

www.jonharveyassociates.co.uk

When would you say 'no' to authority?

The Milgram experiments are famous for demonstrating how people will, under the right circumstances, carry out violent acts due to authority. (Details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment)

But what of the people who refused to go along with the elaborate experimental charade. I have just been pointed towards this site (thank you 'the psychologist' January 2010) which has a first hand description by someone of why they refused to administer more pain to the 'subject'... 

(rest is on my blog: http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/2009/12/when-would-you-say-no-to-authority.html)

... so when would you say no?

Leadership in three words...

Recently I posted this challenge on my blog: 

Which three words sum up the kind of leadership we need for 2010?

So far I have had 19 replies from a wide range of people. Please add your comments there or here (or both!)...

http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/2009/12/leadership-in-three-words.html