Article taken from the Ubiquitous PDF series by Anne Shea. View the complete series on PlanetPDF.com

Is it nuts to make a checklist for your checklists? Surgeon and writer Atul Gawande doesn’t think so, and he’s not alone: his book The Checklist Manifesto has become a New York Times bestseller.

Originally designed for doctors and engineers working with high risk procedures, the checklist-for-a-checklist will “aid the checklist creation process and ensure that your checklist helps instead of hurt[s]“. From font-checking (away with that non-standard font!) to full organizational testing, the procedure is useful at all levels of enterprise.

A free PDF copy of the checklist, co-written by Gawande and Boeing’s Dan Boorman, is available at www.projectcheck.org along with further guidance and a forum for checklisting enthusiasts and professionals.