A checklist is for more than one reason a tool that will support you when managing your business. “A Simple list,” you might think, but it could mean all the difference. In the first place, a checklist is like a plan in which you communicate to others what needs to be done. In most cases you know what to do, but think about this new employee you need to train, or when you arrive in the situation when your activities needs to be taken over by someone else. We sometimes forget how long it takes to learn what needs to be done, and in those cases a checklist will remind you of this.

A checklist will help you when doing (checking) activities that are like a routine and in which you easily forget something that seems unimportant at the moment. This might sometimes be boring, but when you are dealing with demanding customers, a checklist could just save you from a nasty incident; For example this incident where you are renting an exclusive country house for a weekend and all is spotless and clean, until you open the magnetron… (Oops, forgotten) A list will save you time, because you run through the items on the list and you know what you have done or what you still need to do.

The last check on the list is to forget to list and to “Take a moment to think about what else you might need.” Step back and find out whether you have done it all. Do not forget that a list is only helping the mechanics, it is not very creative. It is like going to the supermarket, you’ve got all prepared for a great and creative dinner. But once you got back home it appears that you have forgotten some basic ingredients. And now the market is closed…

© 2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days. You can apply for a free demo account

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