The Checklist Manifesto
"The checklist gets the dumb stuff out of the way, the routines your brain shouldn’t have to occupy itself with (Are the elevator controls set? Did the patient get her antibiotics on time? Did the managers sell all their shares? Is everyone on the same page here?), and lets it rise above to focus on the hard stuff (Where should we land?)."
— Atul Gawande, The Checklist Manifesto (2009)
Introduction
| The Checklist Manifesto | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full title | The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right |
| Author | Atul Gawande |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Patient safety; Quality assurance in health care; Process improvement |
| Genre | Nonfiction; Self-help |
| Publisher | Metropolitan Books (Henry Holt and Company) |
Publication date | 22 December 2009 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback); e-book; audiobook |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-8050-9174-8 |
| Goodreads rating | 4/5 (as of 10 November 2025) |
| Website | us.macmillan.com |
Chapter summary
This outline follows the Metropolitan Books first U.S. hardcover edition (22 December 2009), ISBN 978-0-8050-9174-8.[1][2]
I – How to Get Things Right
🧩 1 – The problem of extreme complexity.
📝 2 – The checklist.
🏗️ 3 – The end of the master builder.
💡 4 – The idea.
🧪 5 – The first try.
🏭 6 – The checklist factory.
🧭 7 – The test.
🛡️ 8 – The hero in the age of checklists.
🆘 9 – The save.
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References
- ↑ "The Checklist Manifesto". Macmillan. Henry Holt and Company. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
- ↑ "The checklist manifesto : how to get things right (First edition)". WorldCat. OCLC. Retrieved 10 November 2025.