My apologies in advance to those of you who are huge fans of ER. I am admittedly a very occasional viewer and really have very little clue about the show. However, I did catch part of the last show where Carter received a liver transplant (How am I doing so far?). So another doc sitting in on the surgery insists on going through the pre-surgery checklist to the objections of a full of himself doc. An item on the list is missing - the full of himself doc says they won't need it, but the doc insisting on the checklist orders it from pharmacy over the protests of the full of himself doc.

Cut to the end of the liver transplant when things start to go awry. Thankfully, the missing item from pharmacy has arrived as it is the only thing that saves the day, the transplant, and Carter's life. (So how did I do?)

So I relate that story, why? The checklist! Because they used a checklist, the TV episode had a good outcome. What can a checklist do for you?

A checklist is part of a process. In order for your business to run without you attending to every detail, a process is what you need. Do you find yourself answering the same questions over and over again. Do you have a process for updating your Frequently Asked Questions?

What is it that you want order fulfillment to check before they ship an order? Make a checklist.

Do you find yourself saying, Oh yes, I remember when we did this the last time and said if we ever encountered this situation again, we'd... ...we'd have a checklist.

There's a procedure you want followed when the business is opened in the morning and a process when the the last person leaves. Are you ever frustrated because someone forgot to... A checklist makes it so simple. Have you ever arrived at an appointment to discover you forgot a crucial folder? Checklist.

Want success? See how many processes you can identify in your business. How many checklists can you add to your process to ensure a consistent product or service everytime?

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