By
Michael Moore, Moore’s Law, Milwaukee
Sept. 1, 2010 – Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” opens on the dark, cold ramparts of a castle. Horatio warns the soldiers on guard to prepare for war because young Prince Fortinbras of Norway has “shark’d up a list of landless resolutes” to invade Denmark. Borrowed from the French word “liste,” this early reference to a list meant a strip of paper with a lot of names written down for some special purpose (later refined as enlist and meaning to join the army). Today the use and popularity of lists is all around us, including top ten lists, checklists, and to-do lists. We use sticky notes, legal pads, our smart phone, or computer software to create, manage, and communicate our lists.
Why do we love lists?
In this digital age of overstimulation, most of us suffer from information overload. My computer and desk, like many of yours I suspect, are covered with sticky notes on various items. An effective list can bring order to such chaos. Lists help us organize what might otherwise be overwhelming. Lists also help us remember things, from the mundane (pick up the milk) to the critical (engage airplane tail rudder). Lists can be personalized and customized to be as long or short as necessary. Some lists need be only a few lines while others may be a few paragraphs. Ben Franklin was an early fan of lists and created synonyms for being drunk, maxims for matrimonial happiness, and the reasons to choose an older woman as a mistress.
Lists can relieve stress and focus our thoughts
Making a list helps us get our heads around really big tasks. It can also help us focus on getting the project done one piece at a time. As sociologist Scott Schaffer noted, "Lists really get to the heart of what it is we need to do to get through another day." But a list is only useful if it reveals a truth, solves a problem, or leads to action. Making a list does not necessarily help solve procrastination. As DePaul University psychologist Joseph Ferrari told Psychology Today, “People don't put off work they must do because they lack list-making skills. Just making a list does not get the job done.”
The value of checklists
As lawyers, we are trained to use checklists. Much of our work is too complicated to keep track of everything in our head. We may also need to delegate and communicate to other lawyers and clients in an orderly fashion. In The Checklist Manifesto, How to Get Things Right, surgeon Atul Gawande recounts his own experience with the value of checklists. He and his team developed a two-minute checklist that covered some basics for surgery (e.g., do we have enough blood and antibiotics?), as well as some basics for good teamwork (e.g., does everyone in the operating room know the name of each person in the room?). When they tested these lists in eight different hospitals, the results were shocking. For example, when they took the time to make personal introductions for everyone in the operating room, they had a 35 percent decline in deaths and complications related to surgery.
We frequently race through our days just struggling to get things done. In the press of business, it is hard to take the time to stop and reflect on what works and what doesn’t. It is even harder to take the time to document it. Is there a two-minute checklist you could develop this week that might help strengthen your work flow or work product? If so, can you afford not to make the investment of time required to create that checklist?
Be careful with lists
To maintain maximum effectiveness from your list, a few words of caution: Schedule things comfortably, allowing time for unexpected delays or mishaps. In other words, avoid creating an impossibly tight timetable. With large projects or a variety of activities, be sure to list everything you need to accomplish. The more you can account for, the more smoothly your day will run and the less you will need to remember. Break down large projects into specific tasks before writing them down on your list. Any list should be a living document. Feel free to revise your list, as necessary, as events unfold and new facts become apparent.
Brown M&M’s as a warning flag
The band Van Halen’s huge stage shows require nine, 18-wheeler trucks and a complicated performance contract as big as a phone book. For example, Article 148 might be, “There will be 15 amperage voltage sockets at 20-foot spaces, evenly, providing 19 amperes.” Buried in the technical specs the contract also requires a bowl of M&M’s – with all the brown candies removed – in its backstage dressing room.
The band used the M&M test as an early warning of potential problems. As David Lee Roth recounts in his autobiography, “When I would walk backstage, if I saw a brown M&M in that bowl … well, line-check the entire production. Guaranteed you’re going to arrive at a technical error. They didn’t read the contract. Guaranteed you’d run into a problem. Sometimes it would threaten to just destroy the whole show.”
Our daily routines as lawyers may not involve flying across the stage in spandex suspended from a steel girder. Nonetheless, our activities, including those on behalf of our clients and our firms, can be just as critical. Missing a small detail, like brown M&M’s, can have huge negative implications. Checklists and itemized lists can help improve our organization, effectiveness, and ultimately our client service.
About the author
Michael Moore, Lewis and Clark 1983, is a professional coach for lawyers and the founder of Moore’s Law, Milwaukee. He specializes in marketing, client development, and leadership coaching for attorneys at all levels of experience. Moore also advises law firms on strategic planning and resource optimization. He has more than 25 years’ experience in private practice, as a general counsel, in law firm management, and in legal recruiting. For more information, visit www.moores-law.com.
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