Sustainability, ratings game, box ticking and check lists
12 februari 2012
It is no secret that I’m worried, even sceptical, about the weight many attach to sustainability ratings and benchmarks. A ‘sustainability eco-system’ has evolved in which sustainability departments, consultants (like ourselves), NGO’s, auditors and others are busy with ‘the ratings game’. This is basically a paper exercise which is an incomplete, if not poor, reflection of the actual transition towards a more efficient and green economy. Many are pre-occupied with box ticking instead with change management.
So when I was recently advised to read the book ‘The Checklist Manifesto’ by Atul Gawande, I had some reservations. Then again, it can also be helpful to take note of ‘a different perspective’.
Today, I can say that I have enjoyed reading the book. Gawande uses lots of examples and has a pleasant writing style. The book reads very well. It also shows that I am not the only sceptic about check lists.
It is very important to identify which situations checklists can help with and which ones they can’t. If well defined that can be the case for simple, complicated and complex problems. Under conditions of complexity checklists not only are a help, but they are required for success Gawanda explains. He uses examples of dealing with “Katrina” , dealing with an emergency as a pilot or surgeon. In finance they can help investors to keep a clear mind when they get into the ‘greed mode’, or the ‘fear mode’. Checklists help you to take the right decisions, when you are tempted to go wrong.
Gawande explains that in order to be useful checklists should focus on the essence, on what is truly material. Check lists are not much fun, he says. And people can be sceptical about the effectiveness of using a checklist. He describes how they have contributed to cutting down surgical complications. If these results would have been caused by a new drug, or a new medical device these would make the headlines. Checklists don’t.
The book gives an original insight in dealing with complex management situations and helps understand that checklists are useful when the going gets tough. It is also clear that these checklists have nothing to do with the ratings game in sustainability. If only because that game has nothing to do with the essence of the transition of our economy. Coming to think of it, it would be nice to define a Gawande style checklist for that challenge.
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