The Stupid Check
Have you ever locked the keys in your car? Left a diamond bracelet in a hotel room? Sent an e-mail to your boss without the attachment? Profaned an officer of the law? Flipped off a motorcycle gang? Shot yourself in the foot?
The company where I used to work spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to proceduralize the prevention of human errors.
First, they divided mistakes into categories. Rule based, knowledge based, skill based.
Then they developed a series of questions to decide if you were in a situation likely to cause mistakes. Is it first thing in the morning? Is it right after lunch? Are you getting ready to go home? Did you just have a break? Do you need a break? Do you feel time pressure? Is it real? Is this your first time? Have you done this ten-thousand times? Are you insecure? Then they published tools to help you through these problem areas depending on the type of work you do. There were tools for workers, supervisors, and managers. Tools for people who work with their hands and people who work with their minds.
If you work in a cube and need to think, hang out a do not disturb sign. If you’re working through a procedure, check, circle and mark through the procedure step. Repeat the steps you did just before lunch or break. If you feel time pressure talk to your boss. She'll tell you it's real. If you’re assigning work to a person, make sure he knows what he's doing.
And of course, there were meetings with forms and checklists. There were small laminated cards personnel had to keep on their persons at all times. If this sounds complicated, it’s because it is. Don’t get me wrong. I ride in jets. I’ve had my body ravaged by surgeons. I live within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant. I definitely believe people should avoid errors. And these procedures do work. But does making things complicated make them better?
I'm a simple person. I’ve always had the best luck with a simple stupid check. Basically, before you hit enter, before you close that hotel room door, before you drive away from home, ask yourself, “Have I been stupid?” Before you lower that jack, before you torque that bolt, before you walk out that door, ask yourself, “Have I been stupid?” Before you call your spouse, before you tell off your boss, before you slap that police officer, ask yourself, “Have I been stupid?”
That’s all there is to it. Before you do anything, whether it’s the first or last thing that day, whether you’ve never done it before or if you’ve done it a thousand times, whether you feel good or bad about it, ask yourself, “Have I been stupid?”
It’s so easy, and so hard. The question’s easy. All you have to do is stop, and consciously consider if you’ve been stupid. It has to be a conscious, separate evaluation. It’s easy to do. The hard part is taking the time. You’re almost done. All you have to do it hit that button. Lower that jack. Walk to your car. Take the time. Stop. Breath. Think. Have you been stupid?
