The Amazing Power of ……….

Checklists and systems, not quite as exciting as maybe you’d hoped for, and I know you’re busy but stick with me for a minute. Checklists and systems are essential in bringing order to a business. Yet, many resist and often work much harder than necessary to get from start to finish. Many mistakes can be dramatically reduced or eliminated by putting together simple checklists and using checklists. “Really?!” You say. Yes, in our office checklists are essential in making sure that we are managing everything the way our clients want. And we’re not alone. Consider the following who have implemented checklists that save lives, avoid disasters, and get more accomplished. Medical Checklists Disturbed by the thousands of needless deaths in hospitals, mostly due to infections, renowned John Hopkins Hospital critical-care specialist, Dr. Peter Pronovost, put together a simple five-step checklist in 2001 for installing lines in the human body during care. Almost immediately, infection rates plummeted at John Hopkins. Sadly, Dr. Pronovost could not get hospitals interested, primarily because physicians felt they didn’t need checklists to do their job. Sound familiar? Finally, Dr. Pronovost got the State of Michigan to try his simple checklists in a handful of the worst hospitals in the country. Results? Spectacular I must say; in December of 2006, the Keystone Initiative published its findings in an article in The New England Journal of Medicine: “Within the first three months of the project, the infection rate of Michigan ICUs decreased by 65%. In the Keystone Initiative’s first 18 months, the hospitals saved an estimated $175 million on business costs and more than 1,500 lives.” Flight Checklists Boeing almost went bankrupt when one of their top pilots crashed a newly-designed bomber right in front of top military brass. Realizing their new generation of aircraft was too complicated for even the best pilots, Boeing created a simple checklist and proceeded to sell over 13,000 planes that flew over 1.8 million miles without a crash. Real Estate Checklists I’m sure you’ll agree that real estate is complicated and sometimes messy. Checklists will help manage the steps in a listing and contract efficiently. My team and I use checklists to effectively manage thousands and thousands of transactions each year for our clients. We know there is no way we could do our work without them. When followed correctly, one step at a time—you can virtually eliminate procrastination errors and last minute chaos. It’s your turn to create a checklist. Time to download what’s in your head. YOU are the expert on your unique business! You know how it works, the action steps and the processes that have brought you THIS far! Since your business isn’t likely ever be staffed by mind-readers, you have to create systems (and checklists) to EMPOWER and EQUIP others to take charge of their work and excel at their assignments, without your constant input. Need a little inspiration on creating systems? Check out one of my favorite books, which include checklists and the importance of using them in your business, “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber. It’s one of those books to read and reread each year to keep you on the path to being a successful real estate entrepreneur. If you haven’t read it, grab a copy,career-479578_1280 implement some of the strategies, and watch the dramatic transformation in your business. Remember ~ Great Systems with a great team give you FREEDOM! Here’s to checklists, your success and freedom. All the best, Michelle Hire your Real Estate Transaction Coordinator at http://transactionmanagementconsultants.com/