Customizing the Checklist

Every organization requires its own customized set of checklist principles. 

The 15 principles provide a solid foundation for a Leader's Checklist, suitable for most leadership moments  at most organizations at most times.  But "most" is not always good enough.  Customized checklists are required for distinct times and contexts.  Among the most important divisions are those of company, role, country, moment and personal place.

Company.  Every organization requires its own customized set of checklist principles.  In recent years, many of the largest have established such lists.

The Leaders Checklist for General Electric, according to those highly familiar with the company would include, for instance, teaching others how to lead their divisions, making tough--often wrenching--personnel decisions around performance, and continually innovating.   A checklist for Google, by contrast, would place greater emphasis on pursuing individual creative sparks, keeping teams small, and guiding others in an even-keeled manner.

A checklist for a major professional services firm might identify nearly a dozen special capacities that it holds to be vital for its managers, including seeing the world through clients' eyes, enthusiastically engaging with clients, and working with them to transcend conventional thinking.

ACTION POINT: Identify the key principles for your company checklist.