Review: The Executive Checklist

  ProjectsAtWork  

A new book serves as a primer for setting direction and managing change, including examples of how organizations are re-imagining their operational structures, enhancing their product and service offerings, and leveraging emerging technological capabilities

Written by organizational behaviorist and management consultant James Kerr, The Executive Checklist: A Guide for Setting Direction and Managing Change is a top-notch business text. Kerr presents what amounts to a “Top 10 List” of topics that every senior leader should get their arms around in order to set direction and manage change within their organizations.

Kerr’s approach to presenting the material through Executive Checklists is both clever and trendy, and it keeps you reading on. The design also positions the details brought out in each chapter to be readily referenced in the future — a feature that will be very handy for those of us given new and varying assignments on a regular basis.

While Kerr does a nice job at demystifying key topic areas, he never crosses the line into “too much information” territory, which can begin to bore or confuse his reader. His use of real-life examples from industry, which he brings forth throughout the book, also helps. These examples help to support all of his key ideas. I found the examples he chose to be provocative and engaging. The …

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