Why Every Entrepreneur with a Growing Team Needs Checklists

Managing a team of 10 to 40 people is a sweet spot.

It’s big enough to get real work done but small enough that miscommunication can still wreak havoc.

You don’t have layers of middle management to catch mistakes, and you can’t be in 20 places at once.

This is where The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande becomes your secret weapon.

The book isn’t just about pilots and surgeons using checklists to avoid life-or-death mistakes. This book shows business owners and leaders of small teams how structured simplicity can save businesses from inefficiency, burnout, and costly errors.

So let’s break down the key lessons and how they apply to you as an entrepreneur managing a team.

Complexity Requires Simplicity

When your business is scaling, complexity creeps in.

You’re probably finding that processes that once worked fine when it was just you and a few teammates start breaking down. Mistakes happen not because your team isn’t smart or capable, but because the human brain can only track so much at once.

That’s why you need a checklist!

A checklist is a guardrail against errors. It takes the pressure off remembering every single detail and lets your team focus on execution!

And checklists come in handy for so many things.

• A marketing campaign launch? Checklist.

• Hiring a new employee? Checklist.

• Onboarding a client? Checklist.

• Preparing for a big investor meeting? Yep, checklist.

The best part? Once a checklist is in place, you don’t have to be the bottleneck for decision-making. Your team can move forward with confidence.

There Are Two Types of Checklists: Which One Does Your Business Need?

Not all checklists are created equal. The book outlines two types, and knowing when to use each is key to making them work.

Do-Confirm Checklists

This is for tasks where your team knows what to do, but a final pass ensures nothing gets missed.

• Your sales team runs through their outreach strategy from experience, but before sending proposals, they check off key points (pricing, personalization, contract terms).

• Your customer support team follows their training, but before closing a ticket, they confirm they’ve hit all resolution steps.

Read-Do Checklists

This is for tasks that must be followed exactly, step by step, in order.

• Your HR team follows a new hire onboarding checklist to make sure nothing (like payroll setup or software access) is forgotten.

• Your fulfillment team follows a packaging checklist so customers don’t end up with the wrong orders.

• Your developers follow a pre-deployment checklist before launching updates to avoid system failures.

If your team is struggling with consistency, a read-do checklist brings structure. If they mostly get things right but need a failsafe, a do-confirm checklist does the trick.

Test, Refine, Repeat

Checklists fail when they’re too long, too rigid, or too outdated. No one wants to work through a 50-step document just to send an email.

• Keep them short (5-9 key steps, max).

• Make them actionable (avoid vague items like “ensure quality” and opt for “run test script X”).

• Adjust them based on feedback and ask your team what’s useful and what’s just noise.

A good checklist evolves with your business. If your processes are breaking down, your checklist might be the first thing to revisit.

Checklists = Better Team Communication

One of the biggest challenges as your team grows is keeping everyone aligned.

A checklist isn’t just a to-do list; it’s a communication tool that keeps projects moving without endless Slack messages or “just checking in” emails.

• A project checklist ensures everyone knows their role and next steps.

• A launch checklist prevents last-minute chaos (no more “who was supposed to send that email?”).

• A hiring checklist keeps HR, finance, and team leads on the same page—no missed paperwork.

The more your business depends on multiple people executing tasks correctly, the more valuable checklists become.

Checklists Don’t Kill Creativity…They Free It

Some entrepreneurs resist checklists because they think they stifle innovation. But the opposite is true. When your team isn’t bogged down by repetitive errors or scrambling to fix mistakes, they have more mental space for creative, strategic work.

A checklist doesn’t replace thinking, it just removes avoidable friction so your business can run like a well-oiled machine.

So, where in your business could a simple checklist make the biggest impact today? Start there.

If you need business process help, book a consultation!