A Checklist for Saving … Our Lives

Financial rescue

At Filene Research Institute, we’ve learned that digesting whitepapers on even the most important subjects can be difficult. In response, Filene has developed tools enabling credit unions to translate ideas into action, including the humble checklist. What makes a checklist so effective? In his book, “The Checklist Manifesto,” Atul Gawande frames the power of checklists around his experience as a surgeon, where checklists can (literally) save lives. Gawande writes that even competent experts need checklists for seemingly routine procedures.

I would argue that credit unions should be seen as the experts for solving their communities’ most pressing financial challenges. In line with Gawande’s recommendations, I propose that even credit unions could benefit from a checklist to instill action on one of the most pressing challenges of our day: Closing the financial access gap for households of color.