When penicillin was invented in 1928, it was heralded as a miracle drug: a silver bullet. All of a sudden, all sorts of once incurable diseases had one easy cure. It saved lives, it changed modern medicine, but unfortunately, it has totally messed with our expectations about how we solve problems.
We love the idea of one super powerful and world-changing solution, especially in the startup community. We constantly look for the business tool version of penicillin: a miracle app that promises to save your company, or a lifehack that will make you 3 times more productive at work.
The silver bullet is incredibly tempting, especially when you’re dealing with a really complex problem like starting a company.
How many articles do you read that promise to introduce you to the last app you’ll ever need, or the only tool you need for your startup to succeed? These promises are enchanting—we’re likely to click on the articles, or spend a lot of money on the apps. And they almost never work.
That’s because if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That doesn't mean companies shouldn't look to new tools to help them succeed. It just means that, as with penicillin, they need to put additional systems in place to ensure success.
Turns out, one of the most effective of those systems has been around for centuries: the checklist.
