The Morrison project in September threw everyone a curve.
For instance, the vendor went sideways and the delivery sequence needed a flip.
Moreover, the client asked for something that wasn’t in the scope, so the team gave a concession to keep things moving.
Fortunately, the call worked. The project landed, and eventually, everyone high-fived and moved to the next thing.
However, six months later, the exact same situation pops up on a new client.
You have a different project lead and a different team. Consequently, nobody remembers what Morrison did, why they did it, or whether the outcome held up.
They start over with new conversations, new analysis, and a new solution.
This is institutional amnesia, and that is why companies between $500k and $5M keep burning cycles on problems they’ve already solved.
Fortunately, a delivery log fixes that. Specifically, it captures the non-routine stuff the exceptions, the judgment calls, and the workarounds that don’t fit neatly into your standard process.
We’re not talking about daily task updates or status meeting notes. Instead, it is just for the decisions that made someone stop and think.
Here’s what the log looks like: Date, Project name, The decision itself, Why you made that call, and What actually happened after. That is five fields.
Typically, a project lead updates it when a non-routine decision comes up, which on most projects runs two to five times over the life of the engagement.
Pull that log up after twelve months and you’re holding the most valuable operational document in your business.
In fact, that’s where tacit knowledge lives the stuff experienced operators carry in their heads and take with them when they walk out the door.
You know the risk. Because when one key person leaves, suddenly you’re asking “how did we handle that last time?” and getting blank stares.
For example, if a new delivery lead joins the team, hand them the log as their orientation.
Similarly, if a similar exception pops up again, check the log for precedent.
Furthermore, when the team starts debating how to handle a weird client request, the log shows what worked and what didn’t.
The BOI System scores this at Deliver Team Level 3.
Importantly, the scoring isn’t about loving documentation. Rather, it’s about capturing decisions that otherwise live and die inside one person’s memory. You’re not building a library; instead, you’re building a safety net.
Here’s the reframe that stings a little: treating your team’s collective knowledge like it’s permanent just because it exists in their heads isn’t trust; instead, it’s negligence. Smart people making smart decisions isn’t a system. Ultimately, smart decisions you can retrieve six months later that’s a system.
Run this test this week: pull your last three projects and ask the leads without looking at anything what non-routine calls they made. Write them down. Then, ask if those decisions are documented anywhere accessible to the rest of the team. That gap is your starting point.
Your team makes smart decisions every single week. Therefore, if nobody writes them down, those decisions happen exactly once.
Most owners don’t realize they’re running their business on borrowed memory. In truth, I’ve watched too many good operators leave and take the playbook with them. Ultimately, don’t let that be you.
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