If It’s Not in Writing, It Doesn’t Exist
A Handshake and a Head Nod Aren’t Alignment. You Need Receipts.
Read Time: 5 minutes
You leave the meeting thinking everyone’s on the same page.
The plan sounded good. The nods were there. You even saw a few smiles.
Then three days later…
Stakeholders push back on what was “agreed.”
Someone missed the deadline.
And a senior leader says, “I didn’t know we confirmed that.”
You’re not crazy. You’re just undocumented.
Verbal Alignment Is Fragile
In fast-paced environments, it’s easy to confuse conversation with commitment.
But here’s the truth:
If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist.
Not in people’s memory.
Not in stakeholder expectations.
Not when things go sideways.
Verbal agreements feel good in the moment.
But they dissolve under pressure, timelines, and shifting priorities.
Here’s what this disconnect usually looks like:
✅ “I thought we said next week, not this week.”
✅ “We didn’t agree to that scope.”
✅ “I didn’t know I was supposed to review that.”
✅ “That’s not what I took away from the meeting.”
✅ “Was that the final? I thought we were still deciding.”
If any of those sound familiar, you’re not alone.
💬 A PM in our community shared how a simple kickoff call, with explicit agreement on ownership and dates, turned into chaos three weeks later when a senior leader refused to sign off. The plan had been shared verbally, but nothing was captured in writing. The result? Rework, confusion, and a two-week delay.
Here’s How to Make the Invisible Concrete
You don’t need to turn into a notetaking machine.
You just need to close the loop with clarity.
✅ Send a short recap: One paragraph with key decisions, owners, and deadlines. Keep it simple.
✅ Frame it as alignment, not enforcement: “Just confirming what we landed on so we’re all synced.”
✅ Use written follow-ups after high-stakes conversations: Even a quick Slack message is better than nothing.
✅ Capture approvals publicly: In email, in the system, in a shared doc. Whatever fits the culture.
✅ Keep a decision log: For every central pivot or milestone, log who said what and when. You’ll thank yourself later.
Documentation is Not Bureaucracy. It’s Protection.
It protects the team.
It protects the plan.
It protects you.
Because memory is messy, priorities shift. And pressure reveals gaps in understanding.
When things get blurry, the most unmistakable voice is the one that follows up in writing.
And that is how alignment is protected between the milestones.
👇 Your Turn
Have you ever had a plan unravel because nothing was documented?
👉 Share your story in the comments below or respond to this email.
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