The Internal Memo is the company's record book of decisions (a decision log), in which the top executive's decisions are written down. It serves as the single basis for all decisions. The fields to fill in are summarized in Chapter 14.
• The memo on three competitors, and the one line your company keeps (Chapter 9)
• The Closing guidance (Chapter 10)
• The Entrance conditions (Chapter 11)
• The Three Lines from the last peak month (Chapter 12)
• Where this memo is kept. Choose a place where it can be found within the company even if you were away for two weeks. Once there's a set place where it can be found, a personal memo becomes a company record.
If you're unsure about a field, leave it empty and move on. An empty field is not a failure; it's a sign that you can see what needs checking next.
From here on are the fields for writing in.
Item
Your entry
1. The name of the next peak month, and how many times a regular month it is (plus one line on the projects you will go after)
2. The number of orders in the same peak month last year
3. The preparation start date (30 days, 6 weeks, or 8 weeks ahead)
4. Who is responsible for this month's Sheet
5. How the opened hour will be used (one line, written by the top executive)
6. The checkers for the four items in the Weekly Memo
7. Who may make corrections during the peak month, and which line may be corrected
Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3 (the client is the subject in each)
Three abstract claims (each before and after rewriting)
Sentences kept from AI drafts
Sentences set aside from AI drafts
Why they were kept ("it exists in our work" is enough)
Names, dates, and amounts returned to Blank
Competitor 1, Competitor 2, Competitor 3 (new scene-based wording, and abstract claims that remain)
The one line our company keeps
The current Closing guidance (does it only need to be read, or does it ask for a heavy commitment?)
The text revised into a line that only needs to be read
The Entrance conditions (e.g., clients who can provide specifications)
Where the memo is kept (folder name, or the name of a shared document)
The one line to keep in the Internal Memo
Names of late documents (for peak months fixed by the calendar)
The Three Lines from the last peak month (Was the preparation preserved? / How far toward the quota did we get? / Which Sheet will we move up next time?)
▶ Decided by the top executive
• Fill in the seven fields yourself, in order. Review the peak months, multipliers, and preparation start dates at the start of the year, and who is responsible for the Sheet and how time is used at the start of each regular month (Chapter 2).
• Decide where this memo will be kept.
• Come back to these fields each time a peak month ends.
• Decide that the terms used in the Internal Memo, the Weekly Memo, on the website, and in sales materials will be standardized on the terms in the "Glossary" at the end of the book. When you find a paraphrase, change it back to the Glossary term within that week.
▶ Asked of employees
• Copy the material left in each chapter into these fields.
• When copying, use the Glossary terms exactly as they are. Not substituting your own wording is a condition for a successful handover.
Peak-month decisions shift from the memory of the top executive alone to the company's records. Even when the assigned employee changes, the next peak month can start where the last decisions left off. Decisions that only certain people understood become work that anyone can take over.
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