Field Notes from the Transition #2
Identifying the "Shadow" Control Tower
The Observation: In almost every operation I have visited, there is a spreadsheet that nobody talks about during the software demonstration. It is usually maintained by a supervisor or a planner and is filled with complicated formulas, color coding, and years of accumulated logic. While the official SOPs are in a binder, this "shadow control tower" is what the team actually uses to survive the day. The irony is that organizations often spend months documenting requirements for a new system while ignoring the very tool their people already rely on to run the business. That spreadsheet is not the problem. It is a vital clue to your operational reality.
The Tip: Identify your operation's shadow control tower to uncover the true requirements for your next technology transition.
The Executable Step: Study the reports, trackers, and manual files your team depends on every day with a focus on why they exist. Here are examples of specific indicators of a requirements gap.
Find the "master spreadsheet" used to manage daily SLAs or ship schedules that the ERP cannot produce.
Look for manual trackers that capture inventory exceptions or "hot" orders that live outside the official system logic.
Observe the verbal communication or handwritten notes used for shift handovers and labor planning.
I can help you filter these shadow processes to determine which ones represent your "secret sauce" and which ones are simply workarounds for missing system intelligence.
Why This Matters: When you fail to identify these shadow systems, you risk building a future state that is technically correct but operationally unusable. If the new system does not provide the same intelligence found in the old spreadsheets, your team will quietly build a new parallel reality to compensate. This creates a breakdown in data integrity and leads to a post-go-live rejection of the new technology in favor of the survival habits they trust.
This post is part of the Field Notes from the Transition series. You can review previous Field Notes in the series on my blog site. Stay tuned for my next observation from the middle of the operation.
