MOVE 30 · POSITIONING & VALUE · FREE
Document Wins Before You Need Them
Keep a dated record of results and praise as they happen, so when you need to make your case, the evidence already exists.
Memory favours the recent and the negative; a written record restores the balance.
WHY IT WORKS
When reviews or renewals arrive, both you and the decision-maker remember recent problems more than earlier successes. A running log with dates, numbers and quotes counters that bias and turns your request into a summary of agreed facts.
WHEN TO USE IT
- You expect a review, renewal or rate discussion within the year.
- Your work produces results that are easy to forget once they become routine.
WHEN NOT TO USE IT
- The log would include confidential information you are not allowed to retain.
- You would use it mainly to keep score against colleagues.
SIGNALS IT FITS
- You struggle to recall what you achieved six months ago.
- Positive feedback arrives verbally and disappears.
PREPARATION
- Create a simple document with date, result, evidence and who noticed.
- Set a monthly ten-minute reminder to update it.
STEP BY STEP
- Record each meaningful result within a week of it happening.
- Save written praise with the date and source.
- Summarise the log quarterly in three lines.
- Share the summary before reviews or renewals.
OPENING LINE
“I keep a short log of results through the year — here are the highlights.”
SCRIPT
Before our review, here are four results from this year with dates, including the March migration and the client renewal in July.
LIKELY RESPONSES & COUNTERS
- If they seem surprised by the volume
- Use it as a moment to agree on how results should be shared going forward.
- If they dispute an item
- Clarify with the evidence you saved and drop anything that cannot be supported.
SECOND MOVE
Use the summary as the lead fact in Strengthen Your Position Before Asking.
FOLLOW-UP
Keep the log going after the review; it is a habit, not a one-off.
COMMON MISTAKES
- Waiting until the week before a review to reconstruct the year.
- Logging effort instead of outcomes.
WALK-AWAY CONDITIONS
- A well-documented record is repeatedly dismissed without explanation.
EXAMPLE (FICTIONAL)
A support lead had saved eleven dated client thank-you emails and a backlog chart. Her manager forwarded the one-page summary to HR unchanged as justification for her promotion.
ETHICAL BOUNDARY
Record accurately and credit others where results were shared. A log that inflates your role will be contradicted by colleagues' memories.
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Content version 1 · Drafted by Power Move IQ Editorial · Not yet human-reviewed · Educational decision support, not legal, financial or employment advice.