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Company Brain and context

What is a single source of truth? Definition and examples

Also: SSOT, source of record

In short

A single source of truth is the one source that counts as authoritative for a given piece of information, such as prices, goals or a decision. Every other place points to it instead of keeping its own version.

Why it matters: Debates about the right figure end because everyone knows where it lives.

Why does Single Source of Truth matter for your company?

Without a clear source, copies appear: the price list in the offer, in the wiki and in the sales spreadsheet. Every copy drifts at some point. Meetings then revolve around which figure is right instead of the decision.

A single source of truth does not mean everything has to move into one system. It means that for each important piece of information it is clear where the authoritative version lives and who changes it. AI agents benefit most, because otherwise they take the first copy they find.

Example: Which figure applies?

In the quarterly review the CFO quotes one revenue target for the DACH mid-market, sales another and the board deck a third. All three come from spreadsheets that once matched. Half the meeting goes on sorting it out.

Leadership decides: the targets for “Strategy 2027” live in the financial plan, maintained by the CFO. Presentations, dashboards and AI assistants read from there. When a target changes, it changes in one place and everyone sees the new state.

3 common mistakes to avoid

  • Building one system for everything

    The truth does not have to live in one place, but in one clear place per topic. A big new tool usually just creates new copies.

  • Naming no owners

    A source without an owner quietly goes stale. Each piece of information needs one person who changes it.

  • Tolerating copies

    Retyping figures into slides creates the next deviation. Link to the source or pull from it automatically.

Step by step

  1. 1

    Choose the critical information

    Which figures and decisions cause debates today?

  2. 2

    Set one source per topic

    Decide where the authoritative version lives.

  3. 3

    Name one owner

    Only this person changes the source or approves changes.

  4. 4

    Replace the copies

    Replace copies with links, for AI agents too.

Bring one important decision.

In 30 minutes with Marc or Simon we show where your work drifts from the decision today.

Meet the Company Brain

Read on in the PM Lab

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Related terms

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