Clariox · Changed decisions
What to do when a client changes their mind after signing off.
Keep both decisions, dated. Confirm the new one in writing, name what the old one already cost, and flag anything that needs redoing — rather than quietly pretending the first version never happened.
The short answer
A client is allowed to change their mind. What causes damage isn't the reversal — it's losing track of what the first decision cost. Keep both versions in the record, each with its date. Confirm the new direction back to the client in writing. Then say plainly what the old decision already touched: work built, hours spent, anything that now needs redoing because of the change.
The record isn't there to relitigate the reversal. It's there so the cost of it is visible to both sides instead of quietly absorbed by whoever did the first version.
Why this isn't the same problem as scope creep
The two get treated identically and shouldn't be. Scope creep is a request for work that was never agreed at all — the answer is a price. A reversal is work that was agreed, built, and then re-decided — the answer is an honest accounting of what the first attempt cost, not a fresh negotiation about whether the new request is fair.
Conflating them produces two bad outcomes. Treat a reversal like scope creep and the client feels punished for a decision that was, at the time, entirely reasonable. Treat scope creep like a reversal and unpriced work quietly becomes normal.
How to handle it
1. Don't overwrite — log both
The old decision doesn't get deleted from the record when a new one arrives. It gets dated and kept, next to the new one. Six weeks later, "what did we actually agree and when" needs both answers, not just the current one.
2. Confirm the new direction, in writing, same day
Standard practice either way — but doubly so here, because the whole point of a good record is that the next reversal (there will be one) has something to point back to.
3. Name what the old decision already cost
If nothing was built yet, say so — no cost, clean switch. If something was, say what: hours, a deliverable, a dependency. This is the line most people skip, and it's the one that turns a reversal from invisible into accounted for.
4. Flag what needs redoing
Make it an action with an owner and a date, the same as anything else outstanding — not a side note in an email that gets lost.
On a real recap
Two numbers, both written down, on the same call.
From an internal kickoff recap: a number gets said twice, differently, in the same conversation. Neither is dropped in favour of the other.
less sure: - there was a number said out loud, either 40 or 45 templates. I wrote both down
- Confirm the real template count — 40 or 45 were both stated on the call
Open — the input doesn't answer this
Is the template count 40 or 45? Both were said in the same call; neither was confirmed.
What it refuses to do here
It does not average the two numbers, and it does not quietly pick the more recent one when "more recent" just means "said second in the same conversation." Two numbers said in one sitting aren't a timeline — they're the same open question said twice. Averaging or picking one would look tidier and be a guess wearing the outfit of a decision.
Common questions
Reversals, memory, and who pays for the first attempt
What do I do when a client reverses a decision they already signed off on?
Don't overwrite the old decision — log both, with their dates, and treat the change as exactly that: a change. Confirm the new direction in writing, name what it affects that was already built on the old one, and flag anything that now needs redoing. The record should show a client can see both positions existed, not just the current one.
Is a change of mind the same as scope creep?
No, and treating them the same causes the wrong response. Scope creep is new work that was never agreed. A reversal is work that was agreed, then re-decided. The first needs a price. The second needs a note about what the earlier version already cost, if anything was built against it.
What if the client says they never agreed to the original version?
This is the one case where a dated, quoted record earns its keep completely. Produce the message where the original decision was made, in their words, with the date. Most of the time the client isn't disputing that it happened — they've genuinely forgotten a conversation from three weeks ago, and seeing it settles the question without an argument.
How far back should I go before I stop tracking old decisions?
As far as the current work still depends on them. A decision that was fully superseded and nothing was built against it can be dropped from the active record. A decision that something was already delivered against stays visible until that work is either kept, redone, or written off — otherwise the cost of the reversal is invisible.
Find out what's actually still current.
Paste the thread or the recap. You get every decision that was made, dated, including the ones a later message quietly overrode.