Overview
Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce examines what happens when experienced employees retire or leave faster than organizations can rebuild their capabilities. DeLong moves from diagnosis to a portfolio of responses, including knowledge-transfer practices, retention, technology, and alternative ways to preserve access to expertise.
The book makes an important distinction between recognizing that knowledge loss is possible and deciding where it is serious enough to require action. Not every fact deserves the same effort; the priority is knowledge whose loss would damage performance, safety, customer relationships, or decision quality.
Why it matters for handovers
Good handovers are selective. They focus scarce time on the responsibilities, judgment, and context that carry the greatest risk if they disappear.
For Flamekeeper, this supports a risk-led approach: identify critical knowledge, find where it is concentrated in one person, and use follow-up questions to close the gaps that matter most before the transition date.