> The solution is a centralized knowledge system that actually captures information in your organization and makes time for people to own, read and write said documentation. Because if you don’t, every new project will have to tiptoe around yesteryears old mysterious baggage.
That central knowledge system sounds lovely - but I don't see it happening except at maybe a few huge and bureaucratic orgs. Or in some very-heavily regulated industries. And everybody's heard about Boeing's dubious documentation around their safety-critical screw-ups.
A much simpler approach, which can be implemented far below the CEO level, is to start including "how well is stuff documented?" in employee's Performance Reviews.