08/06/2026
We mapped 16 businesses. On average, only 27% of how they actually run is written down. Not 70%. Not “most of it.” About a quarter.
Half of every area we looked at had zero documentation. Nothing. It all lived in somebody’s head.
Here’s why that should scare you: Every undocumented process is a single point of failure attached to a human being.
When that person is out sick, on vacation, or quits — the knowledge walks out with them.
You’re not just at risk of losing a person. You’re one resignation away from losing how a piece of your business actually works.
The fix isn’t documenting everything.
Find the 5 processes that would hurt most if the person running them vanished tomorrow. Get those out of their head first.
What’s the one process in your business that only one person knows how to do?