We are trying to build an exit-ready superstructure using the Step by Step Exit model, but my leadership team is overwhelmed by the amount of documentation required for our processes. How do we get them to execute this documentation without stalling our weekly sales goals?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

It is common for leadership teams to push back against documentation, viewing it as bureaucratic busywork that distracts from their daily sales targets. However, you must help them see that a business that depends on tribal knowledge is unsellable. Buyers will not purchase a company where the operating systems exist only in the heads of the leadership team.

To get your team past this hurdle, integrate the documentation process into your weekly EOS® workflow. Do not try to document everything at once. Instead, make process documentation a priority Rock for your leaders over the next two quarters. Use the Step by Step Exit model to focus only on the core twenty percent of your processes that produce eighty percent of your operational results.

Have your leaders delegate the actual writing of the documentation to their direct reports, while they retain ownership of the final review. This keeps your leadership team focused on their high-level strategic goals while ensuring the work gets done. Once your processes are documented and automated, your team will find they have more time to hit their sales targets, not less.