Why 99% Of Business Process Documentation Is Expensive Junk

Everyone's obsessed with "documenting processes."

But here's what nobody wants to admit:

99% of process documentation is expensive digital junk that sits there gathering dust.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.

Some consultant shows up, charges you $10K, and hands over a 47-page Google Doc called "Customer Onboarding Process v3.2 FINAL FINAL."

Six months later? It's buried somewhere in your Google drive. Your team is back to winging it.

The problem isn't that you don't have processes. It's that we've been thinking about documentation completely wrong.

My Wake-Up Call at Five Below

I learned this during my time in supply chain at Five Below.

I was that guy creating SOPs left and right. Every process needed documentation. Every workflow required a standard operating procedure. I was building a library of perfectly formatted documents.

And nobody used them. Including me.

When something went wrong or a new person needed training, did I pull up those carefully crafted SOPs?

Never.

They were impossible to find when I actually needed them. And when I did find them, they were just walls of text on a page.

What I really needed was a map. Something that showed me exactly where I was in the process and what came next. Links to the actual tools.

Videos showing the tricky parts. Visuals that made sense at a glance. But all I had were text documents that felt more like homework than helpful guides.

New Company, Same Problem

Then a few years later when I was working at Petco, it happened again, in another way.

We implemented this expensive new system that was supposed to streamline our operations. The training was thorough. The tool was powerful.

Everyone was excited about the “efficiency gains” that were sure to come.

But nobody used it correctly.

Why? Because there was no map showing where this new tool fit into our actual workflow.

We knew how to use the system in isolation, but we had no visual guide showing us when and where it should plug into our day-to-day operations.

So we kept defaulting to our old ways. The new system became just another tool that sat there, occasionally used but never properly integrated.

That's when it clicked: tools don't fail because they're bad. They fail because people can't see how they fit into the bigger picture.

As John Gall put it in Systemantics:

Why Traditional Process Docs Fail Every Time

I then watched this play out in my own business. Same story, but now I actually cared.

The fancy process document gets created.

You nod to yourself approvingly about the wonderful document you just wrote. You think it’s important because you took time to create it. Then it disappears into the void because it's:

• Hidden in folders nobody can find when they're actually in crisis mode

• A wall of text that makes your brain shut off mid-sentence

• Completely disconnected from the tools you actually use every day

• Impossible to follow when you're in the weeds and need quick answers

• A nightmare to update when things inevitably change

It's like having a recipe written in another language, stored in a different kitchen, with no pictures of what it's supposed to look like.

Here is the original blog post I wrote on this:

And if you go back to the home page of that blog ☝🏻 and then scroll down a bit, you’ll see 4 months prior I was writing SOPs. (they never got use)

This was the first seed of my current business Simple Flo.

What Actually Works: The Visual Flow Method

Then I tried something different. I took one of our most complex workflows and mapped it out visually in a digital canvas. Not written instructions or a flowchart buried in a document, an actual interactive map where every step connected to what I needed.

That changed everything for me. Suddenly, processes weren't documentation to create and forget. They were tools to actually use.

Your process shouldn't live in a document. It should live where your work happens.

Picture this instead: Your entire workflow mapped out visually in something like Canva. Not pretty digital decorations, a functional command center that actually guides your team through their day.

Every step connects directly to your tools.

Click a shape, you're instantly in the right spreadsheet.

Need that checklist? It's embedded right there.

Training video for the tricky part? Starts playing immediately.

Your new hire doesn't get handed a 20-page manual and told "good luck figuring this out." They get visual GPS for your business that shows them exactly where they are and what comes next.

The Part That Changes Everything

When your processes are visual and connected, something interesting happens:

• Team members can ask questions right on specific steps instead of wondering who to bother

• You can slide client cards along to show real-time progress and spot bottlenecks instantly

• New tools and automations have a clear place to plug in without disrupting everything else

• Updates take seconds instead of requiring a complete rewrite

• You can see the big picture when planning or zoom into details when executing

• Everyone knows exactly when and where to use that new system you just implemented

When processes help instead of hinder, people will actually use them.

Think about it like this: Would you rather navigate with a 20-page written description of every turn and landmark, or just use GPS that shows you exactly where you are and what's coming next?

Your processes should feel like GPS for your business. Clear, visual, and impossible to ignore.

Here’s me using documented process flow that’s actually useful!

I follow it

I click on the tools involved

The links bring me to the tools, templates, and automations I made and use for this workflow.

The Real Cost of Bad Documentation

Every time someone has to ask "how do we do this again?" or reinvent a process from scratch, you're losing money.

Not just in time, but in consistency, quality, and the mental energy your team wastes figuring out what should be automatic.

As I've learned: "What you are aware of you are in control of. What you are not aware of is in control of you." When your processes are scattered and invisible, they control you instead of serving you.

Good processes don't just save time. They give you back your sanity and let your team focus on the work that actually matters.

What's the most useless process document collecting dust in your Google Drive right now? I'd love to hear your horror stories, and help you turn them into something that actually works.

Ready to turn your process chaos into visual clarity? Let's build your workflow GPS ⬇️

Thanks for reading,

James

This will help you organize your mind and bring calm to your business, check it out.

👉🏻 Calm Business Blueprint.