If Your “Systems” Fit on a Sticky Note, You Have Chaos

If the map only exists in one person’s head, it is not a map. It is a trap.

Twice now, I have been brought in on a short-term contract to step into a role left by a long-term employee.

Twice, I have been handed "instructions" that could fit on a sticky note... with room left over for a doodle and a grocery list.

Not an actual in-depth guide to the job.

It is like being told, “Oh, the treasure is over there,” without a compass, a shovel, or any clue how deep to dig.

The files were a rabbit hole of disconnected documents, random spreadsheets, and outdated versions, the kind where you open one, stare at it, and wonder if you’ve accidentally stumbled into a time capsule from 2004.

And the person who used to hold this role?

Let’s say they were not in the mood for deep dives or full disclosure about the chaos they left behind.

So I start asking questions… and immediately feel like I just shouted “Marco!” in an office full of people who have no intention of yelling “Polo!” back.

Even when I try to verify my understanding, I get vague half-ass-answers that tell me more about what is not happening than what actually is.

A “map” is not a map unless it shows the actual terrain. A sticky note with three cryptic words is not a system. It is a booby trap.

When a role is run entirely on the ghost knowledge of one person, the second they are gone, the whole organization is wandering aimlessly in the woods without snacks.

If this niggles your guts, here's what to do:

If you can not hand someone a detailed map of how your work or team's work actually happens, start here:

• Map the role before you fill the role: Identify the main responsibilities and the repeatable tasks that keep them running.

• Document the “how” not just the “what”: Screenshots, examples, and step-by-step beats vague labels every time. (A cool tool is , no, I am not an affiliate, just love it.)

• Keep it where people can find it: Shared drive, or a SOP hub, not buried in someone’s personal folder labelled “misc final FINAL.” (True labelling I came across... LOL OMG)

• Update as you go: Outdated instructions are worse than none at all. Assign someone to keep the map current.

• Involve the doers: The best systems come from the people actually doing the work, not just management guessing from the sidelines.

• Start small: Pick one process, get it documented well, then expand. Trying to systemize everything in one go is where overwhelm turns into more chaos.

People think they have systems because they have something written down. But if no one can pick it up and actually run the role without a guided tour and a search party to contact the last person who did it, it is not a system. It is a false sense of security.

And here is the kicker. Most of the time, the reason the system does not exist is that everyone is already drowning. Documenting feels like extra work they cannot afford to do.

Tony Robbins says, "If it’s in your head, you’re dead."

And he is right.

A system that lives only in someone’s brain is useless the moment they walk out the door.

Get it out.

Document the processes.

Connect the dots.

Turn “over there somewhere” into a clear,

step-by-step route, one that actually works without an interpretive dance performance to explain it.

Because if leaders actually took pride in their systems, work would not feel like an escape room where the clues are hidden in someone’s memory.

But I also know this. If you do not deal with the overwhelm first, creating systems can just add another layer of chaos.

If you can not hand someone a map of how your work or teams work actually happens, it is not too late to build one.

And if you do not have the time or headspace to create it, find someone who can.

Your future self and the next poor soul in your seats will thank you.

Let's Get to Work

Kryssie