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How to Use the EOS 3-Step Process Documenter

By Lisa González, Certified EOS Implementer® and co-author of Process! (The EOS Mastery Series). Updated June 10, 2026.

The 3-Step Process Documenter is the EOS® tool for systemizing your business. The three steps: identify your core processes, document and simplify each one, and package them so they are followed by all. Done right, the output is a short, usable set of documents your whole company actually works from.

I'm Lisa González, Certified EOS Implementer® and co-author of Process!, the official EOS book on the Process Component. I've facilitated this tool in hundreds of leadership team sessions. Here is how to run each step, with the mistakes to avoid.

Step 1: Identify your core processes

List the six to ten processes that run your business. My full guide to this step: How to Identify Your Core Processes. For most companies that means HR, marketing, sales, two or three operations processes, accounting, and customer service or retention.

Then name each one and agree as a leadership team to use the same name. This sounds trivial. It isn't. When sales calls it "the handoff" and operations calls it "intake," nobody owns it and nothing gets fixed.

Common mistake: listing 25 processes. If your list is that long, you're listing sub-processes. Roll them up.

Step 2: Document and simplify each process

Assign each core process to its owner. The owner documents the major steps using the 20/80 rule: capture the 20 percent of steps that produce 80 percent of the results.

The format that works:

  • Major steps as headers, roughly 5 to 12 per process
  • A few bullets under each step, around five or fewer
  • One to three pages total per process

Then simplify. As you document, you will find steps that exist only because "we've always done it that way." Cut them. Documentation is also your best process improvement exercise.

Common mistake: writing a procedure manual. The Documenter captures the high-level way your business runs (a process, not a procedure; the difference matters and I define both in Process vs. Procedure vs. Policy vs. SOP). Detailed checklists and screenshots live a level below, and only where the cost of error justifies them.

Step 3: Package it and get it Followed By All

Compile your documented processes into one place your team can find in seconds. Then roll it out deliberately:

  1. Train every employee on the processes that touch their seat.
  2. Explain the why, not just the steps.
  3. Build followership into your accountability rhythm. Process compliance belongs on scorecards and in quarterly conversations.

This is the step most companies skip, and it is the entire point. EOS calls the standard FBA, Followed By All. In my experience the documentation takes a quarter. Followership takes leadership.

What to do when the team won't follow the processes

Treat non-followership as data, not defiance. Ask why. The usual answers: the document doesn't match reality, it's too long to use mid-task, nobody was trained, or there's no consequence either way. Each of those is a leadership team issue with a fix. I wrote more on this here: Why Employees Don't Follow SOPs (and How to Fix It).

Frequently asked questions

What are the three steps of the EOS Process Documenter?

Step 1: identify and name your six to ten core processes. Step 2: document and simplify each one using the 20/80 rule. Step 3: package them and get them followed by all.

What is the 20/80 rule in EOS process documentation?

Document the 20 percent of steps that produce 80 percent of the results. The goal is the essential flow on one to three pages, not an exhaustive manual.

How long should a documented core process be?

One to three pages. Major steps as headers with a few bullets each. If a process runs longer, you are documenting at too low a level.

Who should document each process?

The owner of that process leads the documentation. The full leadership team reviews and approves each draft so the company builds shared clarity instead of silos.

Is there a worksheet for the 3-Step Process Documenter?

Yes. EOS Worldwide provides the official 3-Step Process Documenter worksheet in the EOS Toolbox. The book Process! expands the tool into a complete system for documentation and followership.

Want a facilitator who has done this hundreds of times? I work with leadership teams to get core processes documented, simplified, and followed. Book a discovery call.