When you start a business, it all starts in your head. You have an idea, fuel it with passion, and then make it real. In the early days of running your business, creating documentation is usually low priority. Accumulated knowledge stays in your head while you figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Remember the last time you were driving and one of those pesky warning lights showed up when it was most inconvenient? Or, you were trying to figure out how to turn on the lights for that rental car? After a futile attempt to figure it out through trial and error, you probably looked in the glove box, pulled out the owner’s manual, and found the information you needed.

Bill Marler’s post on a recent botulism outbreak emphasizes the need for clear operations protocol. An operations manual could have spelled out rules for record keeping, dispenser instructions, and safe temperature management.

Of course, the staff still need to read the manual and follow it, but it’s more likely they will, if the manual exists.