One of the most impactful innovations I introduced at a children’s organization was the color-coding of bus parking sections. This idea emerged in 2013 when I first joined the transportation department. At the time, I was working alongside the camp’s owner, who had been running operations for over 40 years. He tasked me with organizing 100 school buses into their designated parking areas, each labeled with letters—A, B, C, D, X, Y, Z, ZZ—an organization system that had been in place for decades. Though I didn’t immediately understand the logic behind the letter designations, I recognized the system lacked a visual element, making it difficult to quickly navigate.

Inspired by this, I suggested color-coding the bus sections, a change that would make the complex parking system more intuitive. The owner agreed, albeit with one condition: I couldn’t print too many copies of the new color-coded map due to the cost of color toner. I promised not to overprint and set to work assigning colors to each section—red for A, yellow for C, and navy blue for X, among others.

At just 17 years old, I introduced this simple yet effective solution to a longstanding operational challenge. When a seasonal staff member noticed the color-coded map and asked for a copy, I mistakenly forgot the owner’s concern about the toner costs and eagerly shared it. Word quickly spread among the counselors, who loved the map’s simplicity. It became an essential tool for them to instantly recognize which bus sections to navigate to, without the need for reading long lists of text. This was just the beginning.

After one season, we saw the benefit of the color-coding and decided to eliminate the redundant letter designations entirely. In place of “Red A-section,” we simply used the color as the name of the bus route: “RED – Cedar Lane.” This change made our database more efficient by aligning the bus names with the color-coded sections, streamlining report generation, and making it easier to group children based on their bus location during dismissal.

To further enhance the system, I added a new element: 21-foot flags in the colors of the bus sections. Placing these flags in the center of each section made it even easier for counselors to find their designated areas amidst the bustle of the parking lot. With visual markers to guide them, counselors could now simply look for the corresponding flag to locate their buses, cutting down on confusion and saving valuable time.

We took it a step further by designating staff members as “Bus Captains,” responsible for overseeing the buses in their section. The Bus Captain ensured that each bus in their color-coded zone was accounted for, including managing any late buses and confirming that all children were on the right bus before departure. The Bus Captains were armed with daily reports detailing any changes in attendance and were positioned at the base of each flag, acting as the point of contact for all staff working in their section. This allowed for a more coordinated, hands-on approach to managing the buses and increased overall efficiency.

As the dismissal process continued to evolve, I identified another issue: the two exits for buses were causing traffic jams, as buses were often making conflicting turns. To alleviate this, I reorganized the buses within their color-coded sections, grouping them based on the direction they would need to travel upon exiting the lot. This simple adjustment ensured that buses leaving the left exit would all make left turns, while those exiting from the right would all make right turns, minimizing traffic congestion and streamlining the flow of buses.

The final improvement came when I organized the buses within the color-coded sections according to the geographic regions they served. For example, all blue buses went to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, while lime buses served areas south of 14th Street. This change added another layer of efficiency, as staff could immediately identify the bus’s destination based on its color. It also made it easier to account for external variables like traffic patterns, car accidents, and road restrictions. For instance, we could prioritize buses serving areas known for heavy traffic by adjusting their departure times.

These improvements were incredibly beneficial to both the staff and the administration. The color-coded sections made it simple to communicate complex logistics at a glance, while the new organization system allowed for more precise planning and flexibility. By the end of the season, the color-coding system had not only enhanced the efficiency of bus operations but had also created a seamless, intuitive experience for everyone involved.

Looking back, what started as a simple attempt to improve my own work process blossomed into a multifaceted system that solved numerous problems, from managing bus parking to streamlining traffic flow and optimizing dismissal times. I’m confident the improvements I implemented had a lasting impact, but I’m equally sure that there were still opportunities for further refinement if I had stayed with the organization longer.

Before the director passed away in 2017, I took the opportunity to ask him about the original letter system. He chuckled, recalling that he had adopted the letter designations after organizing just 15 buses in the lot. Inspired by a project he completed while attending Harvard, he thought using letters would be the best way to organize them. When I asked if he was okay with the switch to colors, he responded with a smile, saying he’d always wanted to use colors but didn’t know how to do so effectively. That moment gave me a sense of satisfaction, knowing that my work had not only built upon but also improved upon the vision of an influential leader.