Good ideas about management and productivity often come from unexpected places. One of the most practical lessons I ever learned about getting work done didn’t come from a boardroom or a business school. It came from a manager at a 24/7 truck stop where I worked in the 1990s.
Truck stops are controlled chaos. The doors never close, the customers never stop coming, and corporate headquarters is always sending new directives. In that environment, priorities change constantly and problems appear without warning. One evening, while things were particularly hectic, my manager shared a simple framework that has stuck with me ever since:
"Systemize. Organize. Prioritize."
At the time it helped us survive the chaos of a busy truck stop. Over the years, I’ve found it works just as well in software development and data projects. In fact, I’ve used this approach since 1998 on projects ranging from small family businesses to Fortune 500 companies.
Systemize: Make Excellence Repeatable
The first principle is “Systemize”.
If something is worth doing well, it should be done the same way every time. Systems create repeatability. Repeatability creates reliability.
In software and data work, this might mean:
– Standard deployment pipelines
– Defined data ingestion processes
– Naming conventions and schema standards
– Automated testing and validation
– Runbooks for operations and support
Without systems, teams rely on memory and heroics. With systems, teams rely on process. The goal is simple: “make the right way the easiest way.” When good practices are embedded into the system itself, excellence becomes the default rather than the exception.
Organize: Everything Has a Place
The second principle is “Organize”.
At the truck stop this meant tools were always in the same place, paperwork was filed consistently, and inventory was labeled clearly. When things were busy, no one had time to search for what they needed. The same is true in technology.
Organization applies to both “tools and data”:
– Source code repositories with clear structure
– Documentation that is easy to locate and maintain
– Data catalogs and metadata
– Consistent folder structures and naming conventions
– Logical dashboard and reporting layouts
When systems are organized well, friction disappears. People spend less time searching and more time solving problems.
A good rule of thumb: “if something is hard to find, it will eventually stop being used.” Organization makes systems usable.
Prioritize: First Things First
The third principle is “Prioritize”.
In a 24-hour operation, there are always more things to do than time to do them. The key is deciding what matters most right now. In technology work, this often means distinguishing between:
– “Urgent issues” (production failures, outages)
– “Important work” (architecture improvements, documentation, automation)
The trap many teams fall into is living in constant urgency. When that happens, the important work never gets done.
And when the important work never gets done, it eventually becomes urgent.
Prioritization means deliberately investing time in the things that prevent future emergencies:
– Improving data quality controls
– Automating manual processes
– Refactoring fragile systems
– Documenting critical knowledge
These tasks rarely feel urgent today, but they often determine whether tomorrow will be calm or chaotic.
Why This Framework Still Works
Technology has changed dramatically since the 1990s, but people haven’t. We now talk about cloud platforms, data lakes, DevOps pipelines, and AI-driven systems. But the underlying operational challenges haven’t changed very much.
Teams still struggle when:
– Processes are inconsistent
– Information is hard to find
– Everything feels urgent all the time
That’s why the simple framework I learned decades ago still works:
1. “Systemize” the work so it is repeatable.
2. “Organize” the tools and data so they are easy to use.
3. “Prioritize” the work so the important things get done.
I’ve applied this approach to data projects since 1998, from small “mom and pop” organizations to large enterprise environments. The scale may change, but the principles remain the same. Sometimes the most durable management lessons aren’t complicated at all. Some lessons don’t come from an M.B.A. program. Some lessons come from a busy truck stop in the middle of the night.
