Hillsboro Road in Green Hills is @ 2 Mile stretch of road that is quickly becoming legendary in Nashville as being “The Gauntlet” when it comes to traffic.
The reason is simple . . . 5 lanes (2 travel lanes each direction + Turn Lane) and (if I’m counting correctly) 9 Traffic Signals (Stop Lights), a few awkward interchanges (3 of those traffic signals are within @ 150 feet), I-440 on one end, “Shopping Mecca” The Mall at Green Hills in the middle, and a large residential population commuting to/from the city on the other end.
Of course, there are myriad Hospitals, Universities, Schools, along the way . . .
It’s roads like this that cause folks who are aware of the 80/20 principle (the Pareto Principle) to imagine what their driving life would be like if their GPS were to have a “20% Button.”
The 20% button would redirect them AROUND the Gauntlet AND know what the locals know in terms of where and when the school zones will create bottlenecks on the back roads.
All the while, the 80% traffic sits and waits.
I see this 80/20 play out daily . . . especially in the afternoons when traffic into Green Hills from I-440 and Downtown is particularly heavy . . . and I am perplexed by this “80% Herd Mentality” that we can see in action.
The right lane of traffic stacks up (the Mall is on the right side of the road) for the entire length of the gauntlet while the cars in the left travel lane sail along at cruising speed.
The only time to be in the right lane for the 20%ers is when travelling North bound and ONLY at the 2 “Chicane’s” – the light at the Mall and the trio of lights at Glen Echo.
There are times of day when the 20%ers know NOT to travel on Hillsoboro Road at ALL, so we opt to drive slightly longer distances using the back streets.
In simple terms, the 80/20 principle states that in all things there is a vast disproportion between the number of those who succeed and those who don’t . . . that a small portion of folks produce the lion’s share of the product . . . that a small portion of what you do will yield the highest return.
and it’s often represented as “80/20” – 80% of the people produce 20% of the yield – while 20% of the people produce 80% of the yield.
How do these 20%ers DO this, and how can we ALL become 20%ers thereby getting more out of our time on earth?
It’s all in knowing what YOUR PERSONAL 20% is . . . and spending 80% of your time, energy, and attention doing JUST THAT!
Of course to do this, you’ve gotta abandon this notion that being a “jack of all trades” makes sense . . . It may be time to SPECIALIZE . . . Create your NICHE . . . and navigate around (not through) the 80% gauntlet.
I designed Pareto Realty to do just this. Each of our Real Estate Sales Professionals is highly specialized geographically, demographically, and/or psychographically . . . This is how we are able to serve all parts of Middle TN. We stay in our respective 20% field of expertise and therefore are able to deliver a 20% level of service and yield 20% results for our clients.
We stand poised and ready to serve YOU and/or anyone you know is considering a move 🙂
Consider what YOUR 20% is and much time, energy, and attention you spend there.
Delegate or drive around your 80% . . .
Just sayin’
Best,
b
PS – I hope it’s ALL 20% for you through this season of celebration. Don’t let the hype (80%) distract you from the reason (20%) of the celebration . . . and love the ones who show up to celebrate with you 🙂