Have you ever heard of “the rule of three?” If you look, you’ll see triads everywhere…musical chords, comedy and literature, the holy trinity. In fact, the entire organizational structure of the United States Marine Corps is based on threes (Google it!) Now, what does it have to do with effective influence?
I can’t tell you how many times I have had participants ask me, “How will I know when to get involved in a situation?”, “How do I know when someone has gained some level of mastery?”, “How do I know if someone has an attitude problem, or is just having a bad day?” For all of these I invoke the “rule of three” – the lowest number of data points it takes to either establish or discard a pattern. In making decisions regarding the people that matter to you, consider the following:
- If you know of three examples of non-performance – there is a problem – get involved in the task.
- When you observe three demonstrations of mastery – they get it…what’s your exit strategy?
- After three incidents of anger or bitterness – it bothers them…find out why.
Put the “rule of three” to work for you.
