Confront the difficult
while it is still easy;
accomplish the great task
by a series of small acts.

Chapter 63, Mitchell


VI. ORGANIZE IN GROUPS OF THREE

Simplicity must govern groups as well. When creativists work together on a project, they drastically limit the scope of their intentions.

In keeping with this philosophy, I propose the rule of threes. This rule suggests that only three people may form a project group. If the task at hand requires more than three people, it should be divided into three separate tasks, each of which is considered a separate project handled by another group of three. Each group is considered a separate individual in the combined project. Any issues that involve the combined project, that do not fall within the jurisdiction of one of the subgroups, are decided by the subgroups, each voting as an individual.

For example, let's say that a group of creativists are talking informally at the local creativist meeting. The subject turns to software design. Each person has ideas about creating a multi-media education tool for chemistry students. They decide to form a project, and all agree to split the project into three tasks: the teaching system, the testing system, and the actual knowledge base (what it teaches). They split into three groups, each responsible for one of these three separate tasks.

Later on, the knowledge team decides that it's just too much for three people to incorporate all that is known about chemistry into the system. They decide to break their project into three sub-projects: organic chemistry, physical chemistry, and aquatic chemistry. They broadcast a message on the Immuexa network that announces their need for more people. Six people are chosen from those that respond. Each newly created subgroup proceeds with its separate task. The organic chemistry group decides to further break up the task. Three more groups are formed to handle organic chemistry task. Six more people are enlisted.

At this point, twenty-one people are involved in the combined project. Each person need only concern himself with the task at hand: what his group is working on. When an issue that affects the entire combined project is raised, such as the product name, all twenty-one people vote on it, but only as representatives of their immediate group. So, if all nine people in the organic chemistry groups opt for Lifetree as a name, but the six people in the other knowledge groups prefer ChemiTree, the vote for the knowledge project is for the latter, although more people prefer the former. Each group votes as a single individual, no matter how many subgroups, or people, it has. This keeps things simple. It's a balanced and manageable approach to working in groups.

Creativists can, of course, work alone. Each group of three is really three "groups" of one. The rule of threes simply states that projects should be split up into tasks that are manageable by one person or three people.

Many questions could be raised at this point, particularly why three? why not five? or ten? Three was chosen because it is the smallest number that allows for a consensus. It's as simple as a group can get.