Part 1 – It is a magic number

What’s special about a tripod? A stool? Any three points in space? Many of us grew up with Schoolhouse Rock singing Three, Is a Magic Number. What is so significant about this number three?

There are patterns everywhere. Often referred to as the Rule of Three or the Power of Three, Things that occur in threes, or triads are groups that are more balanced, more complete, more dynamic, and more memorable. Here are some examples:

• Sizes Small, Medium & Large
• Color sets
  • Red, Yellow & Green on a traffic light
  • Red, Green & Blue television broadcast colors
  • Red, Yellow & Blue the primary colors
  • Red, White & Blue on the U.S. Flag
• Classic Stories
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears
  • The Three Little Pigs
  • The Three Billy Goats Gruff
• The Three Gifts of the Magi
• The Three Stooges

That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Great thinkers, leaders and presenters have found special strength by grouping their thoughts into threes. In Carmine Gallo’s recent book, The Storyteller’s Secret he points out that Pope Francis prunes and refines all his messages into the form of three points. It is one of the reasons how he became such a memorable and effective leader. In fact, most sermons and presentations by skilled professionals are arranged into three major points.

Leadership structure, like branches of government and various groupings within the military follow the pattern too. Check out the way the U.S. Marines are organized.

(Just for fun, go to that link and hit CTRL + F or CMD + F type “three.” It will find all the times that word occurs on the page. You’ll be amazed! It is far more than two or four.)

Part 2 – Why Three?

They all use three points to establish stability. Three points form a plane. A defined surface or virtual plane in space. That’s something. Any fewer, you’d have a line and you can visualize a plane along that path, but it can spin on that line like an axle. When is 3 > 4? If you go beyond three points, unless they are all exactly in the same plane, you are actually defining multiple potential surfaces. Think about a table that you just can’t get level. It is pivoting between two perfectly defined planes. You have to yield one of the points up or down to make it work.

Other than geometry there is a spiritual significance to the number three. Judeo-Christian beliefs have a heavenly God, a physical person of Christ and the third component, the Holy Spirit is the part of the triune God. Other beliefs simply label our existence into three levels of mind, body and spirit. So three is deeply wired into our philosophical and theological beliefs.

It is also a count that has a natural flow. A cadence that leads into the next cycle with momentum. Have you heard a waltz? It is one of several three-count forms of music that has a very pronounced ONE, two, three, ONE, two, three… That beat has started many feet twirling around a ballroom.

Part 3 – There may not be a why, it is a construct that works!

Maybe there is real, primitive substance to the number three. Maybe it is just psychological. We could pause and ponder on this topic all day. But the benefit is what it brings to the work you are creating right now. Take your work and stage it by threes and it will be better. It just works!

In the Matrix, one of the first tools Morpheus introduces Neo to is the construct. This white void is where they can create something out of nothing. It is a playing field where they can practice, learn, simulate and equip themselves. In the movie, the emptiness shows how much freedom there is. But the fact that certain variables or constraints are in place is comforting and helpful to give Neo a place to take his first steps in the virtual world. (Speaking of the Matrix, what was the name of Neo’s love interest? Trinity. How many Matrix movies were there? Think about it!)
A construct is a constraint that helps us perform better. To fit your ideas, your work or your presentation into a construct requires a strategic refinement of the content. It forces you to make hard choices and consider the timing and staging of the information. Filtering your work this way is a mark of maturity. It is not limiting if you do it right, it is the stage on which your work performs. You’ll never look at a three-ring circus the same way again!