If you’ve got a gnarly problem, you probably need a group of mates to work on it in order to make an impact.
So theoretically, more mates will mean more impact.
But maybe not.
Gnarly problems definitely require a few different bodies. It’s highly unlikely that a single person is going to arrive at a solution alone. At the very least, the company helps!
But particularly gnarly problems also usually require people to work together in all sorts of different configurations. Sometimes you’ll all come together to thrash out an issue. More often, you’ll divide and conquer, prototype and test, and learn and discover in smaller groups.
Therefore, you need a group where (ideally) any combination of people can function effectively, and who are also able to bring their whole selves to the big group conversation.
Thankfully, you can hit both of these with one thing: Good relationships between every person.
Simple to say, and challenging to do, yes. And if you’ll bear with me, there’s some simple maths to help explain why.
The number of relationships (i.e. connections between two different people) present in any group can one calculated using the equation R = n x (n - 1) / 2 (Where ‘R’ is the number of relationships and ‘n’ is the number of people (English explanation below*)
What this means is that if you have three people working together, you need to have three functional relationships to have both a cohesive group, and everyone can work together in smaller groups.
If you have six people, there are 15 different relationships.
Jump up to eight people, and you nearly double the number to 28.
And in a group of 10, there’s 45 different relationships.
How about an international rugby team with 23 people on the match-day squad… 253 individual relationships required for ultimate cohesiveness!
15 relationships (with a group of 6) is a manageable size , especially if you’re spending regular, frequent time together. On the other hand, 45 separate relationships (with a group of 10) is likely to require a specific environment to pull off.
This might explain why sometimes, more isn’t better, it’s just more complicated.
*To calculate the number of relationships in a group of people, multiply the total number of people in the group by one less than that total number, and then divide that result in half. (See maths has a point, if only just to save on space).