The Mechanics of Forming a TRIAD
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Most TRIADs of which one is a member may be developed on an individual
basis but, as an example of how to form TRIADs, let us first take the
case of a very large conference as mentioned in the previous chapter.
Let us suppose that there are a couple of thousand people in the hall,
but the size is irrelevant and the example can be sized up or down as
needed. One does need to know the size of the population with which
they are dealing before they begin. In this case with two-thousand, we
would first divide the group up into ten subgroups of approximately
two-hundred. This could be done by designating which physical rows or
sections in the meeting hall are in each specific group. A sub-group of approximately two hundred people will divide into approximately sixty-six TRIADs with perhaps a couple of people left over. You can then ask everyone, starting at the beginning of the rows or sections, to count off by the first person writing the number '1' on their program and showing it to the person sitting next to them, who would then write '2' on their program and show it to the person next to them, who would then write '3' - and so forth until they reach the number '66'. The next person would then again write '1' and show that onto the person seated next to them. Now ask everyone to stand up and move down enough seats so as to leave two seats between them sort of like you were playing musical chairs. The sixty-sixth person, or whatever limiting number you have selected, would then sit in the last seat in the section with two thirds of the people in the section left standing. Those left standing should now go sit next to the person still sitting in the section and holding the same number as they do. Then in each case all three people holding the same number will be sitting next to each other and will be designated a TRIAD. This may seem to violate the rule that the TRIADs must be voluntary but, since it is only a temporary situation, we will bend that rule. Sort of the old saying that, "rules are made to be broken". It is knowing when to break a rule and when to not do so that allows many systems to function. In the example given there will initially be about 700 TRIADs in the conference. The members of each TRIAD should take a few minutes to introduce themselves, tell where they are from, with what company or organization they are associated, perhaps their job assignment or credentials, or something by which their new TRIAD members will be able to identify them. They should also exchange pertinent conference info, as to where they are staying and how they can be reached, and they should arrange a meeting time and place for breaks and lunch. At some point the conference may suggest that the TRIADs arrange additional TRIADs for their members. Each member of a TRIAD could be asked to introduce each member of their TRIAD to someone else at the conference -- perhaps the person that they were initially sitting next to or to someone that they were attending the conference with. In this manner an extensive, although indefinable, network of TRIADs will develop and many evaluations/interactions regarding the conference will occur, thereby strengthening the conference and what people will take away from it. All the participants in this conference, and in the following examples of group gatherings, ostensibly have a similar reason for being present and therefore a purpose in forming a TRIAD. There are numerous other ways in which this mixing for the TRIADs can be arranged and their interaction take place. At the time of registration, whether in person or by mail or Internet, people may be assigned a TRIAD number. Some organizations may give the participants the opportunity to contact their initial TRIAD members even before the conference. Alternatively, at a pre-conference social, or 'meet and greet', there may be designated locations for finding and meeting with one's TRIAD members. There may need to be a TRIAD coordinator whose task it is to do on the spot reassignments when some members don't make it to a conference, some TRIAD is short a member or, because of a glitch, some TRIAD has a member too many. Initial TRIAD assignments are necessary in many situations where many or most of the people are relative strangers to each other. Care needs to be taken that the assignments are random to avoid introducing people to others they already know, such as processing registrations in the order they come in or a batch of registrations from a single source. There are as many other ways in which this mixing interaction can take place as one's imagination may allow. A TRIAD mending procedure also needs to be in place, for situations as mentioned above, where there is a 'no-show' at a conference or in the case where some assigned member(s) of a TRIAD is uncooperative about meeting with the other member(s). This could be simply a TRIAD coordination table and the TRIAD coordinator could simply assign those arriving at the table on a ‘first come/first served’ basis, or by some other criteria that they establish. In colleges and universities, in youth camps, in crises centers, in military and organizational intake camps and centers, in all sorts of large conventions and conferences or anywhere else where people are largely strangers to each other, this becomes a mechanism for giving everyone support in adjusting to their situation. For other events, such as trade shows, large fairs, large sporting events, contests, large open houses and public gatherings of every sort, this can be a voluntary mechanism for people to meet and share in the event with others. There can be a TRIAD booth where they can go and be assigned to others and, in this way, can share their experiences and get more out of the event. Such TRIADs will most likely, most often, be of a very short duration, just for the course of the event and oftentimes they may not work out for that. Sometimes a person may have to make several attempts before they find a TRIAD with which they are compatible. Nevertheless, it may very often be well worth the effort and they will gain much more from their experience at the event, as was their original intention in attending in the first place. Such TRIAD establishment can be very lackadaisical or very structured with the information about each TRIAD being maintained in a computer database. Sometimes for a very large organization, such as a large university or a military organization, it may be very desirable to track the TRIADs so that individuals don't 'fall between the cracks'. The purpose for doing this, and what one may hope to accomplish, is discussed in the next section of the book. At present the techniques of TRIAD formation will be poorly understood by the participants and most won't even have a clue as to why TRIADs are being formed or as to what the purpose of the TRIADs is; that is the nature of new social organizations. But as they become widespread, and if they serve a real and beneficial purpose, then social convention regarding them rapidly spreads. Examples of that can be seen in the adoption of traffic lights. When first seen people undoubtedly said, "What's that?" Those who first initiated the system truly wondered if people would pay any attention to them. Another example is the single queuing in banks, airports and other locations where people wait on the next available clerk to serve them, rather than creating lines for each clerk. Such things were unknown a decade or so ago and now I sometimes observe people doing this even when there is not even such a designated system in the establishment. In the case of forming higher level TRIADs, as will be designated later in Chapter Nine, it would be well if some formal convention were to become the practice. This could be as simple as an email stating: "We, Peter, Paul and Mary have on this date agreed to start a TRIAD." Someday, one may be glad to have an historical record of how long their TRIAD has been functioning. The purpose of the TRIAD need not be so formally defined as it may change over time, but the members should be continuously suggesting and defining their purpose and goals. For a social innovation as recent as TRIAD it may take a while for techniques of implementation to appear. However, today changes are rapidly introduced. We only have to look at Facebook and Twitter in the area of social networking to see how quickly they can occur. There is no telling what TRIADs could become in just a couple of years. Today’s young people are capable of quickly becoming conversant on how to set up TRIADs such as the following.
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