“Your careers will be determined largely by how well you speak, by how well you write, and by the quality of your ideas… in that order.” Patrick Henry Winston

 The human brain looks for patterns to make meaning of the multisensory experience of the world around us.  Science shows that the smallest number to make a pattern is three. This ‘rule of three’ creates a simple pattern to communicate complex ideas effectively.  This pattern is short, memorable and, as a result, extremely powerful.

Three words or phrases suggest completeness.  Anything more is overload.  Any power of persuasion is lost to the law of diminishing returns.

Our own branding ‘Expert Game Changers’ provide clients with three words that tell them about our values, how we’re different and all they need to know about the interims we place.

Interim executives would do well to consider what three words best capture them when describing themselves to potential clients, on their CV or to an interim management firm like Holdsway.  We like to call it ‘what’s on the tin’: your distilled message, your personal strapline, what makes you stand out from the crowd. A particular favourite which one interim uses is: ‘enabling the future’

From the Latin: “Omne trium perfectum”:  perfection is rare, but the ‘rule of three’ comes close.

Mary Murphy, MSc Psychology

Partner, Holdsway