Optimum Number of People in a Group

Video Transcript

"Ok, the first thing we have to take a look at is, how many people are going to be in our group. Because what we're looking for is an optimum number of diverse people. Which means, you might not have a group full of people that are your best friends, because, your best friends typically tend to be just like you, or you have a lot in common with them. So first we establish the number. We look at our work load, see how much needs to be done, how many different jobs there are, and we say, ok, we need four people. If you need four people, then don't get two and don't get eight. Because, if you only get two, which does constitute a group, a small one, then people will be so overwhelmed they can't get the work done. If you jump all the way over to eight, you've got too many people, which leads to a whole lot of problems like, too, not enough work for everybody and too many varying opinions. Because what we're looking for is cohesion. Cohesion in a group means that everybody, on a reasonable level, can get along and work together. So we're going to establish our number, then we're going to talk about assigning roles."