Three Dynamics for Weaving Strong Relationships
Three Dynamics for Weaving Strong Relationships
A triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
What three dynamics are critical for life and business?
Why is a triple-braided or three-stranded rope so strong? According to the International Guild of Knot Tyers, “three strands, equally loaded, can take three times the force of one strand,” and “each accepts a greater or lesser portion of the load until all are sharing the load.”
(The discussion gets more technical if you’re into physics).
In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon used the metaphor of a triple-braided rope to explain how relationships strengthen us, our work, and our outcomes:
“I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun.
This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can.
But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone?
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer.
Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:10-12 (New Living Translation 2nd Ed.)
What can we learn from Solomon’s ancient wisdom?
Over the past four decades, I’ve worked with hundreds of founders, entrepreneurs, service company owners, and CEOs. I experienced these same three observations:
One person working by themselves will struggle.
Two people working together can help each other succeed.
Three people working together are strongest.
(I used this “three-strand” philosophy to create a marketing framework that allows service companies to achieve sustained growth. If one channel grows weak or falters, the other channels sustain it while it recovers.)
The Advantages of Companionship
Alone, we can go fast. Together, we can go far.
An ancient rabbinical saying is, “A man without friends is like a left hand without the right.”
Like a triple-braided rope, personal and business relationships woven with trust, generosity, and reciprocity are not easily broken.
Readers Respond:
What an amazing summary of King Solomon’s observations; the best I’ve ever read. How did I miss that all these years? Thank you!
Thank you for this! The circle of impact is getting tighter. We likely all know someone who became very sick or even who may have died. It is now becoming personal. And with this, the need for brotherhood becomes even more critical. This lesson speaks directly to all of us in this precarious time. Thank you.