Understand behaviour by understanding the brain

Do you have problems managing large groups of people?  I have a solution for you.  Read on.

There is limited space in our brains.  Our brains are similar to a Tupperware container  - you can only fit in so much.  There is a name for this – in cognitive psychology, they call it ‘Channel Capacity’.   You have different capacities to absorb and process different types of things.  You have an intellectual capacity, feeling capacity and a social capacity.   

The part of your brain that deals with complex thought and reasoning is called the neocortex.  Primates (monkeys and apes, including humans), have the biggest brains of all mammals and the neocortex is particularly large.  For years, scientists have wondered what determines the size of the neocortex.  Is it eating habits?  Is it intellectual ability?

A British anthropologist called Robert Dunbar discovered the answer – the larger the neocortex, the larger the social group in which the primate is able to operate effectively.  Humans have the biggest neocortex of all primates so we can operate better in larger social groups than say chimps or monkeys.

Dunbar’s research determined that the biggest group in which humans can cope effectively is made up of 150 people. 

Dunbar researched this in depth.  He studied primitive communities and noticed the average size of villages was 148.4 people.  Military organizations have admitted they cannot operate with more than 150-200 people.  If there are more, formal hierarchies and rules and regulations are essential in order to manage people properly.

Below 150 people, it is possible to operate in an informal way because people can regulate behaviour through mutual loyalty and direct contact.  If you have more than 150 people in a group, it changes the dynamics completely.  Relationships are a lot of work and big social groups can create an intellectual burden – you need to manage time and attention and consider personality types and communication abilities of others in order for interactions to be meaningful and mutually beneficial.

WL Gore is a highly successful, billion dollar company with thousands of employees.  They have a unique, informal management structure and have retained their small company camaraderie and ethos. 

Guess what?  At WL Gore, all factory and office groups never have more than 150 people.  The founder, William Gore said, ‘We found again and again that things get clumsy at 150 so 150 people per plant became the company goal.’

Consider how your company is structured.  Our neocortex is a limited size and can cope with a limited number of interactions.  If you make some small changes, you may notice some big results.

 

SOURCE:  The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

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