Triadic thinking contrasts three things.

Reality is very complex, but people have limited mental space and must simplify things to interpret them. Conversely, two variables alone will usually tell a one-dimensional story. Three variables strikes a good balance by still exposing a few levers to pull, but with a richness that suggests that more viewpoints and options are available than a black-and-white view would insinuate. Relatedly, the Maxwell Color Triangle can represent any hue from three variables. Triadic variables can produce 25 combinations of variable-priorities.rK1 Organizational design can be described in terms of the triad of modes of human interaction.


  1. Robert W Keidel, Seeing Organizational Patterns: A New Theory and Language of Organizational Design (Washington, D.C.: Beard Books, 2005). (See notes.)