Clan Structure I - (Basic Concepts)
When creating a clan, the first thing you must do is create your clan structure. This stage is critical, and can either make or break your clan. Getting it right from the beginning is critical. You can make small changes later, but if the structure is fundamentally flawed, it is nearly impossible to correct it after you have a significant amount of members.
When creating your structure, regardless of how close to an actual military structure you decide to make it, a few basic concepts should be kept in mind.
1. Start Small
I can’t tell you how many clans I have seen fail because of this. They open a clan with 1012 branches from day one. It is a recipe for disaster.
When you open a clan, you can reasonably assume you won’t have 25 members day one; plan accordingly. Have one, maybe two branches at the beginning. This stage is where you can safely evaluate potential leaders without running a major risk. Additionally, your clan will likely be small enough to safely allow you to restructure without causing a collapse. In real life, small teams are more capable of quickly adapting to changes than large groups. This holds true for clans as well.
2. Make it Easily Scalable
This really goes hand in hand with starting small. If things go well, your clan should grow. Your clan’s structure needs to easily scale with it. Most clans do this with branches or squads, although there are a variety of alternatives. When you decide to scale, scale slowly. Open up branches in a timely manner, and ensure the clan is stable before creating new branches or units.
3. With Rank Comes Position
Don’t make things unnecessarily complex. A common mistake I see clans make is having too many ranks. As a general rule of thumb, a rank should be tied to a position. Having too many ranks causes confusion in the clan, especially in regards to who can issue commands. Don’t have ranks that aren’t absolutely critical, it might not seem like a big deal, but it is.
4. Idiot Resistant
When you are done creating your basic clan structure, you have one final experiment to run.
Assume you a potential recruit, with basic knowledge of real life military structure (even that is pushing it); how easy is the structure to understand? If you need to pull out a 15 page document to explain your clan, chances are it is too complex. If you need to explain the rank/political structure of the 14th Salt Dynasty in ancient Norway, you should consider a theme change.
I understand that larger 50+ clans will have more complex structures, including diplomatic branches, forge units, media, etc. That isn’t really the idea behind the question. You want new members to your clan, after only a brief explanation (2-3 minutes) to have a solid grasp of how the chain of command directly above them works.
For example, if you join the Army. Your chain of command, in simple terms, goes something like this.
You → Squad (Leader)→ Platoon (Leader) → Company (Commander) → Battalion (Commander)→ Brigade (Commander) → Division (Commander) → Army (Commander) → President
Again, that is simplified, especially toward the top levels, but you could effectively join your squad, and know how, and through whom orders are passed down. However it proves the concept. Give me 3 minutes, and I could teach a 5 year old enough about the army to give him a functional understanding. He might not remember the whole thing, but if he gets the first three levels or so, that is good enough.
To help you test your structure, ask a few random people on your friends list and try to explain your clan to them. If they understand it, that is a good indication.
-- II Power III
When creating your structure, regardless of how close to an actual military structure you decide to make it, a few basic concepts should be kept in mind.
1. Start Small
I can’t tell you how many clans I have seen fail because of this. They open a clan with 1012 branches from day one. It is a recipe for disaster.
When you open a clan, you can reasonably assume you won’t have 25 members day one; plan accordingly. Have one, maybe two branches at the beginning. This stage is where you can safely evaluate potential leaders without running a major risk. Additionally, your clan will likely be small enough to safely allow you to restructure without causing a collapse. In real life, small teams are more capable of quickly adapting to changes than large groups. This holds true for clans as well.
2. Make it Easily Scalable
This really goes hand in hand with starting small. If things go well, your clan should grow. Your clan’s structure needs to easily scale with it. Most clans do this with branches or squads, although there are a variety of alternatives. When you decide to scale, scale slowly. Open up branches in a timely manner, and ensure the clan is stable before creating new branches or units.
3. With Rank Comes Position
Don’t make things unnecessarily complex. A common mistake I see clans make is having too many ranks. As a general rule of thumb, a rank should be tied to a position. Having too many ranks causes confusion in the clan, especially in regards to who can issue commands. Don’t have ranks that aren’t absolutely critical, it might not seem like a big deal, but it is.
4. Idiot Resistant
When you are done creating your basic clan structure, you have one final experiment to run.
Assume you a potential recruit, with basic knowledge of real life military structure (even that is pushing it); how easy is the structure to understand? If you need to pull out a 15 page document to explain your clan, chances are it is too complex. If you need to explain the rank/political structure of the 14th Salt Dynasty in ancient Norway, you should consider a theme change.
I understand that larger 50+ clans will have more complex structures, including diplomatic branches, forge units, media, etc. That isn’t really the idea behind the question. You want new members to your clan, after only a brief explanation (2-3 minutes) to have a solid grasp of how the chain of command directly above them works.
For example, if you join the Army. Your chain of command, in simple terms, goes something like this.
You → Squad (Leader)→ Platoon (Leader) → Company (Commander) → Battalion (Commander)→ Brigade (Commander) → Division (Commander) → Army (Commander) → President
Again, that is simplified, especially toward the top levels, but you could effectively join your squad, and know how, and through whom orders are passed down. However it proves the concept. Give me 3 minutes, and I could teach a 5 year old enough about the army to give him a functional understanding. He might not remember the whole thing, but if he gets the first three levels or so, that is good enough.
To help you test your structure, ask a few random people on your friends list and try to explain your clan to them. If they understand it, that is a good indication.
-- II Power III