Download starting 30 years ago Basic theme

Spiral
Dynamics
What is Spiral Dynamics?
• Spiral Dynamics is a powerful model and
predictive theory of human development
and cultural evolution
• Successfully employed around the globe
for conceiving and implementing realworld integral solutions to social conflicts
and for catalyzing individual evolutionary
transformation.
• Theory and Tool for change
If you haven’t changed your mind
lately, how can you be sure – You
still have one?
Meme Defined
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A world view
A value system
A level of psychological existence
A belief structure
An organizing principle
A way of thinking
A mode of living
When there is a memetic shift, everything
changes
Tangible: Actions, Icons, Events, Places,
people and behavior
Intangible : Ideas, beliefs, theories, Courses,
trends, ethics, norms and issues
Meme Components
Why?
How?
What?
Context
Code
Value Systems
Ways of seeing
world
Display
Life Conditions
Surface
manifestations
Example :
Someone goes to a traditional function on a
Sunday.
Why?
To get insurance contacts – Orange
For the ceremonies – Purple
• Danger : By looking at behavior to judge
what will be the color
• Need to ask Why? Otherwise we may
foolishly make a judgement about their
meme color.
• Birds of same feather flock together is
about the meme color, not skin color.
Some clarity on SD
• Memes are not types of people but forms of adaptive intelligences in
people
• Spiral is not a pre-determined script. There is no ultimate outcome,
everything is produced by dynamic interaction with life conditions
• At each level say 5 need to manage that and the lower systems,
that’s why higher levels are more complex
• Transcend and include. Everyone is passing through all stages.
Cant destroy anything
• Individual will have pieces of the spiral. The spiral is more cultural
• Spiral is inside of us. We are not on it
• Systems gyrate in us. We are musical cords. We are blends of
systems
• Hierarchy is not about better. But about different for different life
conditions
• Orange is above blue because orange can include blue; blue can’t
include Orange
Some clarity on SD
• When orange hits population goes down. When
green meme hits people don’t get married or
stay married.
• Healthy people don’t have major vacuum in
earlier memes, lets say for example when they
come to yellow
• Depending on life conditions we can regress to
lower memes temporarily
• There is a hierarchy involved, but it is more
factual than evaluative. It is about “more
complexity”
• Your thriving depends if you can have a full
range in your repertoire.
• Memes do not represent a hierarchy of "better,“
• Each can be expressed in a positive and
negative way
• The whole spiral with its assortment of meme
codes is inside the person and may be called
upon in response to the demands of their
changing Life Conditions
First Tier
"Subsistence" valueMEMES
Basic needs, Competing
BEIGE
Instinctive/Survivalistic MEME –
starting 100,000 years ago
Basic theme:
Do what you must just to stay alive
• Uses instincts and habits just to survive
• Distinct self is barely awakened or
sustained
• Food, water, warmth, sex, and safety have
priority
• Forms into survival bands to perpetuate
life
Examples
• Cast away movie
• The only real BEIGE that exists today in its pristine
condition is hidden away in Indonesia and parts of Africa.
• Street people who are basically hunter-gatherers, who
get what they eat where they find it.
• In the horrible conditions of extreme poverty in Somalia
or Ethiopia, where it's a hand-to-mouth existence.
• Some people, when exposed to a catastrophe, may
regress to BEIGE. Higher-order priorities suddenly
vanish in the midst of personal tragedy, extreme
suffering, or deprivation
PURPLE
Magical/Animistic MEME –
starting 50,000 years ago
Basic theme:
Keep the spirits happy and the tribe's nest
warm and safe
• Bonding with people
• Obeys the desires of the spirit being and mystical signs
• Shows allegiance to chief, elders, ancestors, and the
clan
• Individual subsumed in group
• Preserves sacred objects, places, events, and memories
• Observes rites of passage, seasonal cycles, and tribal
customs
• First evidence of human bonding—the sense of a
kindred spirit, that "I'm someone because I belong to a
certain clan or certain tribe."
• First sense of the metaphysical
• Hearing inner voices, the voices of spirits.
• The PURPLE meme is heavily laden with such so-called
right brain tendencies as heightened intuition, emotional
attachments to places and things, and a mystical sense
of cause and effect.
• Sacrifice to the wishes of the elders, spirits and
ancestors to gain safety and security for the tribe
like group in a fighting world
• Heavy superstition, charms
• “The good spirit protected me”. So I need to
keep good spirit
• We see world as a battle between good and bad
spirits
• Purple sense of time is not watch time; it is
nature; season time
Examples
Examples:
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Bad omen if a cat crosses the road
Talisman
AD – going to my parents house before I go abroad
Keeping peacocks feather in our books
Pumpkin to ward off evil
Black dot on cheeks of children
Personification of nature
Family rituals
Magical new age beliefs
Using reiki to ward off spirits
in Africa, if the moon is full and the cow dies, the PURPLE mind connects the two
events, one causing the other
Rumors of downsizing in business – Purple threat. Overemphasis on what the chiefs
say (To counter this enhance purple bonding to people / product)
Vibudhi – Really true from purple lens
Rites of passage (age 13/14 – coming of age), memorable events, anniverseries
Examples
• Don’t mess around with purple; dangerous stuff;
Use It
• Indian Weddings – lots of rituals; purple stuff.
• Not all purple is about superstitions and
mystical. It is also about bonding; If bonding
order is dissolved and nothing is put in place we
have a whole society in chaos
• Royalty – keeper of purple
RED
Impulsive/Egocentric MEME –
starting 10,000 years ago
Basic theme:
Be what you are and do what you want,
regardless
• The world is a jungle full of threats and predators . A
jungle where the strongest and most cunning survive
• Breaks free from any domination or constraint to please
self as self desires
• Stands tall, expects attention, demands respect, and
calls the shots
• Enjoys self to the fullest right now without guilt or
remorse; To hell with others so as to find instant
gratification and avoid shame in a world of ‘dragons’,
pleasures and excitement
• Conquers, out-foxes, and dominates other aggressive
characters
• Gratify impulses and senses immediately
• Fight to gain control at any cost
• Punishment reinforces Red. Egocentric coping
mechanism – acts tough, assertive, bold and action
oriented
• Tends to be guiltless, believing that “you should get
everything you can get away with” and that “might makes
right”
• Depends only on the self – trusts no one else
• Red’s time frame – Now
• Incentive system has to be directly connected to
behavior
• Its all about me
• Loves big challenges to prove itself
• Live fast, Love hard, Die young
Examples
Example:
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Movies like Thirupatchi
AD-10 years back when I used to drive fast
AD-When someone cuts me on the road I overtake
Lot of our politicians, movie stars
Rebellious youth
In RED, we see high crime rates, we see all kinds of rage and rebellion, but
we may also see wonderful spurts of creativity, heroic acts, and the ability to
break from tradition and chart a whole new pathway
Rock and Roll
Cant wait for savings; cant put money in bank
How to bait red – Prove it to me; You can do it. Prove your macho. Work on
their impatience. (Instead of pushing red up the wall find positive ways of
dealing with them. If we come down too hard on them we freeze them in –
TRAP. If we let them do what they are doing- a life time of ego. Need to do
something to control. Not threatening. Red must respect you
BLUE
Purposeful/Authoritarian MEME –
starting 5,000 years ago
Basic theme:
Life has meaning, direction, and purpose
with predetermined outcomes
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Bonding with ideas
In BLUE there is a search for a transcendent purpose, a recognition of the
importance of order and meaning, a universe controlled by a single higher
power
One sacrifices self to the transcendent Cause, Truth, or righteous Pathway
The Order enforces a code of conduct based on eternal, absolute principles
Righteous living produces stability now and guarantees future reward
Impulsivity is controlled through guilt; everybody has their proper place
Laws, regulations, and discipline build character and moral fiber
Here for the first time is the capacity to feel guilt (RED feels shame, but not
guilt)
Righteousness, discipline, accountability, stability, perseverance, and order
prevail.
Purple is personal. Blue is more systems oriented. Good Vs Bad
A negative side of blue heavy dogmatism
Key element is finding meaning and purpose. Then conformity follows
Examples
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Institution of Family
AD - Many of the principles of truth and value I am upholding
All the isms, religions of the world
Mysticism – Purple / Blue
8 fold path of the Buddha
Enlightenment - Sacrifice self for later
Faith – Organised belief (Purple is more primitive)
Ancient nations. An ordered existence under the control of the
ultimate truth
Taliban – Blue to handle Afghanisthan – Red
Education; Going to college
Mandella Blue. Other Africans Heavy Red
Literacy – onset of blue; makes it possible to spread the truth
Heavy nationalism
Examples
Red to Blue: Transition is very difficult
– Gorillas dying for a cause
– Permission of blue :
• Terrorist
• Rogue police officer
Dying for cause is typically Red to Blue
The greatest obstacle to discovering the
Truth is being convinced that you already
know it.
Each one is saying : Follow me to the Truth.
There is a blue parade each with different
contents.
Fundamentally Christianity, Islam, Hinduism
all have same meme structures
ORANGE
Achievist/Strategic MEME –
starting 300 years ago
Basic theme:
Act in your own self-interest by playing
the game to win
• ORANGE is about advancement, improvement, and progress
• Change and advancement are inherent within the scheme of things
• Progresses by learning nature's secrets and seeking out best
solutions
• Manipulates Earth's resources to create and spread the abundant
good life
• Optimistic, risk-taking, and self-reliant people deserve success
• Societies prosper through strategy, technology, and competitiveness
• Play the game to win, cultivate optimistic, risk taking self reliance
• Measurement – Trial and Error
• Learns how to invest time and money for payoff
• If you want upliftment to orange think differently.
– Build richer digital sense. Digitalization : Commit ideas and events to
numbers
– Skills training around strategy and measurement. Cant just say develop
• Quantification with high hopes
• Multiple thinking. Looking at various
options
• More pragmatic way of decision making;
less based on ideologies
• Key element in orange is changeability
Examples
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India is going through this now
Industrial revolution
AD – My drive to build my business
Scientific method. From qualitative to quantitative measurement
Some fascinating things happened in the European brain that seemed to occur for
the first time in the 1700s—the mathematical sense, the sense of cadence, the linear
sense that made possible written music, that made possible quantification and
measurement
Orange takes many forms not just material; Strategic – for example Mahatma Gandhi
For a conference Gandhi did not wear the appropriate dress. Behavior looks red. But
we need to ask why? Strategy. Orange
Marketing research
Executives in companies look at the amount of money one makes as a way of
keeping score. They compare bonus. Never enough
Vision : can see something completed
Medicine
Cell phones
GREEN
Communitarian/Egalitarian MEME - starting 150
years ago
Basic theme:
Seek peace within the inner self and explore, with
others, the caring dimensions of community
• Seek peace in the inner self and explore the caring dimensions of
community
• The human spirit must be freed from greed, dogma, and
divisiveness
• Feelings, sensitivity, and caring supersede cold rationality
• Spreads the Earth's resources and opportunities equally among all
• Reaches decisions through reconciliation and consensus processes
• Refreshes spirituality, brings harmony, and enriches human
development
• The focus shifts from personal achievement to group- and
community-oriented goals and objectives—for GREEN, we are all
one human family.
• Spirituality returns as a nondenominational, nonsectarian "unity.“
• True green has orange embedded in it. Otherwise it is false green
• Feelings are most important – not truth, not power, not
safety, not material
• Everything is relative, truth is a matter of context and the
situation
• Explore the inner being of self and others
• Reach decisions through consensus
• Egalitarianism : The guarantee of “equality” for each
person to develop his/her potential
• To seek peace with the inner self and others, thus
producing a harmony and tranquil society
• Decision takes more time; they have to express feelings
• Rise of women
Examples
• AD – My people value driven way of building
People First Consultants
• Green Peace
• Human rights movements
• Multi culturalism
• Gender roles are derigidified
• Social class distinctions blurred
• Group therapy
• Never satisfied with handling inner child
Mean Green Meme
• Absorbs rather than contribute
• Attacks Blue and Orange
• Short step but important step to go to
Yellow
• Anti competitive; will hamper progress
There are both positive and
negative expressions to all the
memes
From 1st to 2nd Tier
• Completely different thinking patterns,
different minds emerging; new quick and
effective capability of solutions emerge
• Not driven by status; Not driven by fears;
No internal restrictions
• Not the next step. But a Leap forward
• Healthy expression of all memes
Second Tier
"Being" valueMEMES
YELLOW
Integrative MEME—
starting 50 years ago
Basic theme:
Live fully and responsibly as what you are and
learn to become
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Life is a kaleidoscope of natural hierarchies, systems, and forms
The magnificence of existence is valued over material possessions
Flexibility, spontaneity, and functionality have the highest priority
Differences can be integrated into interdependent, natural flows
Understands that chaos and change are natural
Planet is a total ecosystem
Sense the big picture and the interconnection of everything
Has an enhanced vertical perspective with the ability to transcend
and include and value what came before, and also to anticipate what
will be next
• Think in flow systems
• Less caution. Less fear. No arrogance
• Not attached to any particular idea or movement
• Recognizes billions of people are passing through 1st tier today. It
does not erode any code. Each code is essential; Blue in middle
east; 1st world – orange +; People who move through these stages
constantly.
• Yellow : Interior system of judgement: wisdom of others not always
better than one’s own
• Expresses self, but never at the expense of others or earth, so that
all life (not just my life) may continue in the most natural fitting ways
• Their closets are full of meme colors. They enjoy experiences in
each of the systems. Yellow has all 1st tier systems. Choices. No
meme conflicts
• Shame not there. People don’t like you. So? Far too authentic for
that
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Accepts inevitability of nature’s flow
Focuses on competencies, functionality
Every meme has truth
Self Interest without harm to others
Experience fullness of living on earth
Demands flexibility and open systems
Does not beat itself for what it has done in the past
Not affected by status
Recognizes split world. Does not rush in to artificially to heal wounds
Responds to competency and reason
Satisfaction from doing well but anathema to praise. When endowed
with lavish praise gets uncomfortable. Because it is self determined.
Challenge of doing something keeps it alive, not praise
• Free from inner compulsiveness but can enjoy the best of life
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Open to learn at any time from any source
Rely on what’s necessary, natural
Displays 2nd tier lifestyle priorities and preoccupations
Complex in design and simple in execution. Energy is put upfront
Existence ethic is the foundation stone for behavior that is rooted in
knowledge and reality
Takes what is and deals with what is – Reality based systems
What was right yesterday may not be tomorrow
Deals with paradoxes
If it is realistic and appropriate to be happy. Fine. If it is realistic to suffer
then suffering is appropriate.
Value comes from magnificence of existence. We are alive. We can
exercise choice. Rather than our selfish or group interests
In 1st tier there is conflict of memes. In 2nd tier if we know it is orange to
green system we give orange to green solutions.
Mobilizes whole community. All efforts focused laser beam
Transforming forms. Changing forms not just changing behaviors
YELLOW
"left brain with feelings"
TURQUOISE
"right brain with data."
TURQUOISE
Holistic MEME—
starting 30 years ago
Basic theme:
Experience the wholeness of existence
through mind and spirit
• Work on behalf of the Life Force itself, in its many
manifestations in life-forms on the planet
• The world is a single, dynamic organism with its own
collective mind
• Self is both distinct and a blended part of a larger,
compassionate whole
• Everything connects to everything else in ecological
alignments
• Energy and information permeate the Earth's total
environment
• Holistic, intuitive thinking and cooperative actions are to
be expected
Cycles of Change
I: Me: Mine
We: Us: Ours
Individual Focus
Collective Focus
Ratcheting towards Complexity
That pendulum swing
Creates Emergence
Swing between Individual focus
And
Collective focus
Self Expression Vs Attuning with nature
I: Me: Mine:
Take charge, make change, move against
nature, control the external world
Task: Explore the outside
Locus of control : Inside
We, Us, Ours:
(more of sacrifice)
Accept the inevitable, live within nature’s
constraints, focus on making peace
Task : Fix the inside
Locus of Control : Outside
Expressive Systems
Inner Directed
Red: Impulsive, To hell with others
Orange: Express self – now calculatively, not
to arouse the ire of others
Yellow: Express self Now – But not at the
expense of others
Sacrificial Systems
Value and Behavior influenced by external focus – Outer directed
Purple: Sacrifice self now to the wishes of
tribe, spirits, chieftan
Blue: Sacrifice self now to obtain later; Eg
going to college to acquire a skill, degree
Green: Sacrifice self now to obtain now for
self and others
• When any warm color rises we will have
harmonics of warm color.
• For example if orange is on rise, Red will
be on the rise.
Start looking at the world with yellow lens
A person can be self actualized in any level
Countries
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Singapore – Blue / Orange
India – Orange
Dutch – Orange / Green
Russia – Blue / Orange
Iceland – Purple / Orange
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Pre Modern : Purple, Red, Some blue
Modern : Blue, Orange
Post Modern : Green
Yellow : beyond post modern
Yellow and Turquoise : Celebrate pre
modern, modern and post modern
Practical Applications
• See spectrum of people as supposed to stero types. Not
treating everybody in the same way
• When problem solving, we need to decide where to
address, Which level?
• When we change behaviors and then put them back into
the same systems and structures, does not work
• How to motivate people? Wrong question. I need to
know what kinds of people. What kinds of thinking.
Otherwise we assume a commonality or a unified nature
of group which may not be the case. We need to get into
the habit of being specific. How would you express it to
Purple, Blue, Green etc
Practical Applications
• Company may be yellow thinking, however
some departments may require a different meme
person who is the best. Eg marketing – Orange
• Place yourself in different environments to
activate various memes from time to time – Then
there is much more natural move to 2nd tier.
• To gym various memes can do it in many ways –
music, movies etc
• Corporate: Compensation depends on what kind
of people are there : Red: Pay Cash. Blue: Can
delay – retirement programs
Bring Into your lives
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Noble Purpose – Blue
Responsible Profit – Orange
Sensitivity to People – Green
Respect for ecology and planet (not from
survival mode but from Authentic care
mode)- Yellow