SYZERGY - Executive & business coaching, personal evolution

[Emergence]

Gandhi’s immortal words say, “We must be the change the world needs done.” But what if the change we think the world needs is not going to do the most good. Maybe we have to do the change that the world needs doing to it. Maybe the best thing for Iraq is not an Orange Green democracy, but a Red to Blue autocracy, rather like the successful autocracy of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore? Lee Kuan Yew took a nation with 5 ethnocentric groups, no local resources, and turned it into a stable, modern, wealthy country, without the overt Red bloodletting of Suddam.

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The Amazing Spiral. How to see the world differently.

In this article I will begin to discuss Spiral Dynamics™ giving a very general overview, and in later articles we will go into more depth with each of the codes, as well as look at practical application.

Since I was first exposed to this model, my life has definitely changed and been challenged in ways that I am most grateful for. Spiral Dynamics™ requires me to view the world differently. It allows me to understand complexity and events in a far more comprehensive way. It demands of me to see beyond the standard categories of race and religion.

Developed by Professor Clare Graves in the late 60’s, 70’s and early eighties, the model has gone through its own emergent process with the support of Dr. Grave’s protégé and Spiral Steward, Dr. Don Beck. In the last few years Spiral Dynamics™ has reached a critical mass around the world, and is now mentioned in some form or other on over 30,000 web sites.

Based on developmental theory, of which there are many highly researched theories, Spiral Dynamics™ is distinct in the way it can be applied to both the macro and the micro. From the development of the individual to the development of societies, cultures, and business, Spiral Dynamics™ has a universal application. In addition, by its very nature, it is an emergent theory; hence it is undergoing and will continue to undergo its own evolution, and can never be static.

Its basic model is the spiral, indicating higher and higher levels of complexity as systems evolve. A human mind is more complex than the mind of an amoeba. As we evolve to higher and higher levels of complexity, we include the lower levels in our development. Wilber’s transcend and include.

The model is hierarchical. This may cause some people some discomfort. At the level of the Green code, there is a movement that is anti-hierarchical, that wants to see the world as flat, with no person more evolved, or complex than another.

We all evolve through the spiral, however, depending on our life conditions and environmental influences, we may become arrested at a certain level. We can evolve through the spiral in a healthy way, or an unhealthy way, taking certain aspects of each level with us as we evolve.

Lets start at the bottom of the spiral, with Beige, the code associated with survival. (Please note, there are no correlations with the colours and any other system using colours. The colours have been chosen arbitrarily.)

Beige is a self-focused or ~I~ code, and the focus is pure survival of self. In the last week we have observed how easy it is for people who may be at a much higher level of complexity, to go right back to beige in a heart beat, given the environmental conditions, such as those of Hurricane Katrina. If I am thirsty and hungry and there is no water, or food, then I will do what I need to do to obtain them. Including looting. That is why it is called survival.

Purple is the next code, and is the tribal code. In Purple, we gather together, and honour the spirit world. There are chiefs and clans, and usually gods of rain, water, nature, the wind. In childhood, we have our mystical world of imaginary friends, we talk to our toys, we believe in fairies.
Purple is also seen in sport. We can become very tribal when supporting a team, or our country at the Olympics. There is a wonderful magical and mythic nature to purple. Purple is a ~we~ based code.

From Purple we move to Red. No longer willing to bow to the will of the tribe, we develop an ego, and start to create our own rules and way of being. Red is the egocentric code. It is also the code that produces creativity, entrepreneurialism, and both healthy and unhealthy aggression.
It is the code of the street gangs, the insurgency in Iraq, and the violence in New Orleans. Many people are afraid of Red, both within themselves and in others. I love my red. It allows me to think for myself, and fight if needed. (No matter how evolved we are, if we are attacked, sometimes we do need to fight.)
Red is an ~I~ based code. (You will notice that the spiral goes from I to We to I to We with each progression.)

After Red, comes Blue. At some point we recognise that anarchy needs systems, structure and order. Blue is the code of agreeing to a higher authority, such as a God figure. It is the home of the fundamentalist point of view, whether it be Muslim, Christian, or any other ~ism~. At Blue, I see the world as black and white. If you do not believe in my God, you will go to hell.
Blue is also the code that builds strong systems and structures, rules and order. Our work and life depends on healthy Blue to provide some order to the chaos. George W is strongly centred at Blue, and the US as a nation slipped from Orange to Blue after September 11. This was expressed in the extreme patriotism, the public persecution of anyone who spoke an opposing point of view, plus the resurrection of the strong Christian Right. Blue is ~we~ based.

Orange is the next code. Orange is the achiever code. The “can do” code. The code of ~Greed Is Good~, return on investment, opportunity. It is the world of high businesses, where the focus is on maximum return, no matter what.
It is an ~I~ based code. Healthy orange is required to keep technology and innovation evolving.

Then comes Green. Green is the Greens. It is environmentalism, save the Wales, feminism. We cannot reach Green until we have enough money in the bank to take care of our needs. People in Darfur are not concerned about the environment. They need to feed their kids, and themselves. They simply have no capacity to think about anything else. Green is a ~we~ based code.

Obviously Green and Orange do not get on. Actually this is a common element of the first six levels of the spiral, from Beige to Green. We will commonly have aspects of ourselves with elements of many colours; however, our centre of gravity will be in one code. And if I am at Orange, I see people at Green as idealistic, wasteful, and impractical. If I am centre of gravity Green, I see Orange as the code that is only interested in making money, and screw the world and our future environment. The truth is, we need both. Healthy Orange and Healthy Green. And, we had to come through Orange to get to Green.

If I am trying to apply an Orange Green democracy to a Red Blue system, it simply will not work. Just as it will not work to expect a 4 year old to go out and get work, save money, and be aware of the consequences of all his actions. We have to start solving the world’s problems in a way that speaks to the problem at its level of development, not to our level of development.

Finally, in Spiral Dynamics™, we need to look at second tier. Between the Green code and the next code, Yellow, there is a monumental leap. The jump to second tier indicates two overarching points. The first, the ability to leave behind the fear of survival. The first six codes are about survival, first of self and finally of our earth/world. You can recognize second tier by the absence of fear.
Secondly, second tier recognizes that all codes are good, needed, right, and necessary. A healthy system has healthy Purple, Red, Blue, Orange and Green. My business needs to have some rituals and community, resourcefulness and creativity, structure and order, return on investment, and mindfulness of the effects we have on the environment, the world, and each other.

The Yellow code is another ~I~ based code. You could say it is left brain data, with feelings. At Yellow, we are looking for an integral approach. There is a more comprehensive worldview. We can see more clearly the patterns and relationships that are occuring. Yellow is about survival, but survival of the whole. Because it is ~I~ based, there is a strong individualistic focus.

Turquoise, or the second of the second tier codes, is a ~we~ based code, right brain with data. There is less information about Turquoise, because so very few members of the population have their centre of gravity there.

Yellow and Turquoise combined produce the Spiral Wizards, those people who are clear that their work involves the healing of the spiral. Often times you will not notice these people. They work behind the scenes. They no longer have a need for ego promotion or gratification. They simply get on with it, quietly.

In the next article I will write more on the application of Spiral Dynamics™? both at the local/personal level, and on the global stage.

Announcements.

1. If you would like to attend a tele-discussion on Spiral Dynamics™, please send an email to Christine@syzergy.biz and we will send you call details and times.

2. Next month we will also be publishing an article written by Top Human from China, an inside view to the growth in the Chinese market from a leadership perspective.

Speaking Calendar.

September 30th, ICF Conference, Brisbane Australia, “Presencing the Head and the Heart in Business Leadership.”
October 5th, Brisbane, Australia, Dare to Care.
October 19th, ICF Sydney Chapter, Spiral Dynamics™

Resources.

For those of you interested in Global Affairs and our changing world, please rush out and buy ~The World Is Flat~ by Thomas Freidman. An excellent and must read book for anyone who is interested and concerned about our changing world.

For more informational about Spiral Dynamics™ please visit.
www.spiraldynamics.net
http://www.wie.org/spiral/
http://www.humanemergence.org/