Compras Nikon Bluetooth |
This book provided me with insights about human nature like never before! This explains why people in different memes really can't communicate with each other at a deep level (especially while we are in the first tier memes). It has always been a mystery why people can't understand some things that seem so simple to me. But then again, I am sure that other people feel the same way about me. I feel I understand the yellow meme in my head but emotionally, I'm not really there yet. I've read another terrific book on this type of topic called "The Ever-Transcending Sprit" by Toru Sato that is helping me move in that direction. It looks at this from more of an interpersonal and intergroup perspective and the theory is slightly different but it helps you understand things better from a green-yellow and maybe even turqoise perspective. I guess these books are for people in the green-yellow-turqoise area. Clare Graves and his students are thinkers well beyond our time. I wish that the general public catches up to them a little bit faster than they are doing (for the sake of humanity). But then again, it is a natural process, a natural spiral.
2 Fabulous Cultural Analysis with Wide Implications
Spiral Dynamics possesses a childish charm that is typically absent in any study of such intellectual depth. At the core, Spiral Dynamics is a heirarchical (holarchical) evolution of values, motivations and drives. These are WIDELY applicable in business, sociology, anthropology, politics, and foreign policy.
The initial theorems were concocted by the late Clare Graves, and his two predecessors Beck and Cowan have not only adapted these profound analyses to a broader (non-academic) audience, but have added a unique flavor of their own.
Now I have friends who have been mildly exposed to Spiral Dynamics, and they're immediately put off by the color scheme, with a puritanical disgust for anything with such an "unintellectual" resemblance. On top of that, the kiddie analogies even make the reader feel quite... well, admittedly juvenile at times. But the beautiful thing is, these are SERIOUS and PROFOUND discoveries with WIDE implications (as been shown by Beck and Cowan's social and cultural work around the planet); these simplistic representations of such dynamic and deep material helps the student understand the points and quickly push to deeper and more pertinent questions. For instance, instead of saying "The membership-driven meme, desiring conformity and sociocentric awareness," it's much easier to say "The Blue Meme."
On top of that, the book leaves an open-end with the mathematical structure of the spiral which has interesting implications as far as patterns of evolution are concerned (in whatever medium they occur).
Enough of the mumbo-jumbo, highly recommended.
3 Wilber pointed me in this direction...
I am still in the process of reading this book so I may have to alter this review when I am finished - but I doubt it.
This is an amazing tome of cultural analysis that provides a metaphor that is truly accessible. I mean, this model provides a texture that allows for REAL interface.
My only previous exposure to this model was Ken Wilber's "A Theory of Everything" and the article on SD in the Boomeritis issue of Andrew Cohen's What is Enlightenment? Magazine.
However, as much as I am really digging this text, I'd suggest getting some intro material before you plow through this magnificent beast.
4 The book is complete but I am missing something
I would suggest looking on the Internet for an overview of the Spiral Dynamic theory and THEN buying this book to learn more.
Essentially, Spiral Dynamic is a well chosen name for a theory defined by Clare Graves back in the fifties and given a pompous name by him which can be found in the book. Beck and Cowan are FAR better writers than Graves, but they acquired some of his professorese style unfortunately. So you will have to be prepared for that. They also distract the reader with stuff about matters such as Gympty Dumpty which did not seem to this reader to have anything to do with anythng.
As for the theory itself, it begins with the fact that has been known since ancient times that everything evolves in cycles. This was known to Plato and is the basis for the pseudo-science of astrology. Graves did not discover it. Graves adds to that the insight that at one end of the cycle everything is about ME and on the other end everything is about THEE. The cycle is therefore a cycle between MR and THEE, between self centeredness and other centeredness. Thus the "let them eat cake" crowd is at one point in the cycle and the "social consciousness" crowd is at the other.
Graves further adds that we do not stay at ME or THEE but oscillate between these two. Reagan therefore started out as a Democrat (THEE) and ended up a Reagan oriented Republican (ME). Most people do become more conservative (ME-oriented) as they grow older.
To that Graves adds the interesting insight that instead of thinking of cycles as circles we think of them as spirals. Every time one completes the cycle one ends up on a higher level. This is indeed a major insight. From there on it seems pretty ordinary to this reader.
At an abstract level that is pretty much it. At a content level the book points out that some people belong to fundamentalists religious cults and others belong to street gangs. Some people are entrepreneurs and others are tree huggers. Well, that is certainly true, but my reaction is that anyone who has been awake for the past ten years should know that. It seems like the classic No Jive Headline.
One is reminded of George Bernard Shaw's fictional dialogue with Pavlov. P's great discovery was that if you show hamburger to a hungry dog, his mouth waters When asked how long it took him to figure that out, Pavlov answered twenty five years. To which Shaw's fictional reporter answers that he could have told Pavlov that in twenty five seconds. Forget twenty five years. I mention this because it apparently took Graves twenty five years to figure out that some people belong to street gangs and others start businesses. Maybe I am missing something but I just could not see what is so profound here.
5 Super Book
This book has been well described by other reviewers and is a must read. It is also the book Ken Wilber presently uses in his integral philosophy. The memes presented in this book are clear and very useful. Since Wilber believes there is a third tier, and concentrates very much on second tier, it would be useful to get a second edition providing Cowen and Beck's views.
Wilber also uses this book as the spring board to his Boomeritis book and the green meme. A must book.
6 Excellent theoretical framework!
The authors of this book have an excellent theoretical framework and though a bit technical, they explain it very well. The theory is extremely valuable and useful but we should also beware of the inherent danger in theories like this. Because of our egotistical nature as readers, we automatically assume we belong to the higher level memes and begin pigeonholing and stereotyping others assuming that others are at lower level memes never noticing that this type of thinking is one of the characteristics of memes at certain levels. A great book that reminds of the fact that we are all participants in this process and not mere observers looking down from above is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It shows us that it is not only important to understand the process but to facilitate the process by respectfully participating in it.
7 Spiral Dynamics
The conceptual approaches used in this book are the best I have come across in my research as a Social Ecologist. I have been researching systems theory for nearly ten years in attempt to understand why we have so much difficulty learning socially (and to a lesser extent individually) from our experience. While some admirable work has and is been done at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury and in a few other places, none have been able to address the dilemmas of human agency (the use of power) as well as this model.
It presents us with the next step with dealing with the dilemmas posed so brilliantly to us by Jarod Diamond in "Guns, Germs and Steel"
We humans are fast running out of time to address our own weaknesses and this is a welcome conceptual breakthrough. However it is a pity this book is not written with more generosity and humility or written in more accessable language. The ideas are too important to be tied up in a top end hardcover. I hope someone re-presents these concepts in a more broadly intellectually, culturally and commercially accessable format.(To take a "Meme" leaf out of the book)
When it all said and done many of the great intellecual writers in Western Literature are notoriously inaccessable in their writing style. I think we must give the authors the credit they deserve for publishing it, for all its flaws. I am embarassed for the reviewers who cannot see beneath its flaws.
A long overdue and welcome book.
8 Must read for leaders & business coaches
As a CEO and business person for the past 15 years I thought that the vMEMES distinctions provided an explanation and a guide to managing change within organizations that is extremely useful and unique. I first learned of this work through Ken Wilber's books and was intrigued in how Wilber has integrated it into a "Theory of Everything". I believe that Spiral Dynamics provides a grounding and a depth that make it a critical read for anyone interesting in understanding, facilitating, and mastering change initiatives.
9 Come on now!
I have not read this book yet but have some insights into its content. The reason I am writing this review is because I nearly rolled over with laughter as I read the other reviews. I wondered what color corresponds to the arguments and the justification that followed. You all can do better than that. Lets be turquoise!
PS the five stars are for the pleasure and laughter you gave me this morning.
10 Valuable Theory - Difficult Writing
This book is based on the work of Clare W. Graves, a professor of psychology at the Union College (Schenectady, NY) who developed an evolutionary model of values somewhere in the 60ties. I was introduced to this material through the work of Wyatt Woodsmall, who wrote a more accessible introduction to this material as part of the book "Time Line Therapy and the Basis of personality" (published in 1988). If you are interested in studying values and cultures, I recommend buying both books.
The two reasons why this book only gets 3 stars are 1) the way it is written and 2) because the authors have written it "as if" they are the *sole* owners of this theory, a kind of thinking that shows they haven't reached the highest level of evolution themselves. The second remark may explain why one cannot distinguish between the original thinking of GRAVES and the extensions of the authors. The first remark explains why this book is hard to "digest": the structure of the book doesn't make it easy to collect all information for each level, nor is it easy to derive from the book how one would apply these principles, say in a therapeutic or business context. Also an index is missing, but that is partly compensated by adding a good resource list at the end of the book.
Graves' model is a dynamic model of human consciousness evolution, which includes 7 levels of development, each with particular kinds of thinking and beliefs. At jobEQ we recommend this kind of thinking to find out whether someone you want to hire is "compatible" with your companies culture. Beck and Cowan have been using Graves work on an even larger level: looking at values that are valid across cultures and subcultures in society, for instance helping to resolve conflicts between subcultures in the UK and South-Africa.
Patrick E.C. Merlevede -- co-author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"
11 Beautiful theory. Not beautiful writing.
Ever listen to two people argue and realize that they don't really disagree, they just can't understand each other? Ever contemplate two mutually contradictory perspectives that seem to have equal validity? Spiral Dynamics is a powerful and beautiful psychological/philosophical theory that explains the above everyday phenomena better than any other theory I've encountered. It simply posits that humans develop through different, all-encompassing views of life as they mature. Unfortunately, in the book "Spiral Dynamics", Beck and Cowan have aparrently tried to market this theory to a management market by dressing the terms up in CAPITAL LETTERS, bold type, and the ridiculous superscripted "v"-MEME. I assume this is to make them seem like scientific acronyms, like DNA or H2O. Why? Have faith in the theory guys, it's a good one. I just hope they don't screw up the Clare Graves book that they are currently editing. Of course, I'm sure that it will be exorbitant, like the volume under review. Again, why? I suppose, in SD terms, the authors are merely writing for an orange audience, but between that and their exorbitant prices, they come off as rather first tier.
12 Clarification Concerning Previous Reviews
A brief note regarding comments made by the previous reviewer:
When Blackwell Business Publishers published Spiral Dynamics, they did not include an index developed by Don Beck and Chris Cowan (mistakes like this do happen sometimes with academic publishers). Interested readers can contact the authors directly at ... for further details and updated research. Any initial "X-Files" feeling is dispelled once you become more familiar with the model, and the milieu that it evolved from.
Spiral Dynamics draws extensively upon over 40 years of research by Beck, Cowan, and their mentor Clare W. Graves. The original research data includes over 500,000 interviews conducted over five continents, and is comparable to other "biopsychosocial systems development" research conducted by Jane Loevinger, Stanley Milgram, Laurence Kohlberg, Erik Erikson etc.
What makes Graves unique however is that he created a dynamic model of human consciousness evolution which can assimilate other models and worldviews. He also recognised that insights from Cognitive Psychology, Genetics, and Neurophysiology would need to be examined. Fans of NeuroLinguistic Programming, General Systems Theory, Memetics and the Human Potential Movement will find a wealth of material, plus reading resources for further specialised research.
SD has been applied to resolve racial tension in South Africa, in education systems and government, by the World Future Society State of the World Forum, Arlington Institute, and Integral Institute, and by major companies such as Nedbank and SouthWest Airlines. Anyone questioning its credentials simply haven't done their research.
Its scope and depth surpasses what masquerades as "snake-oil" solutions: SD asks "why" such solutions are posed; what the prevailing "life conditions" are in an individual's life, company's growth, or country's situation (the interaction of historical times, geographic place, human existential problems, and social circumstances); and in examining change, questions "from what . . . to what?"
13 Sweet Smelling Snake Oil or X-file Classifiable Insight?
I bought the book based on these glowing 5 star reviews. At first glance, I thought the book was complete phantasy and the authors must be just mad...yet curiously the book contains some down-to-earth examples. For example:
"[Tom Peters] initially made his name and fame in 1982 by preaching the virtue in 'pursuing excellence' and of MBWA -'...by walking ...' A decade later he seemed to recant a bit, deciding the who 'excellence' theme was 'about wacky idea' and the companies he selected as 'excellent' were not that, after all. They just did some 'excellent' (does that also mean 'wacky'?) things. [The text continues with 8 more high-quality paragraphs of this Tom Peters argument/analysis...see pp.24-25] "
Such depth is not consistent with a Snake Oil business/psychology book.
Nevertheless, I must warn you that I cannot fully endorse this "vMEMES" concept as it seems analogous to an only-in-Alice-in-Wonderland "cross-breading": 1/4 respected Freud's psychodynamics, 1/4 Eastern Philosophy bio-energy fields (eg Chi from Taoism), 1/4 semiotics, 1/4 molecular biology.
In fact, this "cross-breading" is built into the very spelling of the word "Memes." The book calls a "vMEMES" a "PsychoSocial DNA"; "MEMEs" conveniently rhyming with genes. Also of note is "MEMEs" conceptual and etymological similarity to the semiotic terms: morphemes and phonemes. (From Schaum's Outline on Psychology: Morphemes--"the smallest meaningful units of a language"; Phonemes--"the basic sound or inflection components of a spoken language")
Conclusion: I haven't decided if the good and insightful business examples are just facades covering over the sweetest snake oil I've yet seen in a junk business/psychology textbook or if the originator of Spiral Dynamics and the authors of this book have discovered a useful, yet unverified, dynamic component of the human being's bioelectric personality pattern (ie, the energy that moves around the neurons of our brains' when we think).
About my Rating: First, this book is currently in my "X-files" category. Second, it has no index. So I've given it 2 stars out 5. (I could change my mind in a few months if these "vMEMEs" explain any phenomena I experience in the areas of "mastering values, leadership, or change." I have yet too...still why no index, professors Beck and Cowan?)
14 May be one of the most important books of the millennium
The flaws in this book should not obscure the fact that this may be one of the most important books on human behavior of the millennium-probably even more important than even the authors realize. For this is the first book to link two of the most important concepts in human behavior of our time-the theories of psychologist Clare Graves and the concept of memes.
(I have been working with Graves' theories for about 25 years, and had the pleasure to collaborate with him on a consulting project in 1976. Regarding memes, I have been teaching about them for about 5 years.)
Graves integrated "bio-psycho-and socio-" in a way that resulted in the identification of clearly distinct levels of existence, with each level having its own psychological and behavioral characteristics. This was a remarkable revolutionary achievement, especially in light of the subsequent work of others that corroborate the characteristics of each level. Beck and Cowan have conveniently provided excellent references for each level.
A second revolutionary idea comes from the 1973 work of Richard Dawkins, who while discussing the need that genes have to replicate themselves ("The Selfish Gene"), also posited the existence of another replicator, a unit of cultural transmission, which he dubbed a "meme" after the French word for imitation. After lying dormant for many years (except at Microsoft-see Richard Brodie's "Virus of the Mind") the concept of memes has arrived. And although I have been teaching about memes for five years, even I have underestimated their importance until recently, thanks to Susan Blackmore's book "The Meme Machine." Since Beck and Cowan are the first to write about the linkage of Graves' theories and memes, they are blazing the trail for what may become a major field of study in the future.
And now for some nit picking. The authors use colors (Red, Blue, Orange, etc.) to identify the Gravesian levels. I understand why they did so, because I, too, have grappled with the issue of whether to use Graves' original nomenclature or some other scheme. I personally prefer Graves' original nomenclature, and believe colors have more disadvantages than advantages.
Somewhat more troublesome is the authors' tendency not to clearly differentiate Dr. Graves' theories from their own extensions of his work. While I have no trouble separating the two, the average reader would have trouble doing so. Nor am I comfortable with calling the various levels "vMEMES," because it implies that each Gravesian level is primarily memes as opposed to a complex combination of a neuro-chemical predisposition and memes that are compatible with it.
One major advantage of Graves' theories is that it allows for prediction of second tier characteristics based on the characteristics of corresponding first tier levels. The authors missed the opportunity to project what the "Coral" (Graves' C'P') level would look like. The authors also omitted consideration of where Graves got some of his memes. They don't mention the early influence of Gerald Heard ("The Five Ages of Man") or the work of Harvey, Hunt and Schroder ("Conceptual Systems and Personality Organization").
Aside from these relatively minor criticisms, Beck and Cowan's book is extremely important because it ushers in a new focus on Gravesian levels and memes-a terrific combination for understanding and predicting human behavior. Hopefully their book will stimulate academic research as well as a wide range of practical applications.
15 Stunning Guide To Revitalising Teams And Communities
Based on the 'Bio-Psycho-Social' Systems framework of Dr. Clare W. Graves, authors Dr. Don Edward Beck and Christopher C. Cowan have developed a powerful tool for revitalising individuals, business and sporting teams, and communities. This book is truly 'third-way' thinking for the new millennium.
Beck and Cowan fuse many different elements together into a powerful and *practical* synthesis, including the latest scientific research from neuro-biology, multiple intelligences, memetics, paleo-psychology, values systems design, and various schools of business management. Like grasping Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), this initially takes some personal commitment and intensive self-study, but the longterm benefits of Beck and Cowan's lucid comments are well worth the initial effort. The models are part of a wider 'Third Culture' paradigm that many academics and cultural theorists firmly believe will become a major force within empirical mainstream science over the next fifteen years.
The book also has an invaluable extensive reading list covering the major conceptual theorists and models across many disciplines. It covers over thirty years of pioneering academic research and subsequent real-world application.
Spiral Dynamics principles have been successfully applied to a wide variety of situations, including blue-chip corporations, sports teams, and high-level government institutions, and the authors have consulted with many international institutions, including the Clinton (U.S.) and Blair (U.K.) administrations, the World Future Society, the London School of Economics, and the EC Committee for the Future. Beck is highly regarded for his 'behind-the-scenes' geo-political work since the early 1980s in South Africa dismantling apartheid.
Like the 'Six Thinking Hats' of Edward de Bono, the controversial 'crazy wisdom' of Tom Peters, or the leadership principles of Stephen Covey, a knowledge of Spiral Dynamics will add a powerful real-time diagnostic tool to your perceptual engineering toolkit. In an increasingly hyper-real postmodern world, Spiral Dynamics principles will enable you to outwit your competitors, gain an understanding of the 'psychological DNA' of your customers and market niche, and promote effective and efficient high-performance teams and encourage leadership within your organisation.
16 The best insights into reality
Outstanding! This is not only one of the few books I have read several times, this is the one I take almost always with me on travel (other people take the Bible). As a consultant, I often enter new organisations, and this book provides the most valuable insights to read the organisations and the individuals within, where they are, and where they go. It shows you very fast the meta-structures behind their values, what they expect from you, and what you can expect. It is also very useful, when you are interested in (inter-)national politics or cross cultural interactions. Or take it as a mirror to reflect your own perceptional and behavorial flexibility. The Book explains why and how the peoples values and views of realities are influenced by their life conditions. Included: conditions of change, how should who manage whom to do what, leadership packages, designing natural systems, motivational structures, etc. Vivid examples and explanations of each vMEME pattern convince you instantaneously. WARNING: Once The Book has opened your eyes, you can not close them again.