On Spiral Dynamics and Creative Organizations

We believe fundamental changes are needed in the way we build organisations — both for our own sake and for future generations. These days, this should not be a controversial statement!

That change is happening already...

However, it can feel confusing. It can look chaotic.

Looking at organizations through the lens of Spiral Dynamics by Don Beck and Chris Cowan can help understand what's going on and plan ahead. Spiral Dynamics is a way to understand the evolution of individuals, organizations, and societies. In Spiral Dynamics, all stages of development have colors: beige, purple, red, blue, orange, green, yellow and turquoise.

Let's look at creative organizations through this lens!

Orange / Industry

You can intuitively think of Orange as associated with the Industrial Revolution. Orange is the predominant paradigm used today in organizations.

This is a quick summary of Orange (see this page for details):

• Core Values: autonomy, materialistic, result-driven.
• Paradigm: Success — “I improve myself.”
• Life Motto: “I manifest myself through artful calculation.”

Which creative organizations does this correspond to?

Adobe. Autodesk.

Spiral Dynamics also helps understand healthy and unhealthy patterns within Orange organizations:

Healthy: Result-driven, explorative, be able to think strategically, switch pragmatically to solve problems, entrepreneurial.

Unhealthy: Calculating, opportunistic, exploitation of the living environment, manipulative and abusing nature and environment, not taking one’s responsibility, too functional, too busy and loosing sight of the human aspect.

When organizations become unhealthy, bringing other colors from Spiral Dynamics can help — both within the company to address the problems and at the societal level.

What's the next color on the spiral dynamics list?

Green / Networks

The way to think of Green is the Internet Age. Green is the stage of evolution that organizations are slowly shifting towards.

This is a quick summary of Green (see this page for details):

• Core Values: Relativistic, socio-centric, equality.
• World View: The world is a shared community for the whole of humanity who shares Mother Earth as their home.
• Paradigm: Community — “We become”.

Which creative organizations does this correspond to?

Motion Twin, smart.coop

Spiral Dynamics can help understand the main challenges faced by Green:

Healthy: A need for community and gathering. Personal development as the basis for collective development. Accepting differences. Attention, care and compassion for all people and the Planet.

Unhealthy: Conversations tend to take longer and results may not be achieved because of the continuous search for consensus and the need to include everyone in the process.

In the past, Green organizations like cooperatives have struggled against adversarial tactics to sabotage its decision-making. It's the Tyranny of the Structurelessness, and that makes it hard to compete against well-oiled industrial organizations from Orange.

Can the next color in spiral dynamics help?

Yellow / Systems

The way to think of Yellow is the Software Age. Organizations today are embracing more systemic principles from Yellow, but their principles mostly remain rooted Orange.

This is a quick summary of Yellow (see this page for details):

• Core Values: Systemic, integral, emergent.
• World View: The world is a complex, self-organizing, natural system that requires integral solutions..
• Paradigm: Synergy — “I am learning.”

Which creative organizations does this correspond to?

Rarible. Decentraland.

Spiral Dynamics can help understand the main challenges faced by Yellow:

Healthy: Creative and innovative and has a continuous flow of new ideas and ways of thinking. Uses the most appropriate and workable methods and behaviors to realize strategies and builds on already existing knowledge and models.

Unhealthy: Get bogged down in complex analysis. Builds castles in the air; inventing beautiful futuristic solutions, which are not pragmatic. Not able to finish something because there’s always something new that requires attention.

In Spiral Dynamics, Yellow has the ability to understand and leverage all the levels before it. This makes it a formidable force that can rival Orange and build a more sustainable and creative future. We have yet to see even a glimpse of what Yellow can do!

Next on the list of colors is Turquoise, but we'll leave that for another post...

(Cover image by Sven Read from Unsplash.)