1. A Primer on
SPIRAL DYNAMICS
IN
ORGANIZATIONS
Compiled by
Bruce L. Gibb
January 28, 2003

2. Table of Contents
Topics Page
Introduction 2
A. Specific Characteristics of Organizations
on each level of the Spiral 4
2. Purple 4
3. Red 7
4. Blue 11
5. Orange 15
6. Green 19
7. Yellow 23
8. Turquoise 26
B. Qualities and Principles of Spiral Dynamics 29
C. vMemes in History 31
D. References 32
E. Appendix: Armour's "Systems Preference Profile" questions 35
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3. The Spiral in Organizations 1
Spiral Dynamics® is a conceptual framework popularized by Don Beck and Chris Cowan in their book of
the same name. They postulate that just as children go through a development cycle as a result of their
genetic unfolding and in response to their living conditions, organizations and societies seem to follow a
similar pattern of emerging forms as the worlds in which they are imbedded become more complex. This
conceptualization is similar to Mazlow's hierarchy of needs but is a much more elaborated and powerful
schema. Beck and Cowan's mentor, Clare Graves, used the spiraling double helix in DNA as a metaphor to
illustrate the interaction of the person on one side and their life conditions on the other. In the organism,
this double helix spirals up with the codes which contain the blueprint for its development. The spiral in
spiral dynamics contains the blueprints that contain the patterns for the sequential development of cultures.
As social entities become successful at each stage on the spiral in their development trajectory and generate
excess energy, they seem to move to another level in their evolution. However, it is not necessarily a virtue
to move up the levels of the spiral; rather, successful adaptation to current living conditions is the ideal.
The evolution of organizations seems to occur as the societies in which they are embedded increase in
complexity, specialization and differentiation, physical size, population, scope, degree of change and
turbulence.
Beck and Cowan also appropriated and integrated into the spiral the concept of "memes." Memes are to
culture what genes are to the organism, they dictate the structure and function of a culture. They are the
core beliefs and values (hence valueMemes or vMemes) of a culture. As a core vMeme changes, there are
corresponding changes in philosophy, architecture, literature, art, religion, fashion, life style, language,
technology, clothing, etc.. All these aspects of a tribe in Malasia will be very different from those of a
modern corporation in Canada.
In section A below, there are a list of the core beliefs and assumptions (vMemes) for organizations each of
the levels in the spiral. Each of these levels is denoted by both a number and a color. The descriptions are
organized in the following topic areas for each vMeme:
a. Beliefs and Context.
b. Culture.
c. Purpose.
d. Leadership.
e. Organization.
f. People.
g. Finance.
h. Values Test Statements for Individuals.
A. Specific Characteristics of Organizations on the Spiral.
The 1st level, BEIGE, is the subsistence level and is characterized as loosely linked clans or individuals
who are so concerned with survival that they cannot even organize. This first level is very seldom found in
an organizational form so is not included here. For this reason, the next level, Purple, is numbered level 2.
Examples: organizations struggling to survive; in panic, fear, or crisis; dependent, some startups; bankrupt
organizations in Chapter 11; marginal firms when a downturn comes in the economy. Often occur under the
following conditions: resource scarcity, famine, environmental disasters, war, technological change and
obsolescence.
2. The PURPLE vMEME: Safety Driven Tribal Order.
1
This summary is taken from Beck and Cowan's book, Spiral Dynamics, and includes ideas of the author, Bruce L. Gibb. Do not
duplicate without permission of the author.
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4. a. PURPLE Beliefs and Context:
• The world is under the control of magical, animistic spirits which must be placated to keep the forces of
nature in check.
• People are connected by kinship bonds and historic customs that supersede organizational needs or
political interest.
• People must adhere to complex rituals that reckon time, form relationships, and define passages in
"growing up."
• Leaders should come from within the indigenous tribe or clan. If not, they must act with the support of
the shaman, elders, or chieftain.
• Work is rhythmic, close to the earth, and does not violate traditional gender, age, and social roles.
Purple occurs under conditions where the unit is surrounded by unpredictable forces, has limited
information, and seeks stability and wisdom from ancestors. They are tied to a local place, relatively
isolated from other societies but in conflict/competition with other local tribes. Tribes are usually the form
which obtains with hunters/gatherers and in subsistence agriculture,
b. PURPLE vMEME Culture:
The purple culture is wrapped in myth and mystery. It is inherited from ancestors (or the company's semi-
sainted founder), emerging spirits (the good fortune that protects the company and its people), and permeate
every area of life. Circumstances, places, objectives, or relationships assume a magical aura.
Workers wear identical clothing (T-shirts, caps, ties, patches, rings, and jackets) and sing, chant, or clap to
rhythmic beats. Curses, blessings, and hexes are commonplace, regulating social affairs and access to jobs.
Norms have the feel of taboos and superstitions. Good luck is an important determinant of success.
A company with heavy PURPLE will be full of ritual, traditions, and symbolic if not literal shrines.
PURPLE is nurtured through observing seasonal rituals, honoring individual's rites of passage (weddings,
graduations, funerals) and expressing a sense of enchantment and magic in life's mystery. These communal
rites and celebrations enhance feelings of identity, belonging and solidarity.
Keepers of the magic conduct rites of passage and ceremonies like dedicating the corner stone or spirit
house, transferring pictures of the founding principals to the new place, and placating the old spirits while
enlisting the assistance from the new ones.
Often churches have a culture based in strong Purple vMeme. Sports teams, with their totems,
superstitions and pre-game rituals also strongly reflect this vMeme. Japanese organizations with strong clan
orientation also exemplify PURPLE.
c. PURPLE vMEME Purpose:
The PURPLE objective is to perpetuate the family, clan, or tribe by preserving its place in the animistic
world meeting its subsistence and survival (beige), and security and ceremonial needs. Most work has
mystical or spiritual significance, whether openly stated or not. Continuing to provide for the daily needs of
food, housing, water, social interaction, and protection from enemies occupy the attention of this vMEME.
Since satisfaction of these security needs requires ritual and ceremony to assure the support of the powers
that need to be placated, it may appear that the purpose of the tribe is to engage in these ceremonies.
Others may reach out to it, but it will not actively extend its influence very far because of its suspicion of
those who are not of the tribe, not one of "the people." Membership is the bottom line.
d. PURPLE vMEME Leadership:
The leader of a PURPLE organizations must concentrate on the whole tribe rather than the specialized role
of the hunters or warriors. This means that picking out individuals for special compensation schemes,
discipline, and communication would violate the "we are all one" belief. Rewarding someone too visibly
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5. would break the group bond and isolate that person disastrously. Indigenous or high seniority leaders are to
be respected and honored appropriately. Effective managers do not violate the internal social dynamics of
PURPLE groups; instead, they learn about and utilize them as the whole entity observes seasonal festivals,
rites of passage, and other celebrations.
Leveling celebrations like potlatches, in which those who have amassed wealth share them with others in
the tribe, are used to keep the material conditions of tribal members in a narrow band and give leadership
status to those who share with everyone. In "modern" organizations, inversion ceremonies and eliminating
status defining clothing have a similar intent.
The organization must be sensitive to the in-group vs. out-group polarizing tendencies when the PURPLE
vMEME is strong. Most "modern" (read Orange) executives (and diplomats) have never experienced true
inter-tribal conflict and are unprepared for the intensity of feelings blood-bonds generate. At the same time,
leaders need to be aware of the potential for very sudden vMEME shifts once PURPLE safety and security
needs have been met, alternatives are introduced by TV or travel, and other vMEMEs begin to awaken.
e. PURPLE vMEME Organization:
Living and work structures are circular and communal, though a core of semi-elites - the elders, the
shaman, the chieftain - have greater influence than average members. Reciprocity is the dominant rule - "If I
find food I will share it with you, today, because, tomorrow, you may be the one who finds food and I will
be in need." Residuals from level one, BEIGE, like gift giving without the need for reciprocity, can
continue at this level; family economics depend on this gift giving as one of the major transactions
maintaining solidarity. Land or territory is the dominant form of capital.
PURPLE surfaces in contemporary organizations, when family members, fraternity brothers, associates of
animal clubs (Lions, Elks, etc.) or secret societies such as masons are given preferential employment
opportunities.
f. People centered in PURPLE vMEME:
To understand the PURPLE worker, identify and learn about the customs of the clan or tribe. The person is
an extension of the group and owes first allegiance back to it. Traditional ways of doing things, showing
due respect to ancestors and their ways, and attention to the spirit realm are necessary to organizational
health.
Decisions are made in circles where everybody has a voice but the accepted "leader" announces the
consensus. Much energy will focus on meeting daily needs and those of their extended families. Fluid
PURPLE "tribal-time" that relies on the circle of the seasons, places, and events rather than clocks regulates
activities, much to the distress of work schedulers and punctuality fanatics.
Dealing with fear, omens, and threats to the group are constant issues. The focus will be rather narrow and
immediate, though memories of past events, grudges, slights, feuds, and debts, may contaminate present
operations until resolved. Maintaining harmony among the people and with nature is often a central theme.
g. Finance:
The concept of finance, of payment for goods and/or services does not obtain in this level. The spoils of
hunting and gathering are shared with everyone. Reciprocal obligation governs distribution of goods over
time. Just as in a family, there is a giving economy rather than a taking or transactional economy.
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h. The PURPLE vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where our circle is strong as we work together and sacrifice for each other.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a kindred spirit; clannish and superstitious; senses the
spirits in nature, objects, animals.
2
From The Values Test © The National Values Center.
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6. 3. I prefer an organization that preserves our traditional customs, observes seasonal celebrations, and
protects our close-knit groups.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by what people like me need to
keep the wolf from the door.
5. My own career priorities are determined by whatever will allow my work
group to stay together like a family.
6. The world is a magical place alive with spirit being where there's safety and
security in tribal ways.
7. In an ideal world we feel safe knowing the spirits of our ancestors watch over us.
8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too superstitious and
mystical, a person plagued by charms, spirits, fortune, and spells.
9. When under real stress, I do things to make fortune smile on me and go to
where I feel safe.
10. My deepest beliefs and values come from the customs of my people and
our ancestral folk ways.
3. The RED vMEME: Power Driven Exploitative Empire.
a. RED Beliefs and Context:
• Life is a jungle, a place where you must struggle to survive.
• The human is inherently lazy and must be intimidated, coerced, or enticed by promises of rewards to do
very much of anything.
• People's natural goals run counter to the organization's. Most people are incapable of self-discipline or
self-control and cannot be trusted.
• Leaders must suppress the natural human tendencies of others through force, fear, or bribery. Their job is
to get the individual to do what he or she does not want to do.
• People are motivated by power and wealth so get what you can.
Examples or Red organizations are: street gangs, the mafia, revolutionary movements, dictatorships, and
empires. Red can be found where there is the "rule of man" (not "rule of law"), exclusive self-interest,
resistance to control (counter-dependence), malicious obedience, and sabotage. Red is often apparent in the
"political" aspect of organizations. Also, red characterizes organizations in societies which have regressed
from Blue, e.g. Russia; developing countries with kingdoms, e.g. Saudi Arabia; societies emerging from
Purple tribes, e.g. Afghanistan, Uganda.
b. RED vMEME Culture:
RED culture is a culture of power - raw, ego-serving, and impatient. The driving forces rest in powerful
persons who deserve R-E-S-P-E-C-T more than in beliefs. The RED legends are rife with feats of conquest
when powerful ones prevailed against gigantic odds. Social memories and story-tellers perpetuate the
mythology. RED is nurtured by preserving the stories of company heroes, or by celebrating the great feats
of conquest when the company, figuratively at least, "slew the dragon."
Given the RED focus on the here and now, after the conquest has been consummated, a RED culture
celebrates with fun and games. Power lunches, power symbols, power grabs, power offices, power games all
fit the RED culture. "To the victors belong the spoils." Leaders need to provide positive outlets for RED
energy, like sports and constructive activities that get out and build something keep it under control.
Regarding changing cultures, these god-kings believe that they can just order change. Change agents
exploit the perceived power symbols and "fight it through." Again, one can find RED organizations in
sports. Organizations which violate anti-trust laws and are predatory in the market place are also
manifesting RED. The robber barons of the late 19th century were RED. The mafia and street gangs are at
this level. Countries which use military force and threats to further their interests are acting RED in the
society of nations.
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7. c. RED vMEME Targets:
The central objective is to gain respect and to extend power and control; that pleases the Big Boss (BB).
The RED entity exploits the masses to fulfill the wishes of a few. If the BB has grand designs, the system
will need a large number of workers. Monuments and "wonders of the world" have been built through the
RED "MEME. Since a surplus of unskilled, uneducated labor is conducive to RED approaches, controlling
its spread presents one of the great problems for those who are trying to develop or transform organizations
in Third-World settings.
In its heavy form, RED responds to toughness, a bigger stick, instant gratification, "do it or else"
commands, and risky challenges. It views softness and hesitation as signs of weakness. Above all, it
demands respect for self and can only respond to leadership that has earned that respect.
A degree of RED is a normal sub-theme in organizational functions where tough empires are appropriate. In
such cases, instant piecework pay is better than a monthly salary. Free-wheeling work environments are
better than time clocks and dress codes. Rules and regulations are there to be tested or ignored. RED surges
in times of uncertainty or crisis when strong, charismatic, high autocratic leadership is appropriate.
Power/respect is its bottom line.
d. RED vMEME Leadership:
Management is based on the theory X assumption that most people inherently dislike work, have little
ambition, wish to avoid responsibility and have to be forced, threatened, or coerced to do a job. The Boss
believes that the world, all its people and all its things are there to use as his or her means to exert
remorseless power. Further, RED believes that only superior strength can challenge-- sometimes in actual
combat--his or her management decisions and procedures.
RED exploits the masses to accomplish the desires of the few. Since the human is seen to be inherently
lazy and unmotivated, leaders must do whatever it takes to get people to do what they are not naturally
inclined to. Both sugar and the whip are legitimate incentives when this vMEME prevails.
This is the pattern. A Big Boss (BB) selects a few Work Boss lieutenants (WB) from those most desirous
of having more. The BB dictates what, how, and when to do his or her will. The WB gets it done or else.
BB asks no questions, accepts no excuses, cares only about results. WF is selected because of having the
best ideas among the desirous or winning the fight before the selection interview. However, he or she must
avoid direct threats to BB who will be ruthless in maintaining ultimate power, as portrayed in the
Godfather model. WB pays tribute to BB, but can also take a cut from exploitation of the masses as long
as the BB approves and does not feel it. If WB skims too much or is "caught with a hand in the cookie
jar," then it is, per the Queen of Hearts, "off with her head." The next among the desirous gets a promotion.
WB’s have free rein so long as the BB’s goals are attained. When times are good, WB can afford to be
kind and considerate in maintaining a level of opulence for the workers. When times are bad, however,
WB’s will use force, fear, and intimidation to exact all he or she can from the masses while still satisfying
BB’s demands for tribute. In terms of human energy and environmental resources, RED organizations will
use as much or more than necessary to get work done since waste is no problem, consequences do not
matter, and their basic belief is that the BB’s should never suffer.
Such exploitative leadership, whether benevolent or cruel, works well when the masses are uneducated,
uninspired, and their warm bodies are plentiful. The work must be simple and supervision has to be
constant in this oppressive environment. The view from management is that people can be easily replaced,
even on a daily basis, so long as the basic needs of the remaining have-nots are met steadily.
e. RED vMEME Organization:
RED assumes that those of demonstrated superiority have the right, because they are the "chosen," to
organize the efforts of lesser people through force toward whatever ends the superior conceives as good for
him or herself. The structure involves a Big Boss at the top of the pecking order, a few Work Bosses who
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8. see that the work is done, and a largely unskilled mass doing the labor. This produces the classic
have/have-not and can/cannot disparities common in so many developing nations and seemingly
intensifying in the U.S. In the extreme, RED resorts to slavery. More moderated forms include indentured
servitude and piece-work, as well as sweat shop operations remotely subsidized by ORANGE corporations
and their customers. Preferential treatment in hiring goes to the members of the gang, or those whose
loyalty is unquestioned because they have paid their "dues." The use or threat to use violence is the type of
"capital" employed.
f. People centered in RED vMEME:
The RED vMEME shakes out the world as follows:
• A few people's ideas work quickly; they get rewarded; they learn to do it again. These chosen ones have
something special and they become the elites.
• Many others' ideas don't work, don't bring rewards, and they become the masses to be exploited. They
must struggle just to meet subsistence needs and have no surplus energy to awaken alternative ways of
thinking.
• Some get rewarded now and then; and they become the desirous of niches nearer the elites above the
masses. Since they have some surplus energy, they vie for position unmercifully and have some
motivation to awaken alternatives.
Red learns by operant conditioning--reinforcements given or withheld steer the person's development. The
recurring question is "What do I get out of it, what's in it for me?" Payoffs may be in cash or drugs, but
can include excitement, power to wield over others, and sensual pleasures. When this vMEME is dominant
things tend to be physical, emotion laden, and gut-level.
Since a few are self-motivated, they assume control of all others. These dominant ones accomplish
organizational goals by selecting from the masses a similar number who are desirous for more and teach
them how to get the rest to do the work.
RED works if:
• there is an uneducated, uninspired, numerous mass of workers
• benevolent exploitation has been the norm
• scarcity leads to fear of deprivation
• there can be constant oversight
• there is a 6-13 person span of control
• things need doing quickly
• there is a surplus of labor to replace losses
RED fails when:
• the population becomes educated and/or aware of alternatives
• Big Boss is too openly greedy or needlessly cruel
• Work Boss(s) take too big a rake-off and basic needs are not met
• The mass shifts away from PURPLE and purple/RED to red/BLUE
g. Finance:
3
The Red organizational economy is based on taking from those who have and giving to those who
demonstrate absolute loyalty to the powerful. The distributions are made to maximize the resources of
those in power and maintain the rest at a subsistence level, low enough that they do not have any surplus
to acquire the weapons to revolt or unseat those in power.
h. The RED vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where I make lots of cash, people stay off of my back, and I can
3
Jane Jacobs in her book, Systems of Survival, identifies two types of economies: taking and transaction.
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9. do what I want.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a person who loves power; lives
for the moment; likes to be respected for feats of strength, intelligence, or
conquest.
3. I prefer an organization that lets me cream what I can off and gives me the
respect I deserve.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by what you are powerful and quick enough to get, since
it's everybody for themselves in this dog-eat-dog world.
5. My own career priorities are determined by what I have to do to get what I want without having to
give in to anybody or conform to any system.
6. The world is like a jungle where the strongest and most cunning must exploit to survive.
7. In an ideal world I've been heroic in conquest and my name will live forever.
8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too rebellious and self-centered, a power-seeker who
likes to rock the boat and gratify senses.
9. When under real stress, I get down and fight even harder to survive in this
world where "the toughest gets the mostest."
10. My deepest beliefs and values are what I want them to be and its nobody's
business but my own.
4. The BLUE vMEME: Order Driven Authority Structure.
a. BLUE Beliefs and Context:
• Life is a gift to be used to glorify the Giver and His messengers.
• Humans are born into many classes of unequal rank at birth; some believe that all people are born in
"sin" from which they need to be saved.
• The Higher Authority has laid down a design-for living and assigned positions, duties, and standards for
all to obey.
• The individual will be subject to eventual judgment based on the principles of living in the class to
which rightful Authority has assigned that person.
• For everything there is a purpose, a reason, and a season within the master plan, though mere mortals
may not understand.
• There is generally some form of hereafter, and one's worthiness for it is tested during this life.
Blue organizations develop in red conditions to create stable, non-turbulent, systems. The classical
bureaucracy with single hierarchical structure is Blue (Weber). This is the "guardian" syndrome defined by
Jane Jacobs in Systems of Survival. It is authoritarian but uses the rule of law, policy, and procedures ("by
the Book"). There is: a division of labor, chain of command, dedication to truth (from the "sacred texts"),
sacrifice, operational excellence, entitlement, defined roles and responsibilities and loyalty. The
organization takes care of its members and they are dependent of the organization. It is the typical vMeme
in Banks, regulatory agencies, fundamentalist churches, Marine Corps, police departments, prisons.
b. BLUE vMeme Culture:
Blue culture is carved in stone or at least in a "Book" of policies. They are absolute Truths, sanctioned by
the Higher Authority, and "written on the hearts" of all righteous people. The sacred foundation blocks are
planted deep; anchors tied to them hold fast. They are the ultimate purpose for the very existence of a
company.
Typically, mission statements are as revered as the Ten Commandments. Order, stability, predictability
and paramount values. Whether the gospel is TQM, Six-Sigma, or Requisite Hierarchy, it is followed
"religiously."
The significant and meaningful relationships are vertical, up and down the chain of command. BLUE is
reinforced through appeals to traditions, by respecting the past, by honoring length of service and loyalty.
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10. Various forms of patriotic appeals and charitable sacrifice should accompany observances of national,
religious, or secular holidays and commemorative events.
German trains are run by BLUE. Fine, Swiss watches are manufactured by BLUE craftsmen. The post-
World War II miracle in Japan was administered through BLUE "MEMEs and resonated with Japanese
PURPLE, as well, to set the standards for mass-produced quality, reliability, and attention to detail.
Another way to view the BLUE culture is to see them as the conformity enforcers of society. Police,
military institutions (Marines), regulatory agencies, banks, prisons, and, to some extent schools, have
strong BLUE cultures.
Change must come from on high down the chain of rightful authority and fit with tradition.
c. The BLUE vMEME Mission:
BLUE seeks to do what is right and what is ordained to serve the greater good. It believes that the grand
plan has laid down a class-ordered life in which all should live according to the traditional rules of proper
behavior. The greater purpose of an organization is to maintain order, provide security, meet basic needs,
and guide all to future reward if they live and work as prescribed. It is necessary in hierarchies where
ordered discipline is critical to doing the work. The mission of the individual is to "please the anointed
leader" for which the day of judgement is the performance review.
The BLUE vMEME need not be loaded with deep guilt, imperatives to bow to authority, or willingness to
sacrifice self compliantly while others prosper. Fairness, equity, and consistency are the more common
themes. Doing what is "right and proper" is the concern.
Heavy BLUE is common in fundamentalist doctrines which structure every aspect of living. Some are
religious, many are secular. Either way, life is devoted to service of the authority, obeisance to its
directives, and self-sacrifice to achieve the mission. The organization, not its members, is paramount and
will endure. Purpose is it’s bottom line.
d. BLUE vMEME Leadership:
Moralistic-prescriptive BLUE management encodes the Truths from the dominant ideology and rewards
believers, faithful servants, and those who work "long hours in the vineyard but faint not." The manager is
judge and representative of even higher authority, usually with reference to The Book. Length of service
awards, elaborate retirement ceremonies, somber funerals, patriotic displays, and a sometimes rule-bounded
but orderly workplace are the result of BLUE labors. However, punishment is used quickly on the
unfaithful, the undisciplined, and the rebellious so be not late. It can be stringent, since suffering is for one's
own eventual good and redemption--"to beat the Hell out of . . . ."
Management is based on the assumption that we are born into classes of unequal rank. The "betters" have
the responsibility--noblesse oblige--to take care of their lessers through charitable acts which also serve the
higher authority. Leaders oversee the needs of followers and regulate their conduct in loco parentis. This
applies both within the organization and to life in general, since the reputation of the entity is always on
the line.
e. BLUE vMEME Organization:
BLUE organizations are hierarchical and rigidly structured. There are sharp lines between ranks--no
fraternization--and people are sorted and separated by "worthiness." There is often a classification scheme
that is reflected in a social chain-of-command, residential patterns, and socioeconomics. Power is in the
position, not the personality. The entity does not open up the world to all people, but expects all to be the
best that they can in their right and proper places. Race, age, gender, national origin, religion, and many
other factors have determined rank in BLUE where "diversity" means category.
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11. Blue time is linear and sequential--one thing at a time along Newton's "straight arrow." Discipline is strict-
-nuns-with-rulers--and punishment is public--flogging in Singapore, for example. A code of honor, concern
with reputation, pride in craftsmanship, and a sense of guilt are built into the entity. Good works serve the
Higher Power or the just Cause, then the organization, and finally the individual.
Moral capital and the ability to promise status in the future for those who obey
is used to obtain conformity.
f. People centered in the BLUE vMEME:
BLUE is natural for skilled, semi-technical jobs requiring from some to quite a lot of specific learning. The
person feels a duty to work and "hold down a job"-- Puritan or Confucian work ethics. Laboring diligently
is rewarding both in terms of immediate satisfaction and the belief that greater reward will come in the
afterlife or retirement and/or accrue to the valued establishment. Innovation and risk taking are at low-ebb,
so the person wants and needs clear direction with certain outcomes on a regular schedule. In this zone an
effective person is a cog in a well-oiled machine that works as expected.
Within the BLUE hierarchy there are the "ordained" leaders, the staff "priesthood" and the "valued"
workers. Their roles are defined such that the leaders and staff are the "thinkers" and the workers are the
"doers." Workers are expected to leave their brains in the parking lot. Retirement is the heaven to which
everyone aspires and for which they sacrifice their current life; a time when they can do what they want and
not have to do what they are told.
In an enterprise rooted in healthy BLUE, the traditional worker is entitled to life-long employment, to live
quite happily in company housing, to shop at the company store, and to name a first-born son after the
CEO. Preferential hiring goes to members of one's value-religious community, those who can really be
trusted.
g. Finance:
Compensation in a BLUE organization is closely tied to position and increases with level in the hierarchy.
Max Weber in his description of bureaucracy is describing a BLUE compensations system. The difference
between the highest and lowest paid is moderate because the top does not want to offend those at the
bottom; they rely on their trust, respect, and commitment.
h. The BLUE vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where loyalty earns greater job security and we are treated fairly.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a person with strong moral
convictions; patriotic; caught up in culture pride; a true believer.
3. I prefer an organization that treats everybody by the same rules and is
committed to going by the book.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by the need to maintain our standard of living, honor
seniority and loyal service, and provide for rainy days ahead.
5. My own career priorities are determined by what is just and proper, since
my job and profession should reflect my rightful place in society.
6. The world is under the control of destiny and the direction of the Higher Power.
7. In an ideal world righteousness triumphs over evil and the faithful receive their just rewards.
8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too rigid and judgmental, a person who is such a
true believer life becomes narrow, restrictive, and unforgiving.
9. When under real stress, I rely on my faith and convictions to see me through adversity.
10. My deepest beliefs and values stand on the firm foundation of my faith
and the One True Way.
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12. 5. The ORANGE vMEME: Success Driven Strategic Enterprise.
a. ORANGE Beliefs and Context:
• Life is a market place where those who can compete successfully are winners.
• Each person calculates the actions that will maximize his or her own advantages and leverage competitive
opportunities.
• People are driven by economic motives, and will do almost anything if you only know the rules for their
proper manipulation.
• The individual, beyond being an economic being, is a passive organism meant to be maneuvered by
external forces.
• Human beings are like replaceable parts in a machine that can always be improved. The economy is
driven by market forces which, under the control of the "invisible hand," has a life of its own.
Orange develops in conditions where there are under-used resources, opportunity, and relatively stable
social conditions. Other conditions which foster Orange include government investment in infrastructure,
trust of non-family members (Fukuyama), secularity (church-state separation), strong horizontal
relationships (Putnam), ideological support for material success (protestant ethic), and a multifaceted
economic system (not one resource: such as with oil, or river-based agriculture). Jacobs describes this as
the "commercial" syndrome. Financial capital is the most important input.
b. ORANGE vMEME Culture:
The culture of an orange organization includes individualism, high individual performance and rewards,
competition, empiricism, and pragmatism. These values act as reference points or "rules" for individual
decisions and boundaries for the corporate "game" that all are expected to play. They like a piece-of-the-
action but also enjoy getting good things done.
A key issue in this milieu is how to keep interpersonal and inter-group competition healthy and focused on
competing with competitors outside the organization. Without fixed limits, the ORANGE culture can
degenerate into win-lose competition, create "self-serving truth", and spin up status rankings.
Individuals or groups who excel are recognized for their achievements. ORANGE is observed in the display
of trophies signifying progress, success, growth, and accomplishment. "Free enterprise" is a name
associated with the ORANGE vMeme. Industry and commercial organizations in a "free market" economy
are shot full of ORANGE.
Change is based on demonstrable personal advantages to be gained and new opportunities for achievement.
c. ORANGE vMEME Goal:
The ORANGE purpose is simple: To be the best, most successful competitor in the field, whatever it is
right now, to be "No. 1." The measure of that success often takes the form of making greater profits for
"ourselves and our owners," since the "money is life's report card." The goal is to grow, expand, and
extend influence to either dominate a market niche or be a major "player" in many domains at once.
The pitfall of ORANGE is that the efforts to maximize individual gains often consume so much material
and energy that the source of the work itself is destroyed. Mega-dollar sports stars and greedy owners are
putting the games at risk when they begin to ignore their client fans and concentrate, instead, on comparing
their own egos. The collapse of the U.S. Savings & Loan Industry also illustrates the point that a few
elite's with excessive ORANGE can demand so much cream it kills the cow. Japan is also feeling its pinch.
In politics, the energy invested in bringing down an adversary just because it can be done may, in fact,
destroy a whole governmental structure.
Winning is the bottom line, whether profit in commerce, being the first to discover and publish “truth” in
academia, trophies in sports, political office in politics, etc.. In commercial organization, profit is the
bottom line.
12

13. d. ORANGE vMEME Leadership:
Management and leadership are based on the assumption that the world and the people in it are but vast
mechanisms that can eventually be perfected. Objective data--"The facts, ma'am; nothing but the facts"--
provide the tools for control and managed information keeps the entity well lubricated. Management's role
is to plan, organize, motivate, control, and evaluate work.
The executive's first responsibility and primary concern is the viability of the organization and its
competitive posture; its people are necessarily secondary. The leadership role includes determining: Who
reports to whom? Who does what job? How are jobs best designed? How to develop and manipulate
necessary incentives? How to measure success? How can we gather more information to use against the
competition?
The bored ORANGE leader may begin to "play" with parts of the organization--job descriptions,
technological experiments, organization charts and forms, etc.--in the quest for a new and improved
structure. People are puppets with strings to pull and buttons to push, so necessary things get done in
ways that please the manager. Carrots and sticks motivate personnel, and both are used very calculatingly.
Unkind ORANGE discards people like worn out machine tools and replaces them with newer ones in the
name of progress, necessity, or the "bottom line." Kinder ORANGE helps them become serviceable again,
at a lower cost or somewhere else.
e. ORANGE vMEME Organization:
The entity buys service from people to meet its objectives who can be molded to suit its needs. The
organization reserves its greatest rewards for those who do what is says most successfully. However, that
obedience (BLUE) eventually builds up hostility to the organization and loyalty is replaced in the
individual by self-interest, particularly if the organization does not grant membership to the person. The
person may then act in their own interest which may be in conflict with the interests of the organization.
ORANGE is viable so long as there are plenty of opportunities for many people to get a piece of the pie.
For its influence to endure, there must be a hope-filled dream. Work roles are characterized by functional
specialization, objective qualifications for positions, and constant evaluation of performance. Administration
is pragmatic, according to "scientifically" established standard operating procedures and a stream of
statistical measures. The system runs through a politicized hierarchy with graded economic and status
rewards as the incentives for achievement. Outcomes are usually material, rather than spiritual, although
just winning "the game" can become the greatest payoff of all. Financial capital is the basis of investment.
f. People centered in ORANGE vMEME:
Money, perks, and opportunities to advance are the incentives for productivity. The person wants to
succeed and advance toward ultimate independence. Design of the work is critical to success, since power
ratios, titles, and the physical appearance of facilities influence performance. The person needs clear goals,
objectives, targets, and reference points just beyond their reach (50 percent probability of achievement).
They want "a piece of the action," not lock-step promotion or salary grades. Criteria for selection are
consistent with the values of individual competence, the ability to add value, and the ambition to achieve
personal success. Closed personalities caught up in ORANGE never have enough or finish the game, even
when they have no opponents left. The proverbial carrot is always just out of reach.
g. Finance:
Compensation in the ORANGE organization is tied to performance, to value added.
It is a highly refined system with clarity of rewards for the winners. The are often great differentials between
people at the operating level and those at the strategic level which are accepted because there is the belief
that the former can become the latter and they do not want the prize to be diminished. Although there are
difficulties in measuring performance and assigning rewards in complex organizations, most ORANGE
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14. organizations maintain the fiction that it can be done. Ideally, the strategic level of an organization would
be paid for successfully leading long-term growth; the development level with a percentage of improvement
in functioning; and the operating level with internal and external customer satisfaction with the product or
service quality, quantity, timing, and responsiveness. Bonuses or percentage of savings given to innovators
also has its basis in ORANGE.
h. The ORANGE vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where successful performance advances my career and I can
get ahead.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a competitor who values material possessions and
technology; thinks pragmatically; pursues success.
3. I prefer an organization that thinks strategically and acts competitively
to be successful in its niche.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by personal ambition and initiative,
successful accomplishments, and the willingness to risk.
5. My own career priorities are determined by the goals I have set for myself
in the pursuit of the good things in life.
6. The world is a pool of unlimited possibilities and opportunities for those
willing to take some risks.
7. In an ideal world I have achieved material success and enjoy the very finest
this world has to offer.
8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too ambitious and materialistic, a wheeler-dealer
game-player who exploits others in an attempt to "win."
9. When under real stress, I maneuver strategically to influence both people
and events to get back in control of the situation.
10. My deepest beliefs and values grow from confidence that we have the power to shape tomorrow.
6. The GREEN vMEME: People Driven Social Network.
a. GREEN Beliefs and Context:
• Life is like an organism in which all the organs and parts must be healthy for the organism to prosper.
• People work in order to have more human contact, learn about others and come to know their inner being
more fully.
• People feel that belonging, being liked, included and accepted is more important than economic rewards,
competitive advantage, material gain from outside the group.
• People value peer approval and consensus in a climate of openness, trust, and sharing, but fear rejection
and disapproval.
• Egalitarian relationships between people, units, and customers are key to satisfaction and success.
• Everyone's truth is truth and has value for them.
In Green we find the major organizational development and organizational transformation interventions:
self-directed work teams, bi-modal structures, customer intimacy, employee involvement and participative
management, large scale interventions, team building, actions to remove status distinctions (casual dress,
parking, dining rooms), trust building, T-groups, high performance teams, partner relationships, diversity,
and appreciative inquiry. Interdependence is a by-word of Green. Social capital is recognized to be the
most important contributor to organizational success.
Green develops in conditions where people experience excessive individualism, isolation, and/or external
competitive threats that require all the creativity of the people in the system. Where there is a
knowledgeable and professional work force, strong competitive pressures, and weakened family and social
structures, this value structure develops. Also, when new technologies are not implemented, Green
processes are used to build ownership.
b. GREEN vMEME Culture:
14

15. The green theory "Y" culture appeals to the hearts and minds of their people and invites them to contribute
both to the institution. Their truths are situational instead of absolute, often echoing more of symbol than
substance. Hence, the observer witnesses casual clothing, first name address, common dining rooms, and
no reserved spaces for executives in the parking lot. These signal the egalitarian ideal of interpersonal
relations in the core community. The most meaningful and significant relationships are horizontal.
Purpose and goals are defined in human terms, for customers and other stakeholders. Continuing to belong
and be accepted extends from within the organization throughout its community and social interventions.
GREEN is enhanced by stressing the importance of human beings and the warmth that exudes from a
feeling of a caring community. Socially responsible activities are tastefully visible as everyone in the group
contributes to them.
The group(s) must meet, share, and discuss change so it becomes an agreeable norm which they invest in,
to which they are committed, and for which they have ownership. Non-profits, community organizations,
foundations, and non-governmental organizations are usually GREEN. However, the strong drive for
diversity in other types of organizations is an expression of this vMeme.
c. GREEN vMEME Vision:
The GREEN vision is one of being socially responsible and environmentally accountable. Goals which
benefit all members of the organization and the overall community with which it identifies are typical of
GREEN. It need not be non-profit, but the economic bottom line is not the only or ultimate objective. The
purpose is more to render meaningful service and find pleasure doing it than to make huge profits. If all
stakeholders are satisfied with the products and/or services, the organization will survive and prosper now
and into the future. The relationships with all stakeholders, i.e. customers, employees, government,
suppliers, owners, and the community, are as important as the inputs from and outputs to them.
GREEN has emerged in some self-managed team environments where the need for consensual problem
resolution techniques outweighs the individual needs of those involved. Likewise, the necessity of equal
access to information, made necessary by flattened organizations and easy by computer networks and E-
mail, reflects the circle-of-equals notion of GREEN. As the Army discovered many years ago, a keyboard
has no button for "Salute!" Information inputs from a corporal or a colonel look the same on screen.
People and communities of people are the bottom line.
d. GREEN vMEME Leadership:
Leaders strive to achieve organizational goals by providing satisfaction of affiliative needs if people perform
as the group desires, but withholding love and attention if someone does not. Management recognizes the
need employees have for the satisfaction of basic economic (ORANGE) or security needs (BLUE). However,
if organizational behavior is not as the group desires; managers will isolate the nonconformist from group
socio-emotional benefits. If the misbehavior continues, the source of disharmony may be asked to leave. In
this view, people are productive when they receive positive affect and acceptance for it. They will work hard
to avoid rejection by those whom they value. The manager is more of a colleague and friend than boss
since reciprocal participation is inherent in the GREEN structure where all "are in it together."
There is a catch with intense GREEN - sometimes productivity suffers. The entity will be notoriously
productive in crisis situations since all have cause to pull together, but the surge is difficult to maintain
over the long haul. When all is well, complacency sets in. The frequent response is to cut demands and let
people get by doing less to avoid hurt feelings. This permissiveness produces expensive GREEN give-
aways and soft touches that forgive too much. Since organizations are prone to regression when under
pressure and can down-shift surprisingly fast, prepare for abandonment of "we, the people" in favor of the
heretofore buried ORANGE economic drives and even the use of BLUE dogma as a weapon if and when
GREEN starts to swamp the organization.
e. GREEN vMEME Organization:
15

16. In a GREEN organization. teams and the horizontal relationships between them following the stream of
inputs to outputs are the basic organizational units, not individual people. Hierarchies, competitive career
ladders, and executive privilege blur in favor of frequent, open communication and accessibility. Everybody
is on a first name basis and management helps people come to know each other. This commitment to
egalitarianism is seen to facilitate openness, creativity, and truth.
GREEN organizations are proactive on behalf of human rights, inclusion, diversity, community
enrichment, and full opportunities for all to develop and grow. It is not altruism; the entity takes care of
itself and does things that make it feel good. Barriers and restrictions are eliminated without excuses, be
they physical or social.
Most large entities in the West are just awakening their GREEN vMEMEs. They've talked "caring" talk,
but it has been out of BLUE obligation or ORANGE manipulation for productivity and positioning at the
Chamber of Commerce banquet. Authentic GREEN puts people first, and most of today's executives still
do not know how to do that very well. Self-disclosure and openness scare them to death. The three-piece
"suits" of industry have much to fear with the move into more GREEN. Social capital is the source of
competitive advantage.
f. People centered in the GREEN vMEME:
Involvement and participation are keys to satisfaction. The person's identity is closely allied with the
group. The role of "leaders" is not so much to direct as to facilitate by joining with the people to help them
understand each other and get along while they are getting a job done. Everybody gets a share in benefits,
often of their choosing. All "belong" as members in a pleasant work environment with people-friendly
gathering spots and politically-correct, eco-conscious recreation facilities. The group listens to gripes and
complaints; everybody has the right to be heard. Interpersonal competencies are stressed in addition to
technical skills. The entity's profile is usually quite flat in terms of both salary and management layers.
g. Finance:
Compensation at this level is based on team performance: work teams, department teams, and the whole
organization as a team. Profit sharing is a GREEN method which compensates everyone in the
organization. Profit sharing not only distributes the money, it conveys the idea that everyone is a member,
they are all are part of the organizational community. In fact, GREEN leaders of these organizations would
be embarrassed by high differentials in pay among members. They give close attention to the compensation
system to be certain that no race/gender/ethnic groups are paid less than others. Also, they make
contributions to the communities in which they are located. They are “good community citizens” and
engage in and allow their members to do service work in their communities.
h. The GREEN vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where human feelings and needs come first as we all share
equally in a caring community.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a humanist egalitarian; believes
every human being should have an equal opportunity to develop.
3. I prefer an organization that tends to the inner and outer health of all of its people so they can
become fully human.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by the collective needs of the entire
human community so they benefit everyone instead of a select few.
5. My own career priorities are determined by how I dedicate myself on
behalf of human causes that work to reduce hunger, poverty, racism,
and violence.
6. The world is the human habitat in which we share the experiences of
living.
7. In an ideal world we all join hands and hearts to prosper equally in peace
and togetherness.
16

17. 8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too sensitive and caring with
people, a naïve social worker type who is blind to the realities of life.
9. When under real stress, I seek support and assistance from others to
explore and deal with my feelings and fears.
10. My deepest beliefs and values emerge from an acceptance of our need for interdependency and
sharing.
7. YELLOW: Process Oriented Systemic Flow.
a. Beliefs and Context:
• Life is a journey in which we experience and learn.
• People have different competencies and capacities.
• People enjoy doing work that fits who they are naturally.
• Learning and understanding motivate people, not payoffs or punishment.
• Workers need free access to information, tools, and materials.
• Organizations are only transitory states because change is continuous.
This vMeme arises in conditions where there is a recognition of environmental crises (climate, loss of
species diversity) and the need for full utilization of all people and natural resources. This vMeme is also
awakened where there are problems that apparently can't be solved and there is excessive "group-think".
The inequities where excessive material and social success are enjoyed by some and there is an awareness
that others are getting less than fair share (ecological footprint) raises long-term sustainability issues. In
cases where social costs are overwhelming the organization's ability to survive, the tough thinking required
to address the imbalance is Yellow. Intellectual capital is the most important resource for the unit.
This vMeme is operationalized through systems thinking (suprasystem, system, subsystem), the learning
organization, and knowledge management. There is a focus on environmental responsibility and
sustainability. The role of leadership is to strengthen the positive aspects of all prior vMeme levels and
eliminate the negatives. The organization is involved with community projects, and conducts a systems
analysis on all resources to eliminate waste reduction. Lean production processes are at this level. See
Hawkin and Lovins, Natural Capitalism, for an example of Yellow thinking.
b. YELLOW vMEME Culture:
YELLOW's culture is respected because it serves to keep the total entity healthy, aligned, and generating
useful outputs. They are the result of broad gauged, inclusive, practical thinking which represents the best
information from all sources and leads to outcomes which enhance outputs while reducing harms. If these
values represent something quite different to other "MEMEs, that is OK, too.
The culture is characterized by trust, integrity, friendliness, and fairness. People's work is guided by clear,
meaningful, and significant goals. Decisions about investment of resources are shaped by a set of
organizational values. One of these values is "people," and includes the commitment to provide employees
with the opportunity grow toward their full potential. Individual and interpersonal behavior is self-managed
consistent with shared and common guiding principles.
Any change, however, must deal with the realities inherent in the shifts from the old paradigm to the new.
The explanation can be multi-valued.
c. YELLOW vMeme Preferred Future:
YELLOW focus is around functional outcomes and enhance the overall ability of the organization to go
beyond just serving stakeholders to making a positive contribution to the society as a whole over the long
term. Thinking and planning is long-range, "seven generations." Responsibility goes beyond the actions
or products produced by the organization to include being accountable to the society for the effects of the
organization on other systems in which it is embedded: social, economic, environmental, and political. An
17

18. example of YELLOW goals are four listed in Hawkin and Lovin's book, Natural Capitalism: (1) radical
resource productivity, (2) biomimicry, (3) service and flow economy, and (4) investment in natural capital.
The Total Corporate Responsibility (TCR) movement rates organizations and identifies those that, for
example, lobby the government for adequate regulations to curb excesses by others which are detrimental to
the society, the environment, and the economy. Living systems theory as presented by Sahtouris identifies
four indicators of a "mature species": develop benign "light footprint technologies, recycle what we do not
consume, share earths resources fairly with each other and with other species (more Turquoise than
4
Yellow), and insure natural capital for future generations.
In addition to the three bottom lines from prior levels—membership, purpose, profit, and people--
YELLOW adds planet as another bottom line to assess its performance.
c. YELLOW vMeme Leadership:
YELLOW leadership assists in setting meaningful and significant goals and objectives which are nested in
a vision for the future for the organization and the society. The process required to achieve these objectives
is owned by those responsible for achieving these outputs, they have the freedom and ability to manage
themselves. Here, especially, flex-time, alternative working hours, remote working, and job interchange are
ways YELLOW leaders avoid over-managing.
Managers act as "go-fers" (not supervisors or overseers) for operators, getting them the necessary
information and materials to the right place as needed. The operating folks are the customers of the
managers. They may also empower, enable, facilitate, and inspire when required to do so. They are
"servant leaders"
or as Collins describes in Good to Great, "level--five leaders."
Leaders, to achieve their organizational vision, spend most of their time designing, developing, and/or
transforming the organizations they lead to be both in tune with the current life conditions in which the
organization is currently embedded, and with the conditions which are appearing on the horizon. They are
truly "strategic" in their focus, looking out 5 plus years, and taking in information from all the complex
variables in the environment which could impact their organizational future.
d. YELLOW vMeme Organization:
People are naturally productive because the organization is designed and aligned to match individuals with
functions they find stimulating. The designers help diverse vMeme mindsets target specific outputs in a
functional flow and move around where needed, where they can be productive and where they can grow.
Organizational structures morph as needed to produce the required outputs and in response to the people
involved. They are designed starting with stakeholder requirements and core organizing principles.
Operating processes are then jointly designed by those who will be using them, the operators, and those
who will support the operators. Organizational authority structures are minimized. There are both
leadership and management structures and processes explicitly defined. Traditional staff experts are
educators, teachers, and coaches for work teams or individual contributors. Yellow is founded on
intellectual capital.
e. People centered in the YELLOW vMeme:
Each person is free to choose whether to put up with, try to change, or even to walk away, but he or she
will take individual responsibility for the consequences. Contracts are made with employees such that a
very specific "what" should be done, and by "when." However, there are great degrees of freedom regarding
"how" and there is no pretense that the job can only be done in one way.
4
Elizabet Sahtouris, "Living Systems, the Internet and the Human Future," a talk presented 12 May 2003
at a conference in San Francisco entitled, Planetwork, Global Ecology and Information Technology.
18

19. People are focused on an agreed, joint purpose that supersedes the person or group itself, yet serves to make
each life healthier and enhances the overall life of all levels of the Spiral. They strive for individual
fulfillment and personal growth at the same time as they serve the organization and the society.
g. Finance:
While work in the Yellow vMeme organization is its own reward and has intrinsic value to the members,
compensation is based on contribution, value added, knowledge, future potential and competency. Special
rewards are given for mastery, initiative, creativity, rationality and risk taking. They usually have a variety
of compensation methods which is comprised of healthy expressions of all the prior levels. For example,
members would have basic pay for position from BLUE, an additional performance based incentive from
Orange as indicated above, a profit or gain sharing bonus from GREEN, and special rewards given for
demonstrated characteristics identified above.
h. The YELLOW vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where systemic and long-range thinking count more than
people, money, traditions, or quick fixes.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a non-materialist; non-
compulsive; internally-driven; variety-seeking; accepts life as what it is.
3. I prefer an organization that adapts to its natural environments so the
organizational form is determined by its current functions.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by individual contributions based
on knowledge, levels of competency, and degree of importance to the function.
5. My own career priorities are determined by what I really want to be doing
now, even it may mean charting a whole new course.
6. The world is a chaotic organism driven by differences and change, but with
no guarantees.
7. In an ideal world our population matches the available natural resources,
as each person learns to do more with less.
8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too aloof and detached, an
individual who does his own thing, lacking self-sacrifice and commitment
to other's good.
9. When under real stress, I recognize why it's there and decide whether to
live with it or remove it, even if it means a complete life-style change.
10. My deepest beliefs and values reflect very personal views of what will work
in a complex and changing world.
8. TURQUOISE: Synthesis Oriented Holistic Organism.
a. TURQUOISE Beliefs and Context:
• Life is art, a creative performance by everyone.
• Thinking with information and experiencing feelings together enhances both.
• Work must be meaningful to the overall health of all life, all living things.
• Organizations are responsible for the impacts of their activities.
• Spiritual bonds and communities of interest will pull people and organizations
together across space/time.
• The universe is a single entity of elegantly balanced, interlocking forces.
This vMeme surfaces when there are global crises which are understood but no action taken. Where there
are conflicts between societies at different levels on spiral, these organizations work to eliminate their
unhealthy manifestations. Where there is a need to pool and coordinate resources to solve global problems
for people and other species, and the awareness that one cannot act alone, the Turquoise vMeme becomes
manifest.
19

20. This is the global village, in which the organization cooperates and collaborates with political/international
institutions on common international cultural, labor, environmental, financial, and trade issues. They
work to set and enforce standards sensitive to stages of development of countries in all these areas. These
organizations operate in the global arena but collaborate with local societies to strengthen the countries in
which it is operating.
b. TURQUOISE vMeme Culture:
The culture is celebratory. A broad range of life choices and beliefs can be expressed and exercised right
along with responsibilities of being a good worker, neighbor, citizen, and even "earthling." People in
turquoise organizations are either having fun with their lives or they move on.
Ethical codes are taken seriously and enforced universally. Standards, regulations, and prescriptions are
designed to maintain the life, health, and vitality of the World and the spiral. This ethical perspective is
quite unlike BLUE"s narrowly rule-bounded definition of "morality" or even the ORANGE, doing "what"s
prudent" on its terms. It has little of the relativism of GREEN since broad, universal principles are
followed.
c. TURQUOISE vMeme Visionary Future:
Health, balance and harmony with natural processes in the planetary system is a major Turquoise goal.
This goal is further operationalized by detecting what the customer expects and putting together the
personnel and programs that radiate back their key values. Sales people are assigned to specific customers.
Marketers appeal specifically to values-delineated account segments. Even receptionists who greet visitors
or first answer the telephone listen for the operating system(s) of a client and then direct that person to the
congruent zone within the company. Distinctions between "inside" and "outside" are blurry," since parts
can spin off to connect in strategic alliances and outsourcing partnerships, then blend back in when the
tasks are completed.
TURQUOISE adds “for everyone in the world” to the purpose, profit, people, and planet set of bottom
lines. A more generalized term for this the word "principle."
d. TURQUOISE vMeme Leadership:
External and internal worlds are constantly scanned to detect subtle changes, potential flash points,
messages from the future, or early warnings of turbulence. They are "stewardship" leaders who feel a
responsibility for the planet and all living things. They are able to synthesize incoming data to make
decisions which are in harmony with natural systems, those which can operate with little intervention.
Leaders understand all vMemes in their bones, are "multilingual" in their ability to interact with people in
all of them. They are leaders for a healthy world and shape their organizations to contribute to it
recognizing that the long term viability of their unit is contingent upon the health of the whole world
physically, socially, politically, and economically. They are connected and form alliances with other global
leaders both private and public. They see their role as both leaders of their organizations and contributors to
creating and maintaining a healthy global system.
Conflict is inevitable in any living system but the leaders actively manage it to promote the health of the
interactive Spiral, not to favor any isolated faction or personal agenda.
e. TURQUOISE vMeme Organization:
The whole range of vMEMEs may show up in an organization designed to respond and get a productive
response from people at all levels of the spiral--a RED Empire, a BLUE Pyramid, and an ORANGE goal
centered hierarchy. Whatever the mix, the forms will be designed and aligned to accomplish specific
functions.
20

21. Functions are holographic and intergrated. Sales, accounting, training, safety, and quality exist everywhere,
in the minds of all people, instead of being located in a single niche on the pyramid. You look throughout
the entity to find its vMEMEs, yet its discrete chunks are fractals with enough autonomy to stand up for
the whole.
Because openness is present, information flows through a minimum of filters, gate
keepers, functional boundaries, or territorial hoards. Knowledge is effectiveness, not power. The
organization is tapped into global data/information networks which allow for synthesis and integration.
People, technology, nature, and procedures are interwoven and integrated into the stream of work.
Change is a fact of life. It is programmed into the organization "DNA." Life conditions, the variables which
impact on the organization and its stakeholders, are monitored in a "command and control" center.
Morphing (changing shapes) occurs on an ongoing basis. The organism can rapidly adjust its style to
match the needs of clients, customers, and others yet retain the integrity of its core vMEMEs. Those who
need ORANGE can find it. Those who seek GREEN will perceive that component. The whole is
interconnected like the atmospheric highs and lows swirling around the equator. Political capital is the
source of strength.
f. People centered in the TURQUOISE vMeme:
Since second tier entities see themselves as groups of competent people who could move into a number of
different industries or operations, any repetitive cycles of success and failure are easily accommodated. With
"have-to" compulsiveness and "what if?" fear experience in the first six levels diminished, they operate with
high degrees of freedom. People are seen in terms of their growth and evolution, processes which are fully
supported.
Turquoise thinking uses human diversity constructively by neither worshipping it nor advocating
sameness. In this view, people have unequal competencies and unequal needs since differentiated
intelligences are spread among us all, but not in accordance with economic class, gender, or race-based
distinctions.
g. Finance:
Compensation is based on the concept that everyone, everywhere deserves to receive compensation for their
work adequate for their health and growth. The compensation systems provide an income floor which
guarantees that this ideal is met. TURQUOISE organizations would not engage in but would actively
fight child labor, survival wage rates, and huge differentials in income across societies.
h. The TURQUOISE vMeme Values Test Statements for Individuals:
1. I like a job where our primary concern is the health of the planetary living
system.
2. These words and phrases describe me best: a world citizen; interested in a
grand synthesis of all energy, matter, and life in the universe.
3. I prefer an organization that connects to a global network of information
and makes decision based on nature's ordered systems.
4. Pay and rewards should be determined by what fosters the development of
perspectives and programs that contribute to global survival.
5. My own career priorities are determined by a need to unite with other
minds around the planet to work for a new global order.
6. The world is an elegantly balanced system of interlocking forces.
7. In an ideal world all living things cohabit Earth in balance and harmony as
part of the universal order.
8. Whenever I'm criticized, it's usually for being too abstract and meta-
physical, something of a spiritual wanderer caught up with planetary
issues.
9. When under real stress, I shift to another plane of consciousness to
21

22. transcend the animalistic elements producing it.
10. My deepest beliefs and values blend my energies with natural forces in
the universe beyond time and space.
B. Dynamics and Principles of the Spiral.
1. vMemes and the spiral are IN US, we are not in the spiral. However, the vMemes of the social systems
we are a part of our life conditions.
2. A person is usually CENTERED on one vMeme in the spiral but has all those vMemes previous to it;
the person tends not to understand the vMemes which follow.
3. vMemes are the VALUES, BELIEFS and assumptions, the structures of thinking, that we use to form
systems and shape our behavior; they impact all of our life's choices.
4. vMemes CO-EXIST within onion-like profiles (or rings on a tree), each level
includes all previous levels in a vMeme Stack
5. LIFE CONDITIONS awaken vMemes which may emerge, surge, regress, or brighten and dim in
response.
6. What is the best level to be at? Where we fit our environment, when we are ADAPTED to our life
conditions.
7. When conditions CHANGE, we usually regress to our current level or a prior level before getting
insight and moving to a new level.
8. We have a tendency to PUT DOWN the level we leave in the first tier until the positive aspects of it
are integrated.
9. We can also be ARRESTED at one level and can't move forward; we can be CLOSED to move up or
down the spiral; or be OPEN to move both up and down.
10. We can express vMemes in both HEALTHY (for better) and UNHEALTHY (for worse) behaviors.
11. When we are centered on and function easily in one vMeme such that we have
excess ENERGY, some of our energy is invested in the prior and future vMemes; the prior to
differentiate and discover what to retain that is healthy; the future to understand what we are getting
into and becoming competent in it.
12. We usually are centered on one WARM and one COOL vMeme; one on the individual and one on the
collective side, one warm and one cool, like standing on two feet and walking forward up the spiral.
13. We may have one vMeme dominant INTERNAL to a social system and a different one EXTERNAL
to it; examples are the US which is blue-ORANGE-green internally but purple-RED-blue externally.
Or a parent is RED with children but BLUE in their role of employee at work.
14. Our vMemes ZIG-ZAG between where we Express-yourself and Sacrifice-yourself themes (individual
and collective polarity) and can move up the spiral through a Progressive Polarity.
15. A person can be at different levels in different AREAS of one's life (e.g. family, religion, work, sports,
politics); and at different LINES in one's personal life such as cognitive, conative, emotional, physical,
spiritual, social lines.
16. vMemes spiral up to higher and down through lower levels of COMPLEXITY.
17. Humans possess the capacity to CREATE new vMemes.
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23. 18. Our vMemes emerge along the spiral in a WAVE-LIKE fashion.
19. Second tier (Yellow plus) strives for HEALTHY expressions of each of the levels below.
20. People will feel uncomfortable and have signs of stress if they are in a social system which is at a
DIFFERENT level from themselves; they will also feel TENSION if the have any two vMemes in the
first tier which are similar in level and side (purple-blue, blue-green, or beige-red, red-orange, orange-
yellow).
21. Organizations may have INTERNAL FUNCTIONS which have different vMemes.
C. vMemes in History
The following is a very general time frame identifying the emergence of the different vMemes in history.
The type of human beings are also listed using Latin neologisms made up for the occasion. The
descriptive phrases are intended to encapsulate the essence each vMeme.
100,000 years ago Homo Sapiens survivalus BEIGE
To be human beings, not just animals
50,000 years ago Homo Sapiens mysticus PURPLE
Forming tribes, magic, art, spirits
10,000 years ago Homo Sapiens exploiticus RED
Warlords, conquest, discovery
5,000 years ago Homo Sapiens absoluticus BLUE
Literature, monotheism, purpose
1,000 years ago Homo Sapiens materialensis ORANGE
Mobility, individualism, economics
150 years ago Homo Sapiens humanisticus GREEN
Human rights, liberty, collectivism
50 years ago Homo Sapiens integratus YELLOW
Complexity, chaos, inter-connections
30 years ago Homo Sapiens holisticus TURQUOISE
Globalism, eco-consciousness, patterns
D. References:
Whole Spiral:
Armour and Browning, Systems Sensitive Leadership.
Don Edward Beck and Christopher C. Cowan, Spiral Dynamics. (Cambridge, Mass.:
Blackwell), 1996.
Stephen Blaha, The Rhythms of History. (Auburn, New Hampshire: Pingree-Hill), 2002.
Payne, Cowan, Cox and Jordan, Differential Management and Motivation; and
23

24. Differential Selling.
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Civilizations. (New York: Simon & Schuster) 2001.
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Near a Thousand Tables: the History of Food. (New York: Free Press) 2002.
Johan Galtung and Sohail Inayatullah, Eds., Macrohistory and Macrohistorians: Perspectives on
Individual, Social, and Civilizational Change. (Westport, Conn.:
Praeger), 1997.
Jean Gebser, The Ever-Present Origin, Translation by Noel Barstad with Algis Mickunas (Athens Ohio:
Ohio University Press), 1985.
Jane Jacobs, Systems of Survival. (New York: Random House), 1994.
Lenski, Gerhard, Lenski, Jean, Human Societies: An Introduction to Macrosociology.
Ken Wilber, A Theory of Everything. (Boston: Shambala), 2000.
Ken Wilber, Boomeritis. (Boston: Shambala), 2002.
Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny. (New York: Vintage), 2000; and The Moral
Animal.
Beige:
David Buss, The Evolution of Desire. (New York: Basic Books), 1995. (and the evolutionary psychology
literature).
Gavin De Becker, The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence.
Carol B. Stack, All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community. (New York: Harper), 1970.
Colin M. Turnbull, The Mountain People. (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1972.
Colin M. Turnbull, The Forest People. (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1961.
Henry David Thoreau, Walden.
Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower. (Beige through regression in USA)
John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath.
Film, The Fast Runner.
Purple:
Martin Prechtel, Long Life, Honey in the Heart. (New York: Penguin), 1999.
Martin Prechtel, Secrets of the Talking Jaguar (New York: Penguin), 1999.
Colin M. Turnbull, The Forest People. (New York: Simon & Schuster), 1961.
Purple-Orange:
Lori Arviso Alvord, M.D. and Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, The Scalpel and the Silver Bear. (New York:
Bantam), 1999.
24

25. Red:
Adrian Tinniswood, Visions of Power: Ambition and Architecture from Ancient Times to the Present.
(London: Reed Consumer Books), 1998.
Y. Blak Moore, Triple Take. (New York: Villard), 2003.
Blue-Orange-Green:
Walter Russell Mead, Special Providence. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf), 2001.
Paul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson, The Culture Creatives. (New York: Random House), 2000.
Philip Roth, The Human Stain. (New York: Vintage), 2001.
Fareed Zakaria, The Future of Freedom, (New York: Norton), 2003.
Yellow:
Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins, Natural Capitalism. (New York: Little-Brown) 1999.
Turquoise:
Walter Truett Anderson, All Connected Now. (Cambridge, Mass: Perseus), 2001.
25

26. Appendix A
Items from Systems Preference Profile5
by Michael C. Armour
Purple, Kin-Spirits (D)
1. The world is a place of wonder and mystery, where unseen spiritual forces shape visible events.
2. We cannot escape the struggle between spiritual powers that permeate the universe.
3. A stable community needs long-standing traditions that everyone reveres.
4. I fit best in stable workgroups, with a family-like atmosphere that makes us all feel safe and
protected.
5. I’m drawn to a protective leader who acts as a benevolent father-figure.
6. Leaders should create an intense tribe-like bond that feels almost like blood kinship among their
followers.
7. I value ceremony and ritual, because they bind us together with a shared sense of spiritual oneness.
8. It upsets me when we abandon long-cherished traditions.
9. When facing critical decisions, I rely on the time-proven ways of those I call “my people.”
10. True happiness comes from accepting what fate has assigned me and learning to be content with it.
11. I want to live in strong accord with the Unseen.
12. I’m deeply moved by the patriotic fervor of our forefathers.
13. I look forward to holidays as opportunities to rekindle family ties and cultural traditions.
14. To maintain order we must respect what is sacred.
15. Sweeping change makes me uneasy because it threatens to destroy our heritage and roots.
16. I feel shame if I violate family or cultural taboos.
17. Possessions are a sign of blessings bestowed by the Divine.
18. I treasure settings of awe and sacred encounter, where time seems to evaporate.
19. I must never treat a holy site disrespectfully.
20. When adversity strikes, I rely on divine assurance.
Red, Power-Control (F)
1. Nature is violent, designed to assure that the hardiest prevail.
2. Organizations are more effective when there’s top-down control and no one dares to cross the boss.
3. I’m drawn to a tough, no-nonsense leader who whips things into shape.
5
Items from the questionnaire "Systems Preference Profile," by Michael C. Armor based on the book by
him and Don Browning, Systems-Sensitive Leadership (Joplin:Missouri: College Press Publishing Co.),
2000.
26

27. 4. The goal of leadership is to unite people against the foe.
5. I want a leader who is savvy at tactics and is known for being shrewd and fearless.
6. I respect leaders who are firmly in charge, who keep things in a tight fist and hold people on a short
leash.
7. Leaders should inspire a determination to win.
8. I would like to be a hero who gains glory in the face of a determined foe.
9. I thrive in a group where I can do my own thing and anyone who messes with me pays a price.
10. It upsets me when I lose.
11. I may lose, but I’ll never act like a coward.
12. When we win, I want my share of the victor’s spoils.
13. What I do with my life is my own business, since it affects nobody but me.
14. I feel shame if I let fear intimidate me.
15. I avoid things that would label me as “soft.”
16. When adversity strikes, I fight fire with fire.
17. There’s nothing more disgraceful than losing face.
18. Competition makes us strong by weeding out the weak.
19. Eat, drink, and be merry today since there may be no tomorrow.
20. Conflict is best overcome by bringing power to bear decisively.
Blue, Truth-Order (B)
1. We live in a physical universe whose nature is ultimately rational and consistent.
2. A stable community needs a shared moral code that everyone respects.
3. Healthy communities promote a solid core of shared values.
4. Healthy organizations reward worker loyalty.
5. The goal of leadership is to unite people around great ideals.
6. Leaders should create an intense commitment to duty, honor, and responsibility among their
followers.
7. In leadership, character is more important than competence.
8. The role of management is to set policies and keep things under control.
9. Management’s duty is to set direction and policy, with or without input from others.
10. I may lose, but I’ll never cheat to win.
11. I strive to align my personal behavior with my highest principles and convictions.
12. I would like to be a hero who maintains integrity in the face of protracted duress.
13. To be true to myself, I must uphold my convictions.
14. Sacrifice today for a better tomorrow.
15. I must never treat authority with contempt.
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28. 16. Adversity is a test of personal character and moral fortitude.
17. To maintain order we must respect the law.
18. New initiatives must never violate core values.
19. What’s true is always true, regardless of context.
20. Success comes from perseverance and hard work.
Orange, Strive-Drive (A)
1. Human progress results from maximizing individual freedom and creating an enterprising spirit.
2. Our first priority is to promote human progress.
3. The job of government is to produce a climate that promotes personal success.
4. The workplace should base rewards on individual performance and achievement.
5. Leaders should inspire vision.
6. In leadership, competence is more important than character.
7. The role of management is to empower workers and encourage personal initiative.
8. When we win, I want my share of the credit.
9. I want to be professional and successful.
10 When tackling a problem, I work patiently to uncover the contributing complexities behind it.
11. When facing critical decisions, I rely on cutting edge ideas from contemporary research.
12. I look forward to holidays as opportunities to expand my horizons by doing something new and
exciting.
13. True happiness comes from breaking free of constraints and making my mark on the world.
14. To be true to myself, I must fulfill my potential.
15. Give me enough information to make an expeditious decision, but don’t waste my time with the
details.
16. Under pressure I look for solutions that assure me no loss of personal options or advantage.
17. Possessions are a sign of success and status.
18. Success comes from acting strategically and taking calculated risks.
19. I thrive in a group where we’re at the cutting edge and I’m rewarded for what I achieve.
20. Competition makes us strong by forcing everyone to improve.
Green, Human-Community (E)
1. The world is a delicate bio-sphere, where every life form is a precious treasure.
28

29. 2. The world is filled with hurting people, the victims of greed, ideological conflict, and callous
disregard.
3. Nature is fragile, leaving us no choice but to protect its delicate balance and its endangered species.
4. The job of government is to prevent inequities that create disadvantages.
5. Healthy communities promote a broad array of diverse values.
6. Organizations are more effective when they reach decisions by consensus.
7. The workplace should base rewards on our spirit of collaboration and our accomplishment as a team.
8. I’m inspired by leaders with authentic compassion who see themselves as servants to those they
lead.
9. Everyone, management and worker alike, should have an equal voice in setting direction and policy.
10. It would be rewarding to put together a group where we support one another in recovering from
tragedy.
11. I want to be a voice for those who have no voice.
12. I’m deeply moved by the anguish of abused people.
13. I value candor and transparency, because they bind us together with a shared experience of life.
14. I avoid things that harm the natural environment.
15. I treasure settings of intimacy, where we share lives of affirmation and non-judgmental acceptance.
16. What’s true in one context may not be true in another.
17. There’s nothing more disgraceful than being insensitive.
18. New initiatives must never damage the ecology.
19. Our first priority is to promote a healthy ecology.
20. To the degree that one person is impoverished, we are all impoverished.
Yellow, Flexible-Systems (C)
1. We live in a physical universe whose nature is ultimately paradoxical and filled with ambiguity.
2. The world is a network of interlocking systems, whose intricate balance determines our survival.
3. Healthy organizations reward expertise and adaptability.
4. I fit best in workgroups that organize (and reorganize) according to the natural flow of their current
function.
5. I’m inspired by leaders who are bold visionaries and who stretch us to think “outside-the-box.”
6. I want a leader who is savvy at discerning the course of the distant future and preparing us for it
today.
7. I respect leaders who minimize control and expect me to be a self-paced worker and a self-directed
learner.
8. I want to live in strong accord with the human and natural systems all around me.
9. When tackling a problem, I look for quick, workable solutions that will get the matter behind me.
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30. 10. Give me enough details to identify the subtle, interactive factors that frame the decision.
11. What I do with my life is serious business, since even the tiniest action has distant impact.
12. Under pressure I look for holistic solutions that work to the advantage of every life-system around
me.
13. I strive to align my personal behavior with the most natural flow of a given situation.
14. Sweeping change is inevitable, so I welcome it as a natural part of life.
15. Conflict is best overcome by applying systemic solutions.
16. To the degree that we accept cut-and-dried solutions to intricate problems, we endanger our future.
17. Adversity is a test of personal flexibility and adaptability.
18. It would be rewarding to put together a group where we explore alternative futures for mankind.
19. We cannot escape the open-ended change that governs the universe.
20. Human progress results from harnessing renewable resources for planetary survival.
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