Leadership, Love and Memes

Fast Company magazine recently featured an article by Tim Sanders, the Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo, entitled 'Love Is the Killer App' Here is some of what Sanders has to say in his introduction:

"The most powerful force in business isn't greed, fear, or even the raw energy of unbridled competition. The most powerful force in business is love. It's what will help your company grow and become stronger. It's what will propel your career forward. It's what will give you a sense of meaning and satisfaction in your work, which will help you do your best work..... My experience with Victoria's Secret taught me the three critical drivers of professional success, the three elemental particles of love in business. They are knowledge, networks, and compassion."

Make a mental note of your reaction right now.

I, personally, think its great that he's saying this and that its getting published in a large publication, international business magazine.

One person who does not think its great is Lucy Kellaway who wrote a review of the article in the Financial Times on 4^thFebruary. She says:

"What is interesting is not whether love is a good business principle but why this daft notion has caught on now. In part it is simply a continuation of the same touchy-feely craze that started with empowerment and progressed through trust and passion to reach "love" as its logical conclusion. The reason this talk of love troubles me is not just that it is inappropriate but it detracts from what is really happening."

So how are we to make sense of these two completely divergent views? One way is to see it in terms of Spiral Dynamics which looks at human development proceeding through eight general stages or memes. A meme is basic stage of development that can be expressed in any activity. The memes or stages are not rigid levels but flowing waves with much overlap and interweaving. And we all have all of the memes potentially available to us.

You can find out more about Spiral Dynamics at http://www.spiraldynamics.org/ (take a mini-course on the left hand frame). But in summary, adapted from Spiral Dynamic: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change, by Don Beck and Chris Cowan, the eight memes are:

8. Turquoise Meme - Whole View - synergise and macromanage

7. Yellow Meme - Flex Flow - integrate and align systems

6. Green Meme - Human Bond - explore inner self, equalize others

5. Orange Meme - Strive Drive - analyse and strategize to prosper

4. Blue Meme - Truth Force - find purpose, bring order, insure future

3. Red Meme - Power Gods - express impulsively, break free, be      strong

2. Purple Meme - Kin Spirits - seek harmony and safety in a mysterious world

1. Beige Meme - Survival Sense - sharpen instincts and innate senses.

These might not mean a whole lot to you and they have been extensively researched and tested practically. However I wanted to give you a sense of this growth hierarchy before exploring three relevant memes for our discussion here.

The Orange Meme is probably where 30% of the adult population are but they have 50% of the power according to Ken Wilber in his book 'A Theory of Everything'. The Orange Meme view is that the world is a 'rational, well-oiled machine with natural laws that can be learned, mastered and manipulated for one's own purpose. The laws of science rule politics, the economy and human events'.

I would assess that Lucy Kellaway has a strong Orange Meme world view.

The Green Meme however believes that the human spirit must be freed from greed, dogma and divisiveness; feeling and caring supersede cold rationality; cherishing of the earth, Gaia, life. Emphasis on dialogue, relationships, networking, diversity, multi-culturalism and relativistic value systems. Ken Wilber suggest that the Green Meme make up 10% of the adult population and hold 15% of the power. But their numbers are growing fast. They did not really exist at all 50 years ago.

I would guess that Tim Sanders is Green Meme at least.

Even from this very short introduction, one can begin to see how both of their views are valid, depending upon what stage of development you are at. Both will find it difficult to see each others views as they are both looking at a different world. It is not until you develop to the Yellow Meme that you are open to seeing all the previous Memes and appreciating them as part of human development.

I find the implications for leaders to be enormous. It is likely that your team, department and organisation will have a diversity of value Memes. Perhaps one things that great leaders are able to do is appreciate all the other memes and communicate with them at their own level. It seems a leader has to paint many pictures, each of which appeal to a particular set of values or world view.



Mike W Bell has been a senior executive, leadership coach and organizational development consultant for over 30 years. For the last 15 or more of these I have been weaving an old wisdom tradition with the latest science and research to find more whole and balanced approaches to leadership and organization. 


My latest eBook, a modern fable entitled Leadership Intelligences in Action can be previewed at http://mutualinspiration.co.uk/leadershipintelligences/liaebook/