MEMES

Memes are widely accepted bits of information, thoughts, feelings or behaviours.  For example. “don’t run with a knife in your hand”. It can be a passing fad or an old wives’ tale. Some a factual and some are false. Like “wait 20 minutes after you have eaten, before you go swimming.”  Some are simple and others complicated. As a result, common sense solutions to problems never get implemented because they do not fit with the memes in the dominant culture. It’s the reason why we know what we are against, but don’t know what the solution is.

A meme is a cultural gene. You pass on your biological heritage through genetics and your cultural heritage through memetics. You pass on your pattern of beliefs and behaviours, assumptions and routines through a process similar to a virus infection.

Ever wondered why new ideas infect the minds of some people and not others? In organisations and communities, a wide range of initiatives, projects, programmes, best practices, ways of thinking and behaving all compete for your attention.

To understand how Open Space Technique is an example of a method I use with my corporate clients to identify their memes and how to change them. It also helps “change agents” capture the attention of busy people trying to understand what is limiting their ability to make change happen. It works on the basis that rather than expending energy on trying to remove differences, it is more effective to honour the diversity and allow people to acknowledge their interdependence and their diversity of views.

An excellent book on this topic is ‘Shifting the Patterns’ by If Price and Ray Shaw who identify a range of approaches that can help us break out of limiting patterns of thought and behaviour. Bringing different patterns of thinking to people’s attention is empowering. The approach called “reframing’ involves looking at the same situation through a different lens to see what is currently not being seen – but does exist. This is using the lens of ‘memes’ to make sense of things.

One way of trying to understand what is going on in terms of cultural change is to see it in terms of Spiral Dynamics which looks at human development proceeding through eight stages of memes – a meme being a basic stage of development that can be expressed in any action. we all have these memes potentially available to us – like emotions.

Memes have been extensively researched. The Orange meme is probably where 30% of the adult population are, but these people hold 50% of the power. Which explains a lot. The majority of people still see the world as a rational, well-oiled machine with natural laws that can be learned and manipulated for one’s own purpose.

The Green Meme worldview holds that the human spirit must be freed from greed, dogma and decisiveness, with feeling and caring superseding cold rationality. The emphasis is on dialogue, relationships, networking, diversity, multi-culturalism and relative value systems. They are about 10% of the population but with 15% of the power. But their number is growing fast. The strive and drive meme is no longer bringing the satisfactions it once did.

At the Yellow Meme level, it will be possible for us to accept diversity and understand that others see the world differently and that is OK. Indeed, it is to be valued and holds the key to the better future.

Implications for Change Coaching

Change Coaches are beginning to use this framework to identify the values of their clients and devise strategies for addressing their coaching needs. I find the groupings quite helpful in understanding the underlying values and beliefs likely to be held by different clients. For example . . . .

PURPLE PEOPLE

Purple thinking clients look to rituals, traditions and metaphors and believe in fate. They tend to be dominated by top-down energy, coming from bosses, policies and other controlling forces. They want to be led and are driven by how they feel – intuitively.

RED PEOPLE

Red thinking clients are addicted to instant pleasure. They want immediate rewards and demand respect, results and compliance to their view of things. They use charm as a weapon, not a compliment.

BLUE PEOPLE

Blue thinking clients believe there is only one right way to do things. It is best to avoid right or wrong and focus on desired outcomes. It is difficult to convince them that there are alternatives. Their satisfaction comes from striving to fulfill their duty. They love rules and regulations and are likely to be serious and formal.

ORANGE PEOPLE

Orange thinking people make dynamic sales people and revel in the glory of success. They are assertive with entrepreneurial spirits and want to win. I demand lots of goals from orange thinkers as they like to think of themselves as high achievers.

GREEN PEOPLE

Green thinking people want to work with others in a mutually rewarding way. They believe everyone is dependent on everybody else. They believe in the rights of the individual and will seek support for moral guidance. They are often drawn to the caring professions

YELLOW PEOPLE 

Yellow thinking people are likely to be coaches. They see alternatives and take a broad, open-minded view of life. They like goals clearly defined and projects on the go. They tend to be information seekers and read around a wide range of subjects. They are happy to leave the acclaim for others to enjoy and do not need external appreciation. . .

Reading

The Life Coaching Handbook by Curly Martin. Crown House 2001

Navigating Complexity by Arthur Battram. The Industrial Society 1998

The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore. Oxford 2000

Shifting the Patterns by If Price & Ray Shaw.  Management Books 2000