Weekly Book Review No. 26

Spiral Dynamics is a model that explains the functioning of complex systems - such as individuals, companies, but also political, social and economic developments - with a clarity that is incomparable. Based on the Graves Model according to Claire W. Graves, the two authors Don E. Beck and Christopher C. Cowan developed a method that opens up completely new possibilities in terms of transformation.

Why is it so groundbreakingly different? Because Spiral Dynamics is different from general management systems. It does not believe in trends, structures and theories that promise success for everyone and in every situation. Not that Don Beck and Christopher Cowan claim that none of the common approaches work, but only if the chosen model corresponds to the developmental stage of the addressee(s). And this is where their method differs from all others. Their processes are based on the current developmental stage of the team, the company or the country and are adapted to it. Is that easier than simply developing a model and then applying it to everything? No, but certainly more promising!

Why the Graves Model or its further development Spiral Dynamics is not the basis of every management training, change process or transformation is a mystery to me personally. But by reading these 508 pages, every manager and every politician has certainly invested their time wisely. If that is too much for you, start on page 261 ff. and learn:

- Why some business transformation strategies work and others fail so miserably, and

- How transformation can succeed even in systems that are resistant to change, if it is approached in the right way - i.e. in a way that is appropriate to the stage of development.