All posts by Said E. Dawlabani

President & CEO of The MEMEnomics Group

Don Beck’s 1995 Strategy to Unite South Africa through Rugby

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In celebrating the life of the great South African leader Nelson Mandela we often ignore the work that was done behind the scenes that made the story of South Africa possible. For a period of ten years my mentor and friend Dr. Don Edward Beck was one of many people who worked with many stakeholders in South Africa to insure the transition from Apartheid is as smooth as possible. What is not being mentioned by the media is that the Orange values in South Africa (industry) took the lead is transitioning the country out it its segregated past. Much of that work is detailed in the book The Crucible; Forging South Africa’s Future, which Dr. Beck co-wrote with South African Journalist Graham Linscott. The book will be republished in 2014 on its 20th Anniversary with an update on where South Africa is today and how far it has come in implementing the Road map outlined in the book. It is ironic that when Madeba passed,  Dr. Beck (after a 15-year absence from South Africa), was in Johannesburg on a tour of South African universities for a closer Memetic assessment of where the country has moved to in the last two decades.

Since work behind the scenes does not make for a sexy read or for prime time media coverage, here is a story that will. Many readers have seen the movie Invictus. What people don’t know is that Don Beck, who was a football player in his youth, became the team psychologist for the New Orleans Saints. Sports psychology remains Don’s passion till this day. In South Africa, he became a close friend and adviser to the Springbok coach Kitch Chritie and team captain François Piennar.  Don declined the invitation to be the adviser on the movie because of certain historic inaccuracies in the script.

Mendela-Piennar

Here’s how journalist Linscott described Don’s strategy: Beck recommended that an African crowd song should be introduced at The World Cup matches. That if possible the support of Nelson should be enlisted… It is history now, but the mainly white crowds adopted the African miners’ song Shosholoza. Afrikaner hardliners cheered and wept with emotion as Nelson Mandela wore Piennar’s No.7 jersey before the final game. Black newspapers, which had ignored Rugby as a white sport, went into frenzies of excitement with each succeeding World Cup Victory. Never before had the new South Africa been more emotionally united. Sports unity is something Beck always called for, not just for its own sake, but as a nation-builder.

For the detailed strategy that Don outlined, please click on this link to an interview Don did with our associate Russ Volkman, editor of Integral Leadership Review  after the release of Invictus.

Invictus & Don Beck’s Six Games to Glory

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MEMEnomics; The Next-Generation Economic System –The Book

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Friends and colleagues, after more than 10 years of working closely with Dr. Don Beck, hundreds of presentations and training seminars, 5 years of research and three years of writing, I am happy to announce that my new book MEMEnomics; The Next-Generation Economic System was launched on September 30, 2013.

I am grateful to all my colleagues and thought leaders for supporting the framework for the sustainability philosophies outlined in the book. I am  humbled by the compliments it continues to receive  from both the integral consciousness community and the business community. I’m especially thankful for Don Beck of the Global Center for Human Emergence for writing the brilliant foreword,  to Deepak Chopra, the sage and the scientist for his beautiful words of endorsement, to Howard Putman, former CEO of Southwest Airlines for his Big Picture view of the book, to Jean Houston, one of the founders of the Human Potential Movement for her relentless support and for Dr. Bruce Lipton for acknowledging its evolutionary nature.

My gratitude also goes out to Economist Hazel Henderson, Founder of Ethical Markets for her endorsement, to Cindy Wigglesworth, author of SQ21  and to John Steiner and Margot King of the Tranpartisan Center in Boulder, CO for their support of our work over the years.  The enthusiasm the book is receiving echoes the need for better business values around the world. Its success is a celebration of the emerging values of business consciousness that give us all hope for the future.

memenomics jacket option ns edit 3- 8.5

Below is a publishers preview from amazon.com

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2013

Books about subjects like economics are rarely written from the perspective of human or cultural evolution. Seldom, if ever, does a reader come across a narrative with pioneering methods that reframe a specialized discipline through a wide-cultural whole systems approach. This is precisely what Said E. Dawlabani does in this revolutionary book, Memenomics: The Next-Generation Economic System. This is a book that reframes the issues of competing economic and political ideologies and places them into an evolutionary new paradigm. This is a book about change done right.

It is no secret that today we are dealing with a great political divide that threatens many of our democratic institutions. Right and left ideologies have becomes polarized camps that seem to be worlds apart. If we were to do a content analysis of all the speeches, books, and articles from the last few years, we would see several clear and distinct patterns which seem to point us in several different directions. There is a formidable challenge that awaits thinkers who are shaping the future of humanity. One of monumental proportions that will call on our collective ability to create political and economic systems that can best handle the complex conditions confronting life on our planet. When the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith penned his views on the evolution of human morality and trade over two centuries ago, he captured the hearts and minds of people the world over. But today, after guiding the free enterprise system to unimaginable heights, his teachings are being questioned at their core. Current global economic and governing systems can no longer run on fixed or rigid ideologies regardless of how virtuous or inspiring they were in the past. In order for new leadership to emerge to answer our challenges, new paradigms must be created.

One new paradigm for human and cultural emergence is beautifully detailed in this book. Memenomics makes the case for how artificially imposed systems in economics become closed and toxic. By using processes that were pioneered through five decade of research and global applications Said repeatedly makes the case for why the future of economics must consider a values-systems approach if the field should emerge into a whole-systems form of leadership in the future. Through technologies such as Natural Design and life cycles of values systems, Said pioneers a fresh reframing of economic history that uncovers the blockages of trickle-down approaches of the past. He then offers remedies that set a new standard for sustainable practices, ones that are based on functional platforms designed to address the needs of people and cultures at their particular level of economic emergence. This book is a brilliant primer on the application of the values-systems theory to economics. It is a field guide for anyone looking to establish a cultural values-systems understanding not only to economics but also to the applications of the theory of Spiral Dynamics and the seminal work of Clare W. Graves. It represents the evolution of the Gravesian model into a field that rarely considers the different needs and motivations of the different stages of human and societal development.

To buy the book on amazon, please click on this link

You can also read the Foreword, Introduction and Chapter One for free on Amazon Kindle Preview here 

I’m quite pleased with the success of the book. It has been consistently in the top 100 books on Economic Theory for the Kindle version.  Although the Library Journal doesn’t consider it a part of mainstream economics, it was never intended to be as such. Change, rarely, if ever comes from within the system; a view that this theoretical framework made clear over four decades ago.

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Spiral Dynamics & Memenomics; Human Emergence Training in Austin, Texas

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Dr. Don Beck and I led a two-day intensive training in Spiral Dynamics and Memenomics in Austin Texas. As many as 60 attendees were present from all over the country. The event coincided with the South by South West (SXSW) conferences and Festival.  Thanks to our sponsors Peace through Commerce, Voice & Exit, and What if it Really Works? who made it all possible. Below are some slides from my presentation that show the re-framing of economic issues through the prism of this emerging science we call values-systems. For those interested in becoming certified in Spiral Dynamics level 1  by Dr. Beck himself, we’ll be offering a 3-day long training to coincide with the launch of The Center for Human Emergence  Third Coat in Houston and the launch of my book. These events are all slated to take place September 20-24 with speaking engagements and book signings at different venues. The SDi training Level One will be on the weekend. Please check back in late July or early August for posted updates on the September schedule

The slides below are often the ones that are the most informative about the Memenomics framework and tend to solicit the most questions and comments. Many of the plotted graphs will be shared on the Memenomics website after the release of my Book: Memenomics; The Next Generation Economic System.  Please visit earlier posts if you’d like to deepen your knowledge about the history of Memenomics, Spiral Dynamics, values-systems, Dr. Don E. Beck and Professor Clare W. Graves.

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