Spiral Dynamics Integral

Good ideas, but writing style is too new age, over-reliant on emotionally charged waffle, unscientific, with little hard data to back up conclusions and no counterpoint in its discourse. There is an undercurrent of doom-mongering and an implicitly negative assumption of a broken society, which is highly distracting and grating in its attempts to provide emotional weight to a theory. I give an extra star, as SD itself is a meaningful and holistic lens through which to interpret the world, but like most theories in this space a bit overly simplistic / idealistic, and does not fully point to practical solutions for untying the complexities at the root of some of today's pressing issues (e.g. Israel-Palestine). Interesting, but not a silver bullet.

The book has helped me understand societies as they really are. It provides a new psychology that helps one understand Humanity and offers a very practical guide for local politicians and world leaders alike. But furthermore, it is not a cynical analysis of facts with guidance on how to control societies, but instead it offers the practical tools on how to help societies move to their next level of existence. It has helped me understand the socioeconomic and political crisis in my country (Cyprus) and explained the failure of the Arab Spring revolutions in the area.It has helped me get rid of my extreme criticism of 'bad behavior' and recognize the fact that we are all moving to our next level of existence by understanding where we are today and how to participate in the development of a better society and a new world order.

As other reviewers have said, this book is not well written, yet even so I couldn't mark it down because the concept of Spiral Dynamics is one of the most powerful ideas I've ever come across. I genuinely see people, businesses, and whole societies through a different lens having read this. It took me a long while to get through but it was more than worth it. If you're less patient and want a much quicker, easy to read introduction to Spiral Dynamics, this is a great 43 page e-book: Emergence Vol 1 - Introduction by Rosemary Wilkie. However if you want much more depth I do recommend reading this original book.

Good read.

Perfect

Really fantastic insight into human progression and how we develop. Recommend this to anyone who wants a deep understanding of human behaviour.

This is a must read for anybody who is interested in the understanding and application of the deeper motivational drives of people and how these interact with each other and within a holistic perspective.

Love it!