2009 Convention, Las Vegas

THIS WEEK: The 32nd Adizes International Convention in Albania, June 29-July 6

For over 30 years, Dr. Adizes, founder of the Adizes Institute and Graduate School, has hosted the International Convention for AGS students and faclty, consulting Adizes practitioners, clients and more recently - learning opportunities (June 29-July 1) have been opened to the public. The convention has been hosted across the world in many countries.  From the conference website: 

2010 Int'l Forum on Agribusiness, Ukrain

Still little known is the fact that the amazing idea behind this historic transformation -- that sports, particularly in a traditionally racially divided country, can be used as a method of uniting a new nation -- is largely due to the work of a brilliant American scholar from Denton, Texas. ... All indicators are that it was professor Don E. Beck... 

...a kind of 'code of cultural differences' ... judging and inspiring people according to value systems instead of skin-color, gender or ethnic stereotypes.  ...Once you judged people by value systems, you could design systems to bring groups up in the development scale.

 

...Beck often appeared on TV and radio in those days, wrote articles outlining his ideas, and worked with the teams of Mandela, F.W. de Klerk, and Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi who, Geyer notes, called Beck "amizimuti" -- the one with powerful medicine.

Beck's attention in the last few years has been focused on Palestine, where he and his colleague, Elza Maalouf, an attorney and human development facilitator from Lebanon, have met with leaders from political, religious and educational groups on the West Bank and Gaza. In 2008, they held a 'Summit on the Future of Palestine' in Bethlehem with more than 700 local leaders. Beck recalls:

"None of the highly emotional speeches by Palestinian leaders mentioned Israel or even 'the occupation'. The focus was on how to build a culture which could expand into a citizenship in a state or nation. They were critical of corrupt elements in Fatah leadership, and they found radical elements in Hamas an obstacle to peace and justice."

 

"Everyone there that day understood", he said, "that they would have to change their approach if they wanted to move to a new stage with Israel."

Dr. Bruce LaRue

AGS FACULTY NEWS:

Presentations in Brazil 

 

Brazil stands at a crossroad in their history and in the future of the world. It has the unique opportunity to recognize and learn from the successes and mistakes of other Nations.  As Brazil takes its place of prominence in the emerging multi-polar world of global commerce, it can learn from both the successes of the West, and also the consequences of some misguided priorities. As citizens, civic and business leaders, we are called upon to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. 

The pattern and structure in a leaf is like the structures and policies of an organization or society.  They create the framework that determines the direction of growth, while sensing and adapting to environmental cues. 

 

Businesses, like organisms, must learn to sense and appropriately adapt to changes in their environment. What makes human institutions unique is that they not only adapt to their environment but they adapt their environment to themselves.

 

We find ourselves today adapting to second and third order effects of changes that we ourselves have created in our world.  Our current situation did not emerge by chance, but arose as the result of largely unconscious assumptions and beliefs that shaped social and economic policy. Some of these effects have been positive while others have been so destructive that they threaten to undermine the existence of humankind on this planet.
 
We can choose to remain locked in a debate between left versus right; liberal versus conservative; business versus the environment -- or we can begin to rethink and re-examine the assumptions and values that led us to where we are today. It is only then that we can chart a sensible and sustainable course for the road ahead.

Spiral Dynamics Berkeley Lecture & Workshop August 27-28, 2010 

A Ph.D. candidate at Adizes Graduate School, Darrell Gooden is working on meshing Spiral Dynamics theory, Adizes methodology and other mangement practices in a dissertation called Quantum Memetics.  From the side bars at left, you can see that Adizes methodology and Spiral Dynamics are complementary, practical, actionable management constructs. Mr. Gooden believes the time has come for action in California. He has teamed up with Dr. Don E. Beck, Roger Wetzel, and Terry Patten of Bay Area Integral to present a one-day workship as co-founder with Mr. Wetzel of the new Center for Human Emegence: California.

Currently the [California] State's unemployment level hovers around 12.4%, Standard & Poor's Corp. has cut California's credit rating the lowest level among all 50 states.   Expenditures for public education rank 41st in the nation, the high school dropout rate sits at 36%, and the State faces a budget deficit of between $36 and $42 billion dollars, depending on whom you believe.

California has the 8th largest economy in the world, our education system used to be envied, we have some of the most brilliant minds on the planet with some of the greatest technology originating here.  California has always been a trend setter, but the current trend is a disastrous one indeed.