The Next Big Thing Isn’t a Thing
The next really “Big Thing” needed by all life on our planet is a renaissance in the social architecture of our society. Our social systems – commerce, finance, education, healthcare, government, media, etc. – are suffering the consequences of archaic and fundamentally flawed design. The three major design flaws are:
These design flaws are so pervasive, commonplace and longstanding that they are as water to a fish — invisible. Yet essentially all of the local and global crises afflicting life on our planet – poverty, hunger, unemployment, terrorism, environmental, endless wars, species extinction, etc. – are a result of these flaws.
Our renaissance in social architecture — the reinvention of our social systems — will reverse these design flaws — and change everything.
Humanity’s Choicepoint: Finite or Infinite Games?
The history of humanity has been dominated by man-made ‘finite games’ — played with great seriousness — some deadly serious. The purpose these ‘finite games’ is winning, where winning usually involves maximizing the accumulation of money, possessions, property, souls, control, trophies, sales, WMD, publications, military victories, degrees, notoriety, knowledge, customers — whatever.
We’ve invented ‘finite games’ in every domain of life — governance, commerce, education, health care, warfare, transportation, entertainment, sports, agriculture, space exploration, etc. Most all of our developed societies have been organized around such games.
As our species become more masterful in the art of ‘finite games’, the games are proving to be devastatingly finite — win/lose games with the ultimate risk of a lose/lose conclusion for all involved.
Meanwhile, the rest of our planet’s millions of species seem to be caught up in a very different kind of game — one that has been in play on this planet for a few billion years. The purpose of their game seems to be to produce more and more beauty, diversity, resilience, consciousness and capacity — an ‘infinite game.’
GlobalGEA sees humanity at an extraordinary choice point:
Option A — We can choose to continue to play according to the rules of today’s finite games — the Red/Orange/Yellow Scenarios
Option B — We can consciously choose to shift to a higher-level game — the Green/Blue Scenarios — an infinite game.
GlobalGEA is committed to advance and support Option B. We are convinced that we, as a species, can collectively learn to navigate the developmental transition from our ‘systemic adolescence’ to mature, responsible, ‘adult social systems’. GlobalGEA has evolved a broad transformational strategy and action-learning framework to support such a rite of passage. ‘Destination Blue Star’ is the name we’ve chosen for this strategy.
Humanity’s Potential: A ‘Blue Star Future’
Today, we humans have everything we need, first to imagine, and then to set out on a journey to co-evolve a future that works for all life — for all time.
A future that works for all life — for all time? Can you imagine it?
We at GlobalGEA have created a ‘lens’ as an aid to seeing that possibility. We call it the Blue Star Future. We use it as a template to support us in collectively imagining such a seemingly impossible destination.
We have chosen 5 ‘star points’ as prompts to stimulate our imagination — and to help us escape the ‘gravitational pull’ of those beliefs that keep us from searching for and discovering our highest purpose — from fully developing our unique gifts — from finding and mastering the work that is ours to do.
A Blue Star Future
Fulfilling work for everyone
All social systems ‘self-evolving’
Opportunities for all to go ‘Full Maslow’
Full co-creative partnership with the rest of nature
Success redefined as ‘contribution to the wellbeing of all life’
These ‘impossible goals’ are indeed impossible within the designs of today’s social systems. Collectively we have created incredibly complex and intertwined systems of governance, commerce, education, agriculture, media, military force, health care, transportation and communication. Almost every one of the complex social forms that make up each of these sectors shares the three potentially fatal design flaws.
Every region, city and/or organization on our planet can reverse these three design flaws and begin its journey to its version of a Blue Star future.
Destination Blue Star is GlobalGEA’s strategic framework for guiding our complex social systems (regions, cities, corporations, institutions, etc.) along that journey – from where they are to who they can become. Learn more about Destination Blue Star.
Our main approach and ‘vehicle of choice’ for navigating this transition is GALE – generative action-learning expedition. Learn more about GALE.
How might GlobalGEA be engaged at an organization, city and/or regional level?
If you are energized by either possibility, please contact Max Shkud or Bill Veltrop. We would be delighted to engage in an exploratory conversation with you.
A Blue Star Story
In March of 2011 Marilyn and Bill Veltrop visited New Zealand for the first time. Bruce Holland and Owen Harvey, esteemed Kiwi colleagues, encouraged and supported Celia Wade-Brown, mayor of Wellington, in calling a breakfast gathering of Wellington regional leaders. At this breakfast we shared our emerging vision for the possibility of regional metamorphosis. The same dynamic duo of charismatic Kiwis arranged a follow-up gathering of regional change-makers for the following day. At that 2nd gathering Bruce, Owen and a group of their colleagues decided that they wanted to plant and nurture the Blue Star Future seed in the Wellington region.
That was then. This is now. We invite you to dive deeply into the web site they have developed in the service of evolving toward their Blue Star Future. Bruce Holland authored a good bit of the writing on the site. He’s brilliantly clear and pragmatic in articulating his commitment and insights about what’s possible in Wellington, the rest of New Zealand and beyond.
