𓂉Like it or not; We're all part of a Pyramid Scheme or a Pyramid Meme.𓁶
"Over His Own Body & Mind The Individual IS Sovereign" [John Stuart Mill]
Can a simple framework change your life?
Doubtful. But it can change the way you think. Which can change the way you act.
Here's a simple way to understand why it’s so easy to get duped by the likes of FTX and other alleged Ponzi schemes because ‘We’re all part of a Pyramid Scheme or a Pyramid Meme’ - [by Gary Bailey for Monetization University]
In the News: FTX and SBF On Trial
As the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried rolls on, many a commentator has wondered how he duped so many people.
But was it that easy to spot before the collapse?
The truth is we all walk a narrow tightrope between pyramid schemes and pyramid memes
Source: All Media
So What?: Pyramid Scheme and Pyramid Meme
We're all part of a pyramid scheme or pyramid meme, but where we are in the pyramid matters.
So what is a meme?
They're seemingly everywhere.
Twitter, Linkedin, TikTok.
Everywhere!
A meme is an idea, behaviour, or style that spreads utilizing imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning.
A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols, or practices transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena with a mimicked theme. [wiki]
So what is a pyramid scheme?
They're seemingly everywhere in the financial world!
A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the system.
As recruiting multiplies, most members cannot profit; pyramid schemes are unsustainable and often illegal. [wiki]
Such schemes, called Ponzi or Multi-Level Marketing, are more common than we admit and appear when markets or economies unravel.
So, a pyramid meme relies on unending recruitment into a scheme that spreads virally into the culture from which most cannot hope to profit?
Crypto is a polarising subject. Rat poison to some, the future monetary system to others.
Whichever side of the fence you sit on, its social virality must be admired. 12 years to two or three trillion in value [depending on which marked-to-market week you pick] is remarkable to some, and, threatening to others!
But the question arises; is it a pyramid scheme or just another pyramid meme?
We're all already living in a pyramid meme; we don't know it, or so say the proponents of crypto.
Let's examine what this means for us all.
Why do we all love a good pyramid?
The shape of a pyramid allows weight to be distributed evenly throughout the structure.
They allowed ancient civilizations to create vast structures of stone that were very sturdy.
An organization's pyramid, or hierarchy, to use its familiar name – is no different.
The weight of the organization weighs heavy on the CEO crown.
Over the top prognosis?
Perhaps not.
Check out the CEO and median employee pay differential: a king-like pyramid, no less.
– A CEO's office is a meme.
– A corporate jet is a meme.
– The Patagonia Vest/Gilet is a meme.
– The fabled corporate chef at google was a meme that evocatively spoke to the early engineering pioneers who flocked for avocado and quinoa salads, a meme for West-Coast tech.
Memes all the way!
But it's not just organizations.
From the early school streaming to the football First XI, Second XI, reserves, etc. or the university grading system – simply a pyramid meme of achievement.
Modern Day Memes
We think of memes as idiotic. But they reveal an all too uncomfortable truth – like the Dave Chappelle joke that is funny, but only in private!
A couple of recent memes highlight the cultural sway that memes carry over the social media airwaves.
This one highlights the canonical you get what you pay for mantra familiar to many consultants....
And, this one highlights the ongoing narrative battle between non-bitcoin layer one blockchains – Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche etc
In the current digital-first world, memes are the cultural, linguistic shorthand for the attention poor.
The Crypto Meme
The US dollar decoupled from gold in the early 70s. Given that most currencies - kind of - pegged the dollar, we all then came off the gold standard.
From this point on, currencies and our monetary system became a meme. A meme in which we trust.
Often that belief is pierced - multiple crashes, financial crises, and other economic woes such as rising inflation attest to this, but the meme remains strong.
Even gold itself is a meme, the value of which we have ascribed throughout the ages.
Bitcoin is no better or worse, just the latest meme.
So what has this got to do with your career?
Now What? Takeaway:
Organizational & Motivational Memes
The much loved Maslow's hierarchy is a motivational meme that has shaped the work culture since the late 20th Century.
Self-actualization, the pinnacle of the pyramid, refers to realizing your potential.
Self-fulfilment, personal growth and the desire to accomplish everything....to become the most that one can be.
– A meme for our purpose and ambitions!
That a CEO mentioning a stock or coin [Doge] on Saturday Night Live causes a buying frenzy is evidence of the pyramid meme.
The Robinhood Wall Street bets 'Get Shorty' takedown of Melvin Capital shows the power of pyramid memes when mobilised by the weapon of social media.
We're all living in an age of pyramid schemes and pyramid memes.
The best founders, investors and executives understand and utilize the power of memes to move clients, customers and their team's culture toward their mission.
Ps. If you have any great frameworks you’ve created or seen that you want featured in this newsletter, please shoot them over.
Bye.
Only Frameworks