Our esteemed colleague, Dr. Philip A. Foster, will be wrapping up his tenure as an Open Organization Ambassador at the end of October. I hope you'll join me in wishing him well and thanking him for his contributions to our efforts.
Phil joined the ambassadors in March 2016 and was one of the group's first members. Phil wrote the book on open organizations (aptly titled _The Open Organization_) that preceded Jim Whitehurst's by a year. When we saw and read the book, Jason Hibbets and I knew we'd found someone that could help us make sense of a burgeoning intellectual field in which Phil was already playing a major role. He's been a kind and patient mentor ever since. During his time as an ambassador, Phil composed seven articles for Opensource.com [1]. One of his most popular pieces, "Why we need open leaders more than ever," appeared as the introduction to the _Open Organization Leaders Manual_ [2]. Phil was a driving force behind the Open Organization Definition and a consultant on the Open Organization Maturity Model when that project was nothing more than some hastily-pecked notes in a text file. As he transitions into his new role in our community, Phil continues his work as both an instructor of university courses on open organizational theory and practice _and_ an open-focused executive leadership coach. He'll be, as my mother likes to say, "plenty busy." But as Phil stressed to me recently: "This is a slowdown, not a stop." Phil remains connected to our community. He will occasionally write for Opensource.com, and insists he's always just a few clicks away on openorg-list or on IRC in #openorgambassadors. He is also hard at work on an introduction to the "Transparency" section of the forthcoming _Open Organization Workbook_. Thanks, Phil, for all your work, insight, service, and mentorship. And best of luck! Sincerely, Bryan ----- [1] <https://opensource.com/user_articles/15497> [2] <https://opensource.com/open-organization/17/2/need-open-leaders-more-ever> _______________________________________________ Openorg-list mailing list [email protected] https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/openorg-list
