Harrison, I thank you for your words and suggestions. And I am motivated to do as you say.. from what I have heard from the engineer client group, they are È out of options and have nothing left to loseè and I am certainly in a situation where numerous people, in my humble perception, would rather fail badly than try something new and different- particularly something that challenged their perceived ability to control . But that said, given the engineers that I have engaged, I know they see the value .and, hopefully, with or without established Ècase studiesÈ and examples of similar utlitiies in similar situations, will help me show the value to the power houses who make the decisions for the utilitiy I work for. thanks, Judy
From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Harrison Owen Sent: March-17-11 11:02 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [OSLIST] use of Open Space in Public Utilities Judy Welcome back! And have fun!! But when it comes to cases, I would hope that you get some, and I am sure they will be interesting. That said, I have never found case all that helpful as a way of introduction. People look interested, nod their heads and then say something like, Sounds wonderful, but it cant happen here (for all the usual reasons.) You can give them all the cases they want, but the refrain is usually the same. However there is a way in which you know very well. Do it! Find a target of opportunity and go for it. That neednt be large. Somewhere in that environment you find yourself in there will be dozens of situations where you have a real screaming issue, lots of complexity, diversity, passion/conflict and a need for resolution yesterday. When you see something like that, wait until the folks are desperate and out of options. At that point get next to them and whisper in their ear if you are out of options you might want to try After all you have nothing left to lose!An amazing number of folks would rather fail badly than try something new and different particularly something that challenged their perceived ability to CONTROL. So dont count on 100% acceptance but the likelihood is that somebody will take the bait. And when they do, you have your case right there in little old downtown Corporate. And all the usual excuses dont work anymore. To be sure people can choose to go back and be miserable. They can choose to fail with abandon. But they will always know there is an alternative. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Dr. Potomac, MD 20854 USA Phone 301-365-2093 www.openspaceworld.com www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Judy Gast Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 11:11 PM To: [email protected] Subject: use of Open Space in Public Utilities Hello all, I was introduced to Open Space back in 1996 in a small monastery in Guelph, Ontario. It was a seminal experience that changed my understanding of how things work. Many years later, I now find myself (recently joined a large utility) wanting to introduce/use Open Space to help a group of internal clients, who are responsible for improving the grid reliability (aka keeping the lights on) for this utility. From my limited tenure (two months), the culture is deeply embedded in command and control, and very siloed (I liken it to a highly authoritarian parenting model.) I searched the archives for examples that I could present of similar organizations with similar needs and didnt come up with anything. Can anyone point me to an article/case study of an OS event that I can use to help promote the concept to my client. Thanks, Judy Gast * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
