I think Open Space will work wether the share Oscar from equilibrium or close to equilibrium as I suspect is born out by the thousands of successful examples. It seems to me the critical ingredients in boteh these situations are; is there enough diversity present and is there enough passion/caring/ energy present in the space.
David Sent from my iPad On Sep 19, 2011, at 1:45 PM, John Watkins <[email protected]> wrote: > Great questions, Michael! > > I think when I am feeling optimistic (most of the time) I see OST as creating > one of those "far from equilibrium states" that Prigogine and Stengers talk > about as enabling new orders to emerge; however, in less sanguine times, I > could also imagine OST as just a "subsystem fluctuation" enabling larger > system stability. But I think that most of our larger systems these days are > exhibiting something like either disequilibrium or bifurcation points, so > maybe OST is able to restructure the system architecture so fundamentally > that a new order could emerge. Weick talks about that restructuring of the > system architecture in order to change the "flows" of energy in the system. > I think Bateson referred to one kind of larger system disequilibrium as an > "uptight system," where at least one of the "variables" is "pinned" at its > upper or lower limits of its range of flexibility, resulting in that rigidity > rippling through the whole system. Rigid systems change more easily, but > not usually in a very pretty way: chaotic bursts, turbulence, tumbling into > chaos, new orders emerging spontaneously... > > John > > On Sep 19, 2011, at 10:24 AM, Michael Herman wrote: > >> yes, thanks, john. and... where does os practice drop into either of these? >> in bateson terms, it seems open space meetings would be an alternative >> state that organizations are unconsciously working to prevent? how does >> something like working in an open space way become part of the equilbrium >> state that is then automatically preserved by continually returning from >> anything that's alternative to that way of being in organization? in lemke >> terms, there seems a place for operating in open space, but will it always >> require what sounds like a crisis, choice-point to be helpful? how does >> working in an open space way become normal in systems that are storied in >> this way? m >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Michael Herman >> Michael Herman Associates >> 312-280-7838 (mobile) >> >> http://MichaelHerman.com >> http://ManorNeighbors.com >> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org >> >> >> >> >> >> On Mon, Sep 19, 2011 at 12:06 PM, John Watkins <[email protected]> wrote: >> Michael, >> >> I think Gregory Bateson addressed the question of equilibrium most >> eloquently a long time ago in his great book, Steps to an Ecology of Mind! >> And I've seen some great analysis of it in Jay Lemke's book, Textual >> Politics. Let's see if I can find the relevant quotes... >> >> Bateson: Systems “…maintain a dynamic equilibrium or steady state… [through] >> maximiz[ing] the chances against the maximization of any single simple >> variable” (124). “The steady state is maintained by continual >> nonprogressive change” (125). What Bateson noticed was that allowable >> levels of fluctuations in some subset of a larger system were used to create >> relative stability in the larger system, but that those fluctuations never >> led to fundamental shifts in the architecture of the system, as they >> continually shifted out of and then returned to a kind of dynamic >> equilibrium. It is a “corrective action… brought about by [the awareness >> of] difference” (Bateson, 1972:381). A social system “…does not elect the >> steady state; it prevents itself from staying in any alternative state” >> (381). Or, “[T]he constancy and survival of some larger system is maintained >> by changes in the constituent subsystem” (Bateson, 1972:339). >> >> Lemke calls that a “meta-stable non-equilibrium” (Lemke, 1995:11). He goes >> on to argue that as social systems develop, they become more ordered and >> differentiated, increasingly complex, and as such, demonstrate >> irreversibility. At some point, in various layers of their hierarchy >> (hierarchy in systems theory is not the same as hierarchy of authority or >> knowledge, e.g., bureaucracy; it is a concept of scale, in scope, time, or >> space), open, complex systems begin to demonstrate non-symmetry, or the >> possibility of bifurcation (branching, “choice” points), due to the >> amplified, interacting oscillations of various sub-systems. Bifurcation in >> larger systems can enable larger out-of-equilibrium fluctuations in, or >> unpredictable interactions between, sub-systems to result in evolutionary, >> or adaptive, change in the larger system... >> >> Does this help? >> >> John >> >> >> >> On Sep 19, 2011, at 9:36 AM, Michael Herman wrote: >> >>> i want to echo florian's appreciation for your story, john, thank you. and >>> i have a question about "equilibrium." >>> >>> in financial markets, gene fama won a nobel prize for his theory of >>> "efficient" markets, suggesting that markets always reflected all current >>> information, immediately returning to "equilbrium" after every news >>> release, so that above-normal returns were not possible. many now question >>> or dismiss this. >>> >>> so, in a world that is always moving, what does the theory you described so >>> nicely have to say about equilibrium? does it then lead into questions >>> about locality and "self" ...the department might be in equilibrium but the >>> company is falling apart, or vice versa... so the boundaries of the "self" >>> that is being invited to organize or re-organize really matter. >>> >>> mostly i'm just wondering if you can say more to map the open systems, >>> thermodynamics, and esp equilibrium story to what we have all seen >>> happening in organizations and open spaces. is "equilibrium" the same as >>> "normal?" >>> >>> m >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Michael Herman >>> Michael Herman Associates >>> 312-280-7838 (mobile) >>> >>> http://MichaelHerman.com >>> http://ManorNeighbors.com >>> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org >>> >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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