Re: [OSList] Open Space Economics? Be Prepared to be Surprised!

[Bui Petersen]

Maybe "circumventing" is the wrong word. But for me the issue of power is central. In order for OST to work, the "CEO" has to temporarily give up some of her/his power (both procedural and positional). I'm quite serious about this, and OST (and other group processes) may become part of my academic research (I just started on an PhD in Management). Maybe my contribution will be to help make the field of Management become more open to self-organization. :) Maybe you'll all hear back from me in a few years. :) Bui On 02/10/2013 1:04 AM, Michael Herman wrote: I can't ever remember "attempting to circumvent power dynamics," Bui.  While it's quite common when people talk about sitting in a circle they say things like, "...the circle makes everyone equal."  I always disagree.  The circle gives everyone equal access to all the others in the circle, the markers and paper and microphone at the center, and the bulletin board gives everyone the same access to all of the info that is generated.  It doesn't make them equal, the ceo has an entirely different set of skills, resources, experiences, concerns than the new intern.  But as a facilitator, I give everyone the same job:  learn and contribute as much as you can, from wherever you are, with whatever you have at your disposal.  serve the common purpose.   none of this attempts or requires any circumventing.  i think ost works in spite of whatever the power structure might be, once people show up.  maybe the invitation tweaks the power structure -- but if the invite comes from the top, then it's the top giving power away -- hardly a circumvention, and certainly not the facilitator attempting.  if the invite bubbles up from somewhere below, then it's the lower ranks claiming power for themselves.  so i think any shifting of power arises because invitation exists as an option, not because anything we do in the process of 'opening space.'  i think ost is just one way of pointing out that invitation is possible and the ost story is pretty much the same in all kinds of different "power" distributions.   or maybe i just don't understand.  what do you do to notice and recognize power imbalances?  and how have you seen this improve the ost experience for people?    m   -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates 312-280-7838 (mobile) http://MichaelHerman.com http://OpenSpaceWorld.org On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:06 PM, Bui Petersen <bui.peter...@gmail.com> wrote: Michael, I guess we'll have to disagree. I see OST's temporal attempt at circumventing power dynamics (e.g through the the empowered of the the law of two feet) as one of the beauties of the process. One of the reasons that the liberal view of market economics is problematic is that it doesn't account for power imbalances. While you can't take away all structural power, I think the OST experience can be enhanced by at least some awareness and recognition of such powers. Bui On 30/09/2013 10:56 PM, Michael Herman wrote: i don't think ost is trying to "take away structural power," bui -- not even temporarily.  i think it's more about acknowledging the distribution of knowledge and choice (power) that already exists.  the law of two feet isn't something special we enact at the start of an event, it's something we just notice and point out, for instance.   m    -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates 312-280-7838 (mobile) http://MichaelHerman.com http://OpenSpaceWorld.org On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 10:21 AM, Bui Petersen <bui.peter...@gmail.com> wrote: Interesting discussion. When I have described OST, some people have been skeptical as it to them has has sounded to "neo-liberal" and not taking power balances enough into consideration. Obviously what the "structure" of OST is trying to do is to take away structural power temporarily. But some people are still skeptical about OST's potential to do this. My own take is that OST does not always fully succeed in this regard. Still it is very interesting theoretically. Both there is a lot of other (than economics) theoretical perspectives that better deal with power. Bui On 26/09/2013 5:33 PM, Michael Herman wrote: I share your concerns, Jeff, but found this piece to be mostly not about politics.  And where he comments on current views and policy, I was less bothered by what he was saying than by my tendency to agree in many cases. But mostly this is interesting and useful totally separate from his politics, I think.  On Thursday, September 26, 2013, Jeff Aitken wrote: thanks Michael!   It's unfortunate that I have a lingering dislike for Mr. Gilder, who was famous for awhile around 1981 when the Reagan administration rolled out its economic agenda, and his work was considered one of its intellectual pillars.   Twas a long time ago, and no doubt the man remains a hard thinker and clear writer, perhaps with more heart than I experienced back then.   With that caveat, I'll dig into this when I have a chance. Thanks for sharing.   Jeff San Francisco On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Michael Herman <mich...@michaelherman.com> wrote: Here's a long one, friends… But maybe an important one. What follows is an excerpt from a markets newsletter I've read for maybe 10 years by a financial expert and best-selling author Named John Mauldin.  He describes and then shares an article by a guy named George Gilder, Who seems to have been writing "important" books for at least a few decades.   -- Michael Herman MichaelHerman.com (312) 280-7838 Sent from my iPhone _______________________________________________ OSList mailing list To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org 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 OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org 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 OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org 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 OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org 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 OSList@lists.openspacetech.org To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org

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