*All in all, people seem to show greater trust in Open Space when they find out it is not a game.* * * *Diane* * *
Well said, Diane! I've had this experience, as well. -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates 312-280-7838 (mobile) http://MichaelHerman.com http://OpenSpaceWorld.org On Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 4:04 PM, Diane Gibeault <diane.gibea...@rogers.com>wrote: > About the game metaphor and OST, > > The question was raised: would the game metaphor better invite people to > let more life in organizations? > > I believe not. There is quite a difference between OST and the concept of > ‘game’. With OST, people are invited and trusted to work seriously in a > spirit of high play and high learning. While doing something of high value > related to a collective issue, they build confidence in the self (the > individual and the organization) and experience a more open and respectful > way of being and working with others that can be carried on after the > meeting by whoever cares to. > > The game methods or metaphor is perceived more like a make-believe > activity which ends when the ‘’event / game’’ does and has less relation to > real life - especially when they go back to the office. > > People in organizations I worked with, for several years have been > dismissing “game methods’’ as the flavour of the month, destined to quickly > be *passé *and forgotten. > > I do hear a lot that they go along with games in the same way they suffer > icebreakers: to please organizers and/or consultants who don’t trust their > capacity as adults, students or whoever, to talk in a productive way about > things that really matter to them. > > There are dialogue methods such as storytelling and the interview part of > AI that I have found useful before some OS events but it was in very > exceptional situations, for example doing deep grief work and honouring a > division that was winding down or reconnecting members of a group that had > been apart for a long time. These approaches were not perceived as games in > that context and they are based on principles also found in OS. > > I have to say that I rarely need to add such dialogue methods or even the > Circle method because OS creates naturally the space for those things to > happen by themselves - people always do what they need to do before moving > on to the future. Other theories like the grieving cycle also known as the > change cycle confirm the same. > > All in all, people seem to show greater trust in Open Space when they find > out it is not a game. > > Diane > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Harrison Owen <hho...@verizon.net> > *To:* 'World wide Open Space Technology email list' < > oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > *Sent:* Monday, October 14, 2013 3:54:34 PM > > *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The OST Game > > A marvelous conversation... and I have been absent a bit for a good cause, > I hope. I have been doing my homework, reading all the assigned material > about broken reality and culture hacking. Interesting journey! And along > the way I came upon an odd realization – I really just don’t like games! > Seems it had something to do with early childhood trauma... my mother just > loved games, and she would beat me unmercifully. Oh well. Unfortunately > that aversion carried on into my adult life, particularly as it related to > the so called Group Dynamics games that we were all supposed to play prior > to serious discussion. Seems like you just couldn’t have an adult > interchange without some “warm-up” to break the ice. Or so they said. > Really bugged me. I just couldn’t believe that consenting adults could not > communicate without some elaborate foreplay – funny tools drawn from the > omnipresent Facilitator’s Tool Box. > > So much for my inherent pathology and prejudices, but there may be > something of a positive outcome. I simply had to believe that given > reasonable conditions, human beings could sit down and talk productively > with each other – all by themselves. As adults. It did take two martinis to > get me there... but “there” was (guess what) Open Space. We have been > doing that ever since, and it turns out that children do just as well. > > What may have started as childish rebellion (against Mother, Facilitators, > etc) has only gotten worse. With increasing age and experience it has > become clearer and clearer that the less I do the better things work. It is > not that I have no agency or contribution, but it does turn out that the > ambient wisdom and capacity of the individuals and groups that I am > privileged to interact with so vastly exceeds my own that I would do very > well to fold my hands and shut my mouth. Anything else has me working much > too hard, and generally messing things up... Such are the eye glasses > through which I view my world. Distorted perhaps, and different for sure, > but I’m stuck with it. And it is through those glasses that I read my > assignments, beginning with “Reality is Broken.” > > Jane McGonigal weaves a fascinating tale of the strange (to me) world of > Game Makers, Gaming, and Gamers. I can certainly understand why she has > created a stir, and I applaud her massive research and clear prose. That > said, my reaction was close to horror, and the thought that the world and > techniques she describes should become a model and a means to fix our world > was pretty close to terror. Doubtless much of this can be ascribed to my > aforementioned phobia – but I suspect that others might share such > feelings. Two points stand out in my mind—Gaming is addictive, a point she > develops in infinite detail, and secondly that good Game Makers actually > capitalize on this phenomenon and make every effort to enhance the > addictive power. Their success is obvious and awesome. It seems that one > massive, online game attracted 5,000,000 man/years of attention. George > Orwell, where are you now that we need you? > > I joke a bit – and my concerns run deeper. When Jane says, “Reality is > Broken,” I feel constrained to ask, Who’s reality? Not mine, for sure. It > is not that I experience every day as a walk in the park, but there have > been precious few moments when I have felt bored, without challenge, > non-productive and unappreciated/respected. And I have many friends and > colleagues around the world who seemingly have a similar experience. > Doubtless that makes us odd, perhaps aberrant, but there is a certain > consolation in numbers. We are not alone. > > When I think about the factors that positively contribute to my reality > they include such things as the indeterminacy of my surroundings. The > moment I think I know where it is all headed, I am confounded by the twists > of happenstance. Then there is the total lack of clarity when it comes to > goals and objectives. Certainly I have hopes and desires, but just about > every time I have locked on some particular outcome, it doesn’t turn out > that way – usually better. And lastly, if there are clear cut rules, I > certainly have never found them. Of course there are moments when I think > it is all a dreadful mistake and I am scared to death. But even that has > its positive: I know I am alive. So for me, my reality is doing just fine. > Exciting, challenging, growthful, rewarding -- In fact it seems to be > working perfectly. > > I am truly sorry for those who have a different experience, but if reality > for them is broken, it is reasonable to ask, Who broke it? Or could it be > that it isn’t really broken, they just think it is, if only because it > doesn’t measure up to their expectations. That would certainly be the case > if reality was *supposed* to work by clear cut rules, heading in a > pre-determined direction, always under somebody’s control. That > understanding of reality is certainly alternate to anything I know anything > about. It just never happened, and if it did I believe it would be > unendingly boring. But that might account for the Game Maker’s success – > for if I read Jane correctly, that is pretty much the reality they create. > And if that is the reality you want, no wonder people spend 5 million > man/years immersed in it! > > And on to a related question: Is OST a game? Possibly, but not according > to Jane’s rules/criteria. To be sure, there is a correlation with Jane’s > first criteria: Opt in = Voluntary Self Selection, and a second one > relating to Good Feedback (we might say documentation). But it seems to me > it all goes downhill from there. If there are any rules in Open Space, I > have yet to encounter them. To be sure there are 5 principles and a law, > but none of them are things you have to do. In fact they all seem to emerge > no matter what you do – all by themselves. As for a clear goal, I think you > have precisely the opposite. Everything begins with a question, and under > the best of circumstances there is no attachment to outcomes. As we say, > Whatever happens is the only thing that could have. > > Just to drive a little deeper. If OST is not a game – what is it? > > Drum roll... Cutting edge revelation... > > OST... is ... Life. > > It does not bring anything new. Represents no mind bending revelation. In > fact it doesn’t DO a thing. Nothing. OST simply and quietly invites us to > be, fully, what we already are – ourselves. It really is shocking. Just be > yourself as you really are. Drawn by a question (Quest) – you are invited > to explore what you really care about. No foregone conclusions. No prior > exclusions (givens). No rules prescribed (by somebody else). Just be > yourself and take it from there. Of course it helps to be honest. What do > you really care about? And if you care, take responsibility for what you > care about. Nobody else will. And you don’t need an act of Congress, > Parliament, the Legislature, or the writings of the latest Guru. It’s just > you. > > But not just you. Who shares your passion? Who will join you in the > assumed responsibility? In advance you simply don’t know, nor can you > predict. But when it happens, you know it happens. Life not only goes on – > it gets deeper and richer with the shared passions and responsibilities > that weave the rich tapestry of the human odyssey. > > I know you have heard this song before, but I think it bears re-singing. > The temptation to change this simple invitation into some complex process, > procedure, structure is almost overwhelming, driven I am sure by our hope > to improve and also perhaps to make it something we own or do. Something > that requires the professional touch, as it were. But the truth of the > matter, I believe, is that there really isn’t anything to improve and still > less to do. Above all, Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, and always think of > one less thing to do. > > So where does all this discussion leave Agile and OST, or more exactly the > relationship between the two? Closely united, I believe – but perhaps not > in the way that Dan and others seem to be suggesting, even though that way > appears to be eminently rational and definitely a good plan. > > I understand that Agile (as described in the Agile Manifesto) is an > elegant set of principles which await implementation (adoption) through > some method or process, SCRUM for example. The principles are magnificent > and represent the latest iteration of a longish tradition beginning perhaps > with Quality Circles, and passing through Excellent Organizations (Tom > Peters et al), Learning Organizations, with possibly a side trip through > Process Re-Engineering. In every case, elaborate processes, procedures, and > protocols were designed in order to bring the noble ideas into everyday > practice. In every case the energy and enthusiasm surrounding the several > efforts was considerable (aided I suspect by the fat consulting fees that > could be generated). And in every case I believe we learned many useful > lessons. However, in terms of the desired outcome, which might be described > as “enhanced organizational function,” I think the record is less than > positive. Only people of a certain age will even remember Quality Circles, > Excellent Organizations seem evident mostly by their absence, The Society > of Organizational Learning disbanded last year, and Process Engineering has > been retired by general consensus as an embarrassing failure. Jane > McGonigal may just have written the epitaph, “Reality is Broken.” Whether > Agile and its several implementation procedures (SCRUM, etc) will meet a > similar fate remains to be seen. > > Reasonable people might well ask, how could we invest so much and > accomplish so little? Doubtless there are multiple answers, but one stands > out for me. We’ve been trying to organize self organizing systems. This is > a thankless task if only because we will never get it right; the systems > involved (our businesses, countries, organizations) are so complex, > inter-related, and fast moving that we can’t even think at that level – let > alone effectively structure and control them. Even worse it seems all too > often that our best efforts and intentions make the situation worse – our > fixes end up with painful unintended consequences. But worst of all our > efforts are not needed because the system itself, all by itself, can do a > better job. Frankly our efforts are just plain clunky. > > It is precisely at the point where I think other efforts have been less > than successful that OST may enable Agile to succeed -- but not by > facilitating the adoption Agile as a set of principles, but in a much more > immediate and direct fashion: by enabling Agility. The principles are > definitely nice, but what we truly care about is real, meaningful, > organizational agility, which others might call High Performance, and Open > Space demonstrably delivers on that score. My favorite story, of course is > the AT&T design team for the ’96 Olympic Pavilion. In 2 days they designed > a $200,000,000 structure which had taken them 10 months on a previous > effort. That is a 15,000% increase in productivity. Not bad. > > If that were the only instance of such a phenomenon it would be > interesting but not helpful, but there are others, a lot. And how does all > that work? It is just a well functioning self organizing system. And if you > ask whether it is all scalable – the answer is it is already scaled to the > highest levels. Been around for 13.7 billion years, and the Cosmos (along > with everything else) is the product. Don’t adopt Agile, BE agile. > Honestly, it is a natural condition if we stop trying to fix it. > > So I think we have some very good news here. Reality ain’t broke and > serious Agility is available any time we want to open the space to let it > happen. And if you were wondering who all those friends and colleagues > around the world who know that their reality is unbroken (albeit painful > sometimes) you can start by looking in a mirror. Yes, I am talking about > all those folks who have wandered into Open Space to discover, many times > in spite of themselves – that deep, meaningful, productive, playful, > respectful encounters with their fellows can and do happen. That is just a > taste, of course – but it can happen all the time -- 24X7. I know. > > Harrison > > > > > > > > > > > > > Harrison Owen > 7808 River Falls Dr. > Potomac, MD 20854 > USA > > 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) > Camden, Maine 04843 > > Phone 301-365-2093 > (summer) 207-763-3261 > > www.openspaceworld.com > www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > OSLIST Go to: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > *From:* oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org [ > mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org<oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>] > *On Behalf Of *Harold Shinsato > *Sent:* Wednesday, October 09, 2013 6:46 PM > *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list > *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The OST Game > > Oh Diane - thank you! I had been hoping you would write something. I'm > also very grateful for your comprehensive history here only some of which I > was aware of. > > A deep bow of appreciation for the Agile Open series. I'd love to go to > every one of those because of the fun, engagement, high level of learning - > but mostly from the awesome people I've met and how it has enriched my > lives. You've been one of the greatest enrichers of my professional life, > Diane! I'm quite excited to be going to Agile Open in Berkeley next week! > And the Portland/Seattle Agile Open Northwest is one of the high points of > my year. > > As Harrison said - please ramble more. I've been intrigued and intimidated > by the depth I've seen in the Human System Dynamics work and would love > especially to hear you speak more about the intersection of OST and HSD - > or maybe more appropos to this thread how Finite and Infinite Games is a > formal basis for HSD - and that might benefit OST facilitation. > > Thanks! > Harold > > On 10/9/13 3:21 PM, Diana Larsen wrote: > > Harold, Michael, Harrison, and all, > > I've been lurking on the sidelines of this conversation. Honestly, hoping > a bit that it would go away. (Not sure about my motivations there.) > However, the turn the thread has taken recently prompts me to speak up > again. > > I'd like to remind you about the Agile Open series of conferences (goes > back to Europe in 2004 and still continuing) and the Agile Open Program > supported by the Agile Alliance (since 2010) and before those the open > space formats of Consultants' Camp (started by Jerry Weinberg decades ago), > the Consultants' Retreats (Norm Kerth begun in 1997), and Retrospective > Faciltators' Gatherings (Norm, Esther Derby, Linda Rising, and me, 2002), > all still continuing and having touched many people in the Agile community > over the years. What is now the Agile 20xx conferences have had an open > space/open jam component since the beginning. As well as John Engle's, > Harrison's, & Suzanne's involvement with a variety of Agile > conferences. Coming to a Scrum Gathering in Boulder straight from having > attended the US-OS on OS in San Antonio TX in 2005(?), I opened the first > open space for Scrum (that I know of). Michael opened space at the XP/Agile > Universe conference ten years ago and showed everyone there what > self-organizing could look like in the moment. (I was there, thank you > Michael.) > > All of which has made fertile ground for Dan's advocacy to take hold in > the Agile community. We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Dan may be > the most vocal advocate at the moment (and I applaud his visibility), but I > wouldn't say he's the most potent advocate. Agile and Open Space have a > long, rich and entwined history together. > > Some of us have been quietly applying Open Space principles in our Agile > adoption work for many years. We haven't codified it or named it, but it's > been a central part of what we do. Charlie Poole and others have opened > space in organizations as a way of introducing, modeling, and applying > Agile and self-organization. > > The theoretical basis of Carse's _Finite and Infinite Games_ underlies > much of the thinking in Human Systems Dynamics as well. The idea that the > degree to which a system is open or closed, multi-dimensional or single > dimensional, non-linear or linear gives us clues about the patterns that > may fit the purpose or not, and whether we'd like to shift those patterns > or not. Alistair Cockburn used Carse's model to think about competitive and > cooperative games, and proposed the idea that software development would do > well to think more in terms of cooperation among stakeholders. It's one of > the reasons I was drawn into the Agile space. > > Some in the Agile community have embraced this idea of games as metaphor, > games/play as learning tool, but they often do not incorporate (are not > aware of?) the deeper meanings from Carse and Cockburn and the complexity > sciences. They do it because it's more fun. And that's okay too. > > It may or may not be a metaphor, explanation or tool that works for the > Open Space community. > > Gratitude for your patience with my rambling, > Diana > > > ************** > Diana Larsen > http://futureworksconsulting.com > > Envisioning a world where everyone at every level of the organization can > say, "I love my work; this is the best job EVER!" > > Read the books: > *Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great * > *Liftoff: Launching Agile Teams and Projects * > *QuickStart Guide to Five Rules of Accelerated Learning > https://leanpub.com/fiverules* > ******************** > > > > On Oct 9, 2013, at 1:08 PM, Harold Shinsato wrote: > > > Hi Michael, > > No fun to hear I'm failing - but it hasn't stopped me before. Try and try > again (even if it takes years). > > I'm not saying OST *is* a game. I'm not saying OST is anything. > > What I see is that there is value in the metaphor of OST as a game. > > So Dan is already speaking about OST as a game to Agile circles and making > some good cheese with it. And maybe the Agile community has a bit of a leg > up on us here because Alistair Cockburn used the game metaphor in his first > book in the 1990's about this. And Alistair is one of the signatories of > the Agile Manifesto that started the whole "Agile" (with capital letter) > conversation. But Alistair wasn't talking specifically about software as in > an obscure coding thing thing that will make everyone's eyes glaze over. He > was speaking about a different way to look at work and at teams. > > So I've been in the Agile conversation for over a decade. And it's not > always been fun. Much of it has been butting up against minds that were > very shut, and it's still not an uncommon experience for advocates to run > into a wall. And maybe this might not seem relevant here, but much of that > "Agile" conversation has been about people. People people people. It's even > a frequent complaint I hear for the techies, because a minority who show up > at conferences are only interested in the coding aspect. But they're the > minority. The first line of the Agile Manifesto<http://agilemanifesto.org/>- > "Individuals and interactions over processes and tools." > > Yes - I do live in that world of code. But I also live in this world of > Open Space, improving human dynamics in teams, OD type stuff etc. And often > times having a foot in both worlds causes cognitive dissonance because not > too many are comfortable in this lonely between space. Finding language to > bring together the contasting perspectives can be difficult. > > But living in both worlds - I see so much in common. I see so much common > ground. I see so many ways that the Agile crowd can help the OST/OD crowd, > and most certainly visa versa. > > The thing is - the Agile universe is already embracing Open Space in a > huge way. And not always with the direct help and support and understanding > of the folks here. Which is not always a good thing. > > One last thing - the Agile community is not homogeneous. There are many > innovations that cause controversy and big huge disruptions. I'm seeing > some of Dan's work in this community as being potentially hugely powerful > and disrupting - and in a large way due to his being the most potent > advocate of Open Space in Agile today. And this game perspective is part of > how he got there. > > I'm not fully there and understanding his metaphor of OST as a game - and > it looks like I'll need to converse with him outside this forum to fully > get it. I guess I was hoping for a warmer reception from the voices of > authority and seniority on this list. But at least, having attended WOSonOS > in Florida and knowing some of what is happening in the Open Space world > because of being part of the Open Space Institute/U.S. - I do know that > many of us are catching more of the agile mojo and that it will continue to > mature. > > Well, anyway - not sure I just helped you Michael but thanks for giving me > an excuse to rant. :-) > > Cheers, > Harold > > > > On 10/9/13 11:58 AM, Michael Herman wrote: > > Not sure you actually accomlished "Against," Harold. I think I just read > OST is life, a finite slice of Life. > > And if the conversation happens in a room full of people who think and > talk about games, that's great to say OST is a game cuz everyone in that > room or community knows what that means. Probably doesn't work as well on > CNN or at an ODN mtg. > > I guess it still a bit confusing to me if this conversation is about how > to talk OST in agile community or how to talk OST in other/larger > communities. Translation is always possible, but the game lingo doesn't > seem native to the folks I'm usually talking with. Actually, finding > some native understanding of (and native language for) OS seems like half > the game in many instances. > > m > > > > On Wednesday, October 9, 2013, Harold Shinsato wrote: > Harrison, > > Ok, I'll take your word from previous posts that I won't be in trouble if > I risk going up against you again - or maybe it's just a hope that this > thread won't be shut down due to misunderstandings. > > The statement "OST is a game" actually doesn't work for me so much because > it uncomfortably reduces all the ideas and philosophy (and practice) of OST > into a word that unfortunately has for many negative connotations. But > perhaps I'll invite thinking about OST *as* a game instead. Perhaps that > can help prevent cognitive dissonance and allow for this conversation to > continue. > > My understanding of the word game as used by Daniel Mezick and others > comes from game theory - and could open up many benefits. > > The briefest way I think to hope to keep this particular door open for > those in this community who might find the word game unpleasant would be to > suggest the book "Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life as Play and > Possibility" by James P. Carse. Mr. Carse actually is a professor of > history and literature of religion - and his thinking in that book is very > poetic and beautiful. And it reminds me much of Open Space thinking - and I > won't even attempt to dive into his thesis any more than to look at what I > think sums up the thinking being the final sentence in the book. "There is > only one infinite game." > > The bigger game of Open Space is the game of life - the unending story - > the "one infinite game". And an OST meeting or conference is a finite game > which seems to open up an experience of the infinite game in a beautiful > way. And yet, there's still value in seeing the finite game aspects of OST > in that context. > > Alas, perhaps this attempt will be futile. But I hold out hope that others > won't be discouraged from this perspective on OST as a game and it's > benefits. > > Harold > > On 10/7/13 1:25 PM, Harrison Owen wrote: > > Dan – Using the word, “game” as you do, I guess it sort of works with OS, > but I do confess a certain feeling of cognitive dissonance, which I suspect > may be shared by some of my colleagues. In any event, it certainly would > not be a word I would use. But that doesn’t mean a great deal. However, > when you say, “Leaders choose to play OST. Or not,” I do feel called upon > to say something like... Oh Yes? > > Some people refer to the “Game of Life,” but it is scarcely a game you > choose to play (or not). Not playing is called suicide, I think, and while > some people do make that choice it is not a choice that most folks would > considered good, useful, or positive. It is more like canceling all > choices. Out of the Game, so to speak. > > I feel rather the same way about OS, and for all the same reasons. OS for > me is not a process we choose to do or not do – quite simply it is what we > are -- Self organizing, and OS is only an invitation to be ourselves fully > and purposefully. We can chose to be ourselves with distinction, despair, > or something in between -- but so long as we remain on the planet in some > viable form, we got no choice. We are what we are, what we are. Put a > little differently, OS is not something new and different, it is just a > small name change for what has been around for quite a while: life. I > guess you can call it a game, but somehow that seems to miss some of the > nuances. > > Harrison > > > > > -- > Harold Shinsato > har...@shinsato.com > http://shinsato.com > twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush> > > > -- > Michael Herman > MichaelHerman.com <http://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 > > > -- > Harold Shinsato > har...@shinsato.com > http://shinsato.com > twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush> > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > -- > Harold Shinsato > har...@shinsato.com > http://shinsato.com > twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush> > > _______________________________________________ > 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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