Christine You are wonderful! The concerns you express are those of many 
(myself) and your willingness to “go public” is fantastic. In fact that 
“willingness” is what makes our electronic community (OSLIST) so wonderful. 

 

You said: “Then there is something that I don't understand about self-org. : if 
we want to keep the system healthy and alive, what should  we do ?”

 

And my thought is “Nothing” and “A Lot – but subtly.” The System will do what 
it does, and we will never control it. And who says that our idea of “fairness” 
is fair? To whom, what? Why?

 

All that said... I believe there is a whole, uncharted world of things we can 
bring “to the party.” Those “things” have little to do with what we have 
previously learned as the “right and proper things to do.” And Great Thanks to 
you for raising the Question that opens the door to what I believe is/are the 
central concerns and “growth points” along our collective journey in Open 
Space. More...More...More...

 

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> 
http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org

 

From: [email protected] 
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Christine
Sent: Thursday, January 09, 2014 4:48 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Cc: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] From linkedin today

 

Hi David

 

Very interesting, that makes sense to me. Does it mean that supporting 
coherence of the system as a whole should be an organizing principle ?

But then Harrison will say I guess that it is not necessary, as self org. will 
take care of the system itself. 

Then there is something that I don't understand about self-org. : if we want to 
keep the system healthy and alive, what should  we do ? 

Christine Koehler

06 13 28 71 38

 


Le 9 janv. 2014 à 22:20, David Osborne <[email protected]> a écrit :

I found the questions about how do you keep a system as a coherent whole 
fascinating.  

 

Part of the dance is the back and forth between coherence and fragmentation. 
Chaos offers both opportunity and threat, new life and death. Coherence leads 
to new life patterns emerging, fragmentation leads towards death and the cycle 
toward new life continues. In my experience there is lot's that can be done to 
reinforce, nurture and support coherence. Holding the space is one aspect. 
Drawing attention and building consensus around what is emerging is another, 
supporting parts of the system through conflict in a manner that continues to 
increase the likelihood of coherence is a third. There are many more...and 
those are some quick thoughts for now. All of this can and is done with in the 
context of self-organization and someone having the passion and taking the 
initiative to do it. The two are not mutually exclusive. 

 

Cheers to all. 

 

David 

 

 

On Thu, Jan 9, 2014 at 4:06 PM, christine koehler 
<[email protected]> wrote: 

Peggy 

If I simplify what you say (and I apologize for it), I understand that  you say 
that what keep a self-organized system coherent as a whole is coming regularly 
together  as a whole, following our two feet to sessions called around we love, 
coming back as a whole, dispersing again for the evening. Of course I would 
tend to agree with that. But then how do you do with very large systems ? Or 
does it mean that any system that is too large to come regularly together as a 
whole is oversized ? should split into several smaller systems to keep its good 
health ? 

and what about decision making ? 

Christine 

 

On Thu, Jan 9, 2014 at 9:24 PM, Peggy Holman <[email protected]> wrote: 

I’d add to what Harrison is saying about what keeps a social system coherent 
without someone in charge. It’s something built into the practice of Open Space 
Technology: coming together as a whole, following our two feet to sessions 
called around we love, coming back as a whole, dispersing again for the 
evening. Like breathing.  

 

There’s a power in coming together to reflect that connects us, helps us see 
ourselves in context, creates a coherent sense of “us” that complements all of 
the “I’s”. So without the need to make decisions or come to consensus, I 
suspect that long-lived self-organizing social systems create a rhythm in which 
the whole (or a sufficient subset of it) comes together periodically. 

 

As an example, a few years back, I learned of a group of African Americans that 
met informally for Saturday breakfast in Tacoma, Washington once a week for 
thirty-five years. This gathering became the backbone of the African American 
community in that city. It was the place to connect, to learn what was 
happening, to share ideas, to find partners, etc. No one in charge, just part 
of the rhythm of the community. And lots of activities emerged from it. 

 

Peggy 

 

 

 

__________________________________ 

Peggy Holman 

Journalism that Matters 

15347 SE 49th Place 

Bellevue, WA  98006 

425-746-6274 

www.journalismthatmatters.org 

www.peggyholman.com 

Twitter: @peggyholman 

JTM Twitter: @JTMStream 


Enjoy the award winning  Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity 
<http://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/>  
Check out my series on what's emerging 
<http://www.journalismthatmatters.net/the_emerging_news_and_information_eco_system>
  in the news & information ecosystem 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Jan 9, 2014, at 11:50 AM, Christine < [email protected]> wrote: 





Hi Harrison, 

 

Thank you for your answer 

 

What do you mean exactely with the law of 2 feet ? 


Christine Koehler 

06 13 28 71 38 <tel:06%2013%2028%2071%2038>  

 


Le 9 janv. 2014 à 17:27, "Harrison Owen" < [email protected]> a écrit : 

I’m awake now (Thank you Michael). And Christine – to your questions and my 
thoughts.

 

“In a  self -organized system, how do you keep the organization coherent as a 
whole ?

How do you make decisions that concern the whole organization ?”

 

I think the simple answer may be, “You don’t (make decisions or maintain 
coherency). The System does – which is in a way the essence of 
self-organization. I think one way of understanding self organization is that 
it is the systemic response to a changing environment in order to maintain 
internal and external coherence... a complicated way of saying that the system 
wants to get along in the world in a positive fashion. Part of maintaining that 
systemic coherence is by making a whole bunch of decisions – none, or few, of 
which are made by a vote or executive dictate. A powerful mechanism in this 
regard is our old friend, “The Law of Two feet.” – I think.

 

ho

 

 

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: [email protected] 
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of christine koehler
Sent: Wednesday, January 08, 2014 5:30 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] From linkedin today

 

Harrison,

In a  self -organized system, how do you keep the organization coherent as a 
whole ?

How do you make decisions that concern the whole organization ?

Christine 

 

On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 8:27 PM, Harrison Owen <[email protected]> wrote:

Paul – This piece from Zappos is interesting indeed. Though I must say I do 
wonder why the Zapposites feel it necessary to organize a self organizing 
system? As they say, “In a city, people and businesses are self-organizing.” I 
agree, and why not just follow the beaten path? Holarchy is a wonderful 
concept, and a good description of what I think I experience in a self 
organizing system. But why go for a knock-off when you can have the original? 
Just let (invite) the system to self organize. It will work better, and costs a 
lot less effort. As Stuart Kauffman might say, “order for free.”

 

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 <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20/>  

www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com%20/>  (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: [email protected] 
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Nunesdea
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2014 4:51 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: [OSList] From linkedin today

 

Research shows that every time the size of a city doubles, innovation or 
productivity per resident increases by 15 percent. But when companies get 
bigger, innovation or productivity per employee generally goes down. So we're 
trying to figure out how to structure Zappos more like a city, and less like a 
bureaucratic corporation. In a city, people and businesses are self-organizing. 
We're trying to do the same thing by switching from a normal hierarchical 
structure to a system called Holacracy, which enables employees to act more 
like entrepreneurs and self-direct their work instead of reporting to a manager 
who tells them what to do.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pam-ross/workplace-reinvention_b_4541805.html# 
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/pam-ross/workplace-reinvention_b_4541805.html> !

 

>From my iPad


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-- 

 Christine Koehler, créatrice d'espace de Dialogue et de Coopération 
<http://uploads.wisestamp.com/59a7171fcb010f7c1cffbbe7e93ad57d/1320761435.png> 
 Executive Coach, Médiateur
 www.christine-koehler.fr <http://www.christine-koehler.fr/> 
 Tel :  06 13 28 71 38 <tel:06%2013%2028%2071%2038> 
  Fax :    09 <tel:09%C2%A0%2072%C2%A0%2032%2036%C2%A0%2065>   72  32 36  65

 

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-- 

 Christine Koehler, créatrice d'espace de Dialogue et de Coopération 
<http://uploads.wisestamp.com/59a7171fcb010f7c1cffbbe7e93ad57d/1320761435.png> 
 Executive Coach, Médiateur
 www.christine-koehler.fr <http://www.christine-koehler.fr/> 
 Tel :  06 13 28 71 38
  Fax :    09  72  32 36  65

 


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--

David Osborne

  <http://www.change-fusion.com/ChangeFusionLogo.jpg> 

www.change-fusion.com | [email protected] | 703.939.1777

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