Harrison The difficulty of not being a native English speaker is not to be able to understand subtilities such as humor. So I am not quite sure whether you are being slightly "moqueur" (kindly making fun of me) or not. ;) However indeed i am willing to make public my struggle to understand as I truly believe that self-organization is something that is drawing more and more interest , in the public and in myself. And I have found it very difficult to understand. And also as an open space facilitator, to be completely honest, I don't know what to do with "be as invisible as possible" when not in an open space event. Before. After. That´s where we are supposed to "prepare " the system for self organisation. If I dońt understand fully what it is, how can I help prepare for it ? Or after it ?
If I want to take things easier, then I can see open space technology as a tool. We don't know why it works but it works, like you say it. But if I see it as a way to help a group "better" self-organise, ie for me become more lively and healthy, then.. Well. What shall I do ? If i have a baby and want him to grow healthy and lively, i'll create a nurturing environment. But without love it won ´t work. I have very few things I can control to raise him, except myself. If he gets sick, in many cases I will look for acurate help and take care of him. Are we as open space facilitators the helpers that people look for when the system is sick ? (this looks like what i am experiencing right now) or are we gardeners of gardens that are already growing well and need a little help for becoming a bit more beautiful ? Christine Le 9 janv. 2014 à 23:24, "Harrison Owen" <[email protected]> a écrit : > 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 > > 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 > Check out my series on what's emerging 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 > > > 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 > 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 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#! > > From my iPad > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > > > -- > > Executive Coach, Médiateur > www.christine-koehler.fr > Tel : 06 13 28 71 38 > Fax : 09 72 32 36 65 > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > > > -- > > Executive Coach, Médiateur > www.christine-koehler.fr > Tel : 06 13 28 71 38 > Fax : 09 72 32 36 65 > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > > -- > > David Osborne > > > > www.change-fusion.com | [email protected] | 703.939.1777 > > _______________________________________________ > 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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