Let's see. Quick inventory:
* /Questions/ tend to "open space". Invitations are questions & end
with a question mark.
* /Statements/ tend to "close space". Mandates are statements & end
with a period.
* /Everything/ real and genuine and authentic runs on human engagement
(aka "passion+responsibility").
* /Invitations/ tend to increase levels of engagement.
* /Mandates/ tend to increase levels of DIS engagement.
* /Open Space/ results in higher levels of engagement.
* /Intentions/ equal Results.
Therefore:
* The intention of doing a genuine Open Space is to increase engagement.
* The intent of a genuine mandate is increase DIS engagement
Seems simple enough.
And this is why I routinely walk away from "opportunities" to help bring
Agile to organizations, when formally authorized leadership opts-out of
opening space.
Daniel
On 3/6/14 1:04 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
Christine said -- "Are we "working too hard" when we try to work
differently ?Do you believe that Zappos would have end up anyway with
same performance without the hard work of implementing Holacracy ?
Anyway, we will never know..."
I have no problem working differently, in fact at the moment I don't
think we are working differently enough. As I see it, the names
change, the processes change, but the fundamental presuppositions
remain unchanged. Whether the issue is implementing Holarchy or a
Dictatorship, the premise is that organization is something we do and
we control. Doubtless Holarchy is more humane than a Dictatorship, but
I think they both come from the same place, the same fundamental
premise -- that organization (my organization, your organization) is
our creature. We design it, we create it, we control it.
Real difference comes with a change in premises, I think. Speaking
just for myself, I find this to be a self organizing world, beginning,
middle, and end. Even those organizations we think we organized end of
being self organizing the moment we push the start button. So really
working differently, and I think much smarter, efficiently,
effectively, with greater joy and less effort, would start from that
basic point: All the world is self organizing. We don't create it, we
don't control it, but we can live in it productively. We can learn to
enhance our ability for such living, and we can assist others to do
the same. And how might that work?
The first step is to watch and appreciate what is happening all by
itself before we even think about doing anything. And Open Space can
be our guide. As we see all the time in Open Space, organization
starts when passion and responsibility intersect around an issue or
opportunity. If it is exciting, people will come, and the next thing
you know you have a group of "two or more gathered together to do
something" -- which would be my definition of organization. The
process and structure is totally emergent with no help needed. Happens
all by itself. And as we have learned, intervention is not only not
necessary, it actually mucks up the emergent process.
It may happen that this nascent organization will die (When it's over
it's over) or it may continue and grow (Whoever comes is the right
people. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.) Given a
little time it could become the next Intel, Microsoft, Facebook...!
Obviously the distance between a small nexus of passion and
responsibility and a giant corporation is considerable -- but even the
giants started as "two or more gathered together" and I don't think
the rules change along the way. It is all fractal, and just as an OS
for 10 works just like one for 2000 so also in the world at large
(larger), I think.
And what can we do along the journey? First, appreciate what's
happening. Second, keep the space open. Third, offer our passion and
responsibility wherever we care to -- which can provide new energy for
growth, new inspiration, new ideas. That is just for "openers" and for
more I refer you to Part II of "Wave Rider," "The Wave Rider's Guide
to the Future." I don't pretend that is the whole story, but it could
be a useful place to start -- and you can write the rest. J
And then to your comment: "My feeling is also that people tend to
prefer when they understand how things work (otherwise they get
anxious), and in this regard self-organization may make things
uneasy. Who can tell how it works ?" Christine, you are 100% CORRECT!
Which creates a major problem for all 7 ½ billion of us on Planet
Earth which resides in a tiny corner of a second rate solar system,
lost in a relatively minor galaxy...one of billions and billions. It
also seems that something like 96% of everything is unknown and
unknowable (Dark Energy and Dark matter) -- and the remaining 4% (what
we can theoretically see) is more than a little foggy when it comes to
our capacity for understanding. The fact that all of it, so far as we
can understand, Jis self organizing is icing on the cake called "Uneasy".
But we may have found a way out...just fabricate a version of reality
we can understand and control. That should do it.
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
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*From:*oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of
*christine koehler
*Sent:* Wednesday, March 05, 2014 3:48 PM
*To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] Open Space and Holacracy
Harrison,
Maybe I am beginning to get it. Maybe not.
You say self-organization is already there, no matter what we do or
dont do. ok.
Maybe the question is not about self-organisation but about high
performance : Hsieh, Gore, Semler's visions only say something about
how they see high performance flow from/in/thru the system. Might be
an attempt to control it, by naming it Holacracy, or even self
organization ? However, from what they say, their way of controling it
might end up with higher levels of performance than "command and
control"systems. Using Open Space creates conditions for high
performance. But then, should we just stop doing deciding and trying
things because no matter what we do the system will self-organize ?
Are we "working too hard" when we try to work differently ?Do you
believe that Zappos would have end up anyway with same performance
withoug the hard work of implementing Holacracy ? Anyway, we will
never know...
My feeling is also that people tend to prefer when they understand how
things work (otherwise they get anxious), and in this regard
self-organization may make things uneasy. Who can tell how it works ?
If you take decision making for instance, and if I take Wosonos as an
example, sometimes the decision making process for the location on the
next one is so obvious to everybody who go through it that everything
seems easy and clear. But sometimes , and for reasons that are quite
unclear to me, it seems that the some people are not happy and the
decision maling process is questioned. Of course this is true with any
decision making process, maybe it's just that some processes are
easier to describe. Our brain needs to be able to simplify complex
processes in order to be comfortable with it.
Right now I am experiencing something interesting : for a management
seminar, a few groups emerged from what I could call a very simplistic
"law of 2 feet" decision making process. ie there was offered
opportunity for 5 groups to emerge, and so it went. (why 5 ? well,
that was completely arbitrary. probably because timing was short and
that there were only very short time to get feedbacks fro the groupn
as feedback was required) . After the seminar where people are asked
to work further on those topics. Management decided not to let leaders
of those groups use the law of 2 feets but members could. (I agree
this is a strange rule). What is happening is that they are
questioning the decision making process : how do we know those topics
are the most important ones ? is this group the best to work on such
particular topic ? How can I feel legitimate in being the leader of
this group as it is not my dayjob ? etc.. Would you say that they are
working too hard ? That the system will take care of itself and anyway
self-organize, no matter what we do ?
Christine
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 11:27 PM, Harrison Owen <hho...@verizon.net
<mailto:hho...@verizon.net>> wrote:
Christine ... "I find very interesting this tension between personal
vision (think about Gore for instance or Semler and Semco) and
self-organization. looks very complex and human to me ;)
but still wondering how self-organization fits within this kind of
frame."
It is really easy. Self Organization is already there, but the poor
folks at Zappo think they did it! Surprise -- what they really did was
complicate something that could have happened very easily by itself.
Ah! But we humans have to feel we are in control. Even when we say we
aren't and don't care to be. The Trojan Horse rides again. Zappo'd as
it were.
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 <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20>
www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com%20> (Personal Website)
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*From:*oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>
[mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>] *On Behalf Of
*christine koehler
*Sent:* Tuesday, March 04, 2014 2:35 PM
*To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] Open Space and Holacracy
This reminds me of a very short conversation I had with a participant
of the Practice of Peace seminar last January. He had left Zappos not
so long ago. We exchanged a few words about the ambiguity of Tony
Hsieh mandating Zappos to become holacratic, because it was his own
personal vision.
I find very interesting this tension between personal vision (think
about Gore for instance or Semler and Semco) and self-organization.
looks very complex and human to me ;)
but stlll wondering how self-organization fits within this kind of frame.
Christine
On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 8:03 PM, Harrison Owen <hho...@verizon.net
<mailto:hho...@verizon.net>> wrote:
Christine, Zappo Holarchs "rolled out" according to the following...
Sounds like sort of a mandate to me. ho
http://qz.com/161210/zappos-is-going-holacratic-no-job-titles-no-managers-no-hierarchy
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
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*From:*oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>
[mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>] *On Behalf Of
*Christine Whitney Sanchez
*Sent:* Tuesday, March 04, 2014 12:46 PM
*To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] Open Space and Holacracy
Great post, Daniel. Our company worked with Tony Hseigh's Downtown
Las Vegas Project last year and found the whole thing to be very
self-organizing.
I'm surprised that Zappos is imposing any kind of mandate - where did
you discover this?
Namasté,
Christine
Christine Whitney Sanchez, Partner
Innovation Partners International
Phoenix, AZ, USA +1.480.759.0262 <tel:%2B1.480.759.0262>
www.innovationpartners.com <http://www.innovationpartners.com>
On Mar 4, 2014, at 10:22 AM, Dan Mezick <d...@newtechusa.net
<mailto:d...@newtechusa.net>> wrote:
An invitation arouses curiousity, but a mandate dries up
the bones... Ancient Proverb
The Mandate of Holacracy at Zappos:
http://newtechusa.net/agile/the-mandate-of-holacracy-at-zappos/
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 4, 2014, at 11:36 AM, "Harrison Owen" <hho...@verizon.net
<mailto:hho...@verizon.net>> wrote:
Wikipedia (as usual) has everything you wanted to know... go to --
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holacracy
I can certainly imagine Open Space playing a role in Holacracies,
and in
fact the "governance" in a Open Space could certainly be described as
"Holacratic" -- which is to say "ruling power" is totally distributed
amongst the participants. But there is a real difference.
Holacracy in Open
Space is totally an emergent phenomenon. Nobody designed it, nobody
implements it -- it just shows up all by itself. Holacracy in
places like
Zappos is a designed phenomenon. Doubtless it works pretty well,
but it does
seem to me that they may be working a little too hard, creating
something
that can and does happen all by itself. I think.
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/>
www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com/> (Personal Website)
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-----Original Message-----
From: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>
[mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Kári
Gunnarsson
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2014 11:20 AM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space and Holacracy
I heard that Holacracy is somehow based upon the principles of
Open Space
and uses Open space for its implementation.
On 4 March 2014 08:53, Rob van der Eyden
<robvanderey...@veranderarchitect.nl
<mailto:robvanderey...@veranderarchitect.nl>> wrote:
Hello Kári,
Interesting question. How do you see the link between Open
space and
Holacracy?
Kind regards, Rob van der Eyden
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
<mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>
[mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] Namens Kári
Gunnarsson
Verzonden: maandag 3 maart 2014 21:52
Aan: Open Space Forum
Onderwerp: [OSList] Open Space and Holacracy
There have been much talk about the relationship of the
organizational
chart and how Open Space operates. Recent compareson to me has
been to
link the new self-organizing authority and decision-making system
called Holacracy
see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holacracy
I wonder if there are stories on the use of Open space to
transform
more traditional system to one of Open Space based Holacracy?
I would
be happy to learn some of your experiences in this regard.
--
Kári Gunnarsson
kari.gunnars...@simnet.is <mailto:kari.gunnars...@simnet.is>
gsm: +354 8645189 <tel:%2B354%208645189>
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