Greeting Harrison, paul, John, Chris,
I strongly agree that asking "why about how" is usually not very useful.
http://newtechusa.net/agile/start-with-how/
That said, I see a pattern here I first noticed in the Agile community
several years ago. People who reach the mastery level dispensed guidance
that made perfect sense-- to other experts. Yet that same advice just
wasn't readily digestible by the many "late-majority" newbies who were
flooding in... and seeking some very basic guidance.
For example, quite a few years ago the idea of "not doing estimates at
all for software projects" began to be advocated by certain well-known
Agile experts. While that concept is certainly well-grounded in reality
and appropriate for very mature organizations, it did cause some
less-knowledgeable people to stumble... as they struggled to understand
exactly what these experts were actually talking about.
The 1 Law and the 5 Principles do provide a very useful and accessible
template... one that makes it easy for anyone with a "good head and a
good heart" to jump in...and facilitate some open space with little or
no experience.
What's actually wrong with that?
Are we actually experiencing the end of the early-majority phase with
Open Space?
Is the late-majority stage just getting underway?
If so, a great many "late-majority" newbies will be here shortly.
Daniel
On 11/17/14 5:03 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList wrote:
I have opened space many many times without ever mentioning the four
principles, the law or any other assorted wisdom associated with WHY
the process works.
My basic practice is to explain HOW we will organize ourselves,
pointing out the tools we have to do so: paper, markers, bulletin board.
I talk about passion and responsibility "Please only post a topic you
will personally show up for..." and I mention the freedom of choosing
and moving.
That is all that people need to get into Open Space. I'm not sure the
principles or the law or anything else are necessary pre-conditions
for the appearance and deployment of Open Space in a meeting. I think
they help explain what is happening, and I think they help people let
go of control a little.
All of us as facilitators would do well to remember that people are
not coming to a meeting to be wowed by a process that you personally
love. They are coming to get work done. And so it behooves us to put
a lid on our passions for the mechanics of the process and simply open
space so that work can get done. Later on you can reflect on WHY it
happened like that.
As for the idea that OST is mainstream, well perhaps not yet. But
within the world of people who think a lot about this sort of thing it
is widely known. I feel like these days people call and ask about OST
having experienced it whereas in the 1990s and early 200s people were
calling because it seemed like a good idea, but they had never
experienced it. So not mainstream per se, but widely accepted and
known in a small part of the world.
At any rate it has been a long time since I have asked the question at
the start of a meeting and seen zero hands go up. There seems to be
at least one person who knows Open Space.
Whether we use the original instructions or modifications or
innovations, whatever you do, do it very very well. Be very
conscious, model good leadership and never stop embodying invitation.
Lots of people have witnessed poorly planned Open Spaces run by
facilitators who are too nervous to let go of their control of it. We
all owe it to our clients and participants to meet their needs well
with a process that helps them get unlocked from the stuck places they
get into.
Here's my book again for you to download. I hope it inspires your
practice.
The Tao of Holding Space
<http://www.archive.org/details/TheTaoOfHoldingSpace>
Chris
On Nov 14, 2014, at 11:09 PM, John Baxter via OSList
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Nice reflection Harrison.
You've unfortunately created too many loose ends to inspire a neat
reply. So here is a messy one.
Regards the simplest recipe for Open Space, to what degree have the
Law and N Principles (and the animals) been critically tested? To be
honest, these have never really resonated for me and I've always used
a different variation each time searching for something that feels
right (and no longer than it needs to be).
I think it's a long bow to describe Open Space as mainstream, or
anywhere near it. It has spread to all corners of the globe perhaps,
but it is still the System A alternative, islands within a System B
world. I would hazard 90% of those who have been to conferences and
meetings and like gatherings have not heard of it... (speaking at a
conference on cocreation and placemaking recently, I requested a
hands-up and had a whole TWO of hundreds confess to acquaintance)
and even if 90% had, I'm sure less than 1% of the gatherings they
attend are consciously designed to unlock self organisation.
What you describe of the permutations of the practice matches what I
see (though I'm too new to know differently), but I can't see how
this could be because of a tipping point as the practice is mainstreamed.
Maybe that's just where I participate.
Regards the permutations and combinations... bring them on! This
thread could quickly follow all sorts of rabbit holes on this one, so
I might save those thoughts for another day.
Cheers
*/John Baxter/*
/Cocreation Consultant & CoCreate Adelaide Facilitator/
jsbaxter.com.au <http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/> | CoCreateADL.com
<http://cocreateadl.com/>
0405 447 829
|
@jsbaxter_ <http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_>
/Thank you to everyone who came, helped or spread the good word about
*City Grill*!/
/Summary and links: cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary/
<http://cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary/>/
On Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 5:37 AM, paul levy via OSList
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
The problem with sticking with things is you might just end up stuck.
Ho hum.
Paul Levy
On 13 Nov 2014, at 18:14, Harrison Owen via OSList
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Open Space, in its "original" form is sparse simplicity to say
the least. Ten to fifteen minutes introduction, and it is off
the races, or in my case, off to take a nap. The evolution of
this format followed a simple dictum: "Think of one more thing
NOT to do." Over time in my practice I simply removed one more
element. The first to go were so called, "warm up exercises."
But it went down from there. My surprise was that the less I
did, the better it got... which seemed to be the exact opposite
of many of my colleagues' experience with the methods and
approaches they had created. Their simple guide books gave way
to 400 page Manuals with additions and extensions. Of course,
there were times when people remarked to me that OS was so
simple it couldn't possibly work. But it did. Simply sit in a
circle, create a bulletin board, acknowledge the 5 principles
and the Law -- and Go to Work! That's it. That's all.
I confess that I do love elegant simplicity, and so there is a
large part of me that would stick with the "original" for that
reason alone. To this may be added the fact that this "elegant
simplicity" apparently violated essentially all the principles
and practices of management that I knew about. To some extent
this was a source of no small amount of embarrassment, for after
all when what you see, do, and think is at odds with the
Received Wisdom there are obvious questions about your grasp of
reality. But, the disparity between what I was witnessing and
what (I was told) I should be experiencing has led to a
marvelous quest into the strange new world of self organizing
systems. Rich and rewarding indeed.
Now it seems that the world is changing (or at least our
perception of that world) such that the strange environment of
self organization is no longer so strange. What appeared odd,
counter-intuitive, impossible is now almost mainstream. Not
quite but getting there. And if so, perhaps it is now time to
let go of that old "elegant simplicity" in all of its appealing
purity... and plunge into the marvelous world of combinations
and permutations. And why not? It could be a lot of fun.
I can see the possibilities, but I doubt seriously I would
change. Senile sentimentality for sure, AND I actually have
another concern which I think may be determinative. I suspect
that OST (simple version) may be the best Training Program going
when it comes to the introduction of folks to the High Arts of
navigating a self organizing world. And best of all it is
Experiential Learning from the start. Training and Doing are
absolutely united. It is not talking about self organization it
is being intentionally in that mode. And any added
complexity/parallel program will tend to obscure the central
mind bending fact -- It's happening all by itself.
We have talked about this " training" function before, usually
under the heading of Chris Corrigan's notion of Training Wheels.
That is definitely good start, but only a start. We can do more,
and it could be a real kick.
So I plan to stick with the original -- with the hope and intent
that lots of new people will drop by to experience the
incredible, productive freedom of losing control, and then come
to understand that it is actually their birthright. They only
have to claim it.
Harrison
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