At 05:53 PM 7/17/00 -0400, you wrote:
As I sit here today putting together an outline programme for Diageo (as requested), I realise that I am not as strong as I might be in myself, in terms of moving from Open Space events into an on-going Open Space presence - or in the longer run an Open Space Organisation. The client has said that they do not want this to be a 'one-off' - more the start of a journey - which is perfect. And they have asked for thoughts on what the follow-on or journey might look like.
********************************* Romy -- I am not sure that what I have to say here will be of any direct help is framing specific "how tos" and "what nexts," but if I was sitting where you are sitting, here is where I would start -- at least conceptually. Opening point -- The issue is not to create an Open Space Organization (by whatever name) -- but rather to acknowledge it. It already exists, even when it is covered over by layers of bureaucracy and years of traditional practice. Heresy I know, but here is the thinking behind the outrage. It starts with a growing certainty for me -- That there is no such thing as a non-self-organizing system. There are only a number of (deluded) folks who think they did the job and therefore have the right/duty to be in charge. The connection between Open Space and self-organization is pretty obvious, and when I think about both the joy and power (to say nothing of creativity and productivity) of an organization working in Open Space -it all comes back to being (consciously) what we already are --- self-organizing. I would argue that the major hang-ups we experience organizationally come about when we do things that are contrary to our essential nature as organizations -- like try and be in charge, etc. So, when we talk about an Open Space Organization we often do so as if this was something we must bring to an existing organization, I think it is already there, and our role is to help folks to realize it. Doing an Open Space is the first step -- give people the experience of being authentically what they already are. It's called honesty, and it is amazing what happens when we are honest. Things like pretence, hideouts, guilt and similar sorts of things just seem to disappear, or at least feel a lot better -- and as icing on the cake, we actually get something useful done. So that's a start. Next step is to anchor the experience. We know that for many people the Open Space experience goes so fast and feels so good that they can't believe it. So it is useful to spend some time (not a lot of time) in reflection... Questions like -- what happened, how did it happen, and would we like it to happen again???? Then something a little odd ball -- Look for the same experience in your organization. We usually spend time enumerating all the problems. I suggest looking at what works. Find that spot in the organization where it is really fun and productive, and my bet is that the operative procedure there will look a lot more like an Open Space than the Rules of Engagement as found in the Organizational manual. The "spot" may not be a large one -- but unless the organization is totally moribund I am sure it will be found. QED -- Guess what -- we don't have to do anything new. We just have to be the way we already are (essentially). I have gone pretty fast and the logic is a little loose... but it is much easier to bring to life what is already present than to create something totally new. Of course there is a problem. We have spent most of our organizational life trying to get rid of and/or control the life of our organizations. So some sort of behavior change will be in order. But at least we will be starting from a point of experience... As a sort of Post Script -- Dee Hoeck (sp?) -- Mr Chaordic Organization -- enabled a most remarkable organization, Visa International. It was remarkable for at least two reasons. First it worked, and second -- nobody organized it. What is more remarkable is that since Dee came back to the public view, he has been attempting to replicate his success with other organizations. To the best of my knowledge, his success rate to date has been "0" -- And the reason, I think, is that he is attempting to organize a self-organizing system. Something work with that picture. I don't think we need to make the same mistake when dealing with an Open Space Organization. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, MD 20854 USA phone 301-469-9269 Summer Phone 207-763-3261 fax 301-983-9314 website www.mindspring.com/~owenhh Open Space Institute website www.openspaceworld.org
