Or to put it in simplest terms - go where it hurts. Which is lots of people.
Which is what "consultants" typically get asked to do anyway. And use language
that they can relate to, and which stretches their imagination/ spirits. Most
of my experiences in corporate "pro-active land of control" are not across the
organization - but a division or department. OS does make a difference, to the
people who were touched by it, and to how that group of people works. So far as
I can tell, the organization itself has not changed massively. But I figure
that is not up to me ("whatever happens...") What I can do is to skip around
sewing little grains of openness as I go, and when the timing is right... the
change will happen!
Meg Salter
MegaSpace Consulting
416/486-6660
[email protected]
www.megaspaceconsulting.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Harrison Owen
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, May 20, 2002 12:00 PM
Subject: Re: "empowerment" is a disempowering concept
At 08:41 AM 5/20/2002 -0600, Paul Roberts wrote:
One of the questions that intrigues me, and around which I am doing my
work, is how to engage this system: where do we locate the carrot, as we
work alongside the corporation (or inside it...not my personal preference
at this point in time)? How can the corporate structure make the
transition into a new, more open structure that reflects evolution on the
Spiral? I know Ken Wilber is addressing about the same things in his
Integral Institute...and so does the Apostle Paul, in talking about his own
stealth strategy of missionizing: being wise as a serpent, and harmless as
a dove.
I would suppose you are asking THE question of the moment -- whether in terms
of Corporations or countries (Palestine and Israel for example). I know a lot
people are tying a lot of ways, but in my experience only one thing really
works. Gently put we might call it a "significant emotional event." Or more
accurately a Whack to the side of the head. This could be something like
bankruptcy -- or more positively -- a marvelous new opportunity for which you
are not prepared. Either way -- a clear and growing recognition that going the
way we are going we will not get to where we want. Period.
there is always the hope that we might find an easier, gentler way. And if we
could -- that would be wonderful. But I think the change required is so far
outside of what might appear possible that unless the stakes get very high, few
if any would contemplate the jump. And it is a jump -- transformational no
less. And nobody in their right mind would willingly do it unless they saw no
alternatives. And for sure they will look for alternatives, and there will be
many sellers. But to date, I haven't seen any that work. cosmetic changes for
sure and in abundance. But something useful? Not yet.
Obviously this presents real issues when you are looking at a one industry
town with lots of lives involved. but I don't think that changes the realities
involved -- it just makes it more immediate for a lot of folks. A microcosm of
all this (and sometimes it can be the whole ball of wax) occurs every time one
brings up the subject of doing an Open Space. It is not something you can or
should "argue" somebody into. They have to decide on their own, or not.
Actually in my experience, Open Space is about the only effective mechanism for
the sort of change/transformation you are talking about. Once they have made
the jump and decided to go they suddenly find themselves in a radically new
situation where the old rules simply don't apply and it works. Perhaps they
will determine that once in Open Space is more than sufficient, but at least
they have had the experience -- and unless they wish to pretend that it was
purely an imaginary one (and strangely lots of folks do that) they can never
quite go home again.
So all I can really say is tell the story, and let those who have ears to
hear -- hear. As for the rest... I guess First Aid for all those in that awful
category of "collateral damage." But sooner or later you have to fish or cut
bait. shoot or relinquish the fowling piece -- or one other pat phrase which
should not be used in this polite company. The choice is theirs -- and it is a
choice they must make for themselves, no matter how much I might want to fix
things.
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
phone 301-365-2093
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
[email protected]
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