Hi Glory.
The beauty of the work back then was that I was fully-embedded in
organizations in senior management roles. As part of a commitment Anne
Stadler and I had made to exploring what it meant to ³live our lives in Open
Space², I had decided to experiment with leading and managing my
organizations ³in Open Space².
This meant that along with doing on average bi-weekly OS events for various
organizations for-profit and non-profits I conducted my leadership
teams, program and project teams, and Lean Kaizens (12 per week on average
across my ³span of control²), staffs, and work groups in Open Space. I
carefully and subtly trained my staff and organizations to function in Open
Space.
Some cool observations from the experiments:
* With teams conversant in trying to ³Live in Open Space², I found that I
and they could convene
profound and productive ³spaces² as short as fifteen minutes, and as
long as several months
yes, in corporate settings
* In 1997 I blended ³Living in Open Space² with principles from Buddhist
living to build a
team (and set of organizations) that could eliminate a ³$3million² a
day production problem.
It took about six weeks for folks to really get it and when they
did, they not only solved the
production problem but innovated a set of processes and tools that are
still in use today
* In 2000, I tried the blended approach in the bowels of the US
Government. About three
to four months into the experiment, a Government manager exclaimed
that ³we² had been
doing that ³Open Space stuff². I had never used the term ³Open Space²
in that setting.
Apparently folks got curious about what they were experiencing in the
daily life of the
organization and started to research what it might be. And discovered
that in fact we had
been conducting our work in Open Space. This came as quite a surprise
to some of the ³OD²
folks who had ³made up their minds² about things like OST and AI
without ever (knowingly)
participating in them.
* Working with the CEO (who was my boss) from my previous company, my job
was to infuse
and embody a ³²Living in Open Space² practice into our work force, and
particularly our
executive decision-making processes (think ³off-sites²). I watched as
this contributed
to our financial success as an organization, and allowed me the
financial option to ³retire²
from the ³rat race² and explore living my life in Open Space in the
service of the transformation
of consciousness. Which is what I do nowadays !
In the seventies I spent five years living in an intentional community (7x24
residential community). We did not ³Live in Open Space² -- yet the
experience profoundly positively shaped my life. I had an extended family
that had experimented with convening itself ala OS-like Law and Principles
for a number of years. Anne Stadler suggested that the next experiment
should be an intentional community based on ³Living in Open Space². So she
founded the ³Spirited Work Community² in 1999. With that, our focus (Anne
and I) changed from predominantly organization-oriented OS to
community-oriented OS. And I drastically reduced the pace and my
involvement in OST events. This experiment led us to India in 2001, and
later again in 2004 with an expanded configuration that included Peggy
Holman. The 2001 trip brought about the establishment of the Radiant
Networking² experiment which continues to this day, and shapes the work
and participation of Anne, Peggy, and myself (individually and
collectively).
In the nineties, the ³pace² was exciting and profoundly meaningful to me.
And eventually, I felt that I had pretty much ³mined the goodies² I was no
longer being surprised and growing from the experiments. The results were
always positive and always the same which was good but I needed to find
the next learning and growth edge. I kept notebooks to track and map my
experiments.
My experimental trajectory regarding Open Space progressed from Item-1 to
Item-8:
(1) OST for the increased effectiveness of individuals
(2) Living in OS for the evolution and transformation of individual
consciousness
(3) OST for the increased effectiveness of groups and organizations
(4) Living in OS for the evolution and transformation of organizational
consciousness
(5) OST for the increased effectiveness of communities
(6) Living in OS for the evolution of collective (³Community²)
consciousness
(7) Living in OS as an integral wellness practice for the transformation
of (individual and
collective ) consciousness Self | Other | The Whole
(8) Radiant Networking Practices of Peace Integral Wellness
³Pace² drove both Anne and I to our explorations of what I call
³efficiency²:
What is the minimum necessary but sufficient gentle structure upon which
we can hang things ?
Harrison sometimes frames this as ³what is one less thing to do?²
Peggy sometimes frames this as ³what is the basic underlying pattern?²
Tom Atlee sometimes frames this as discerning ³pattern languages²
Anne has taken this to the simple inquiry of ³what is optimal . . . ³
Based on conversations that Peggy, Tom, Chris Corrigan and I have had I
suspect that the more one mucks with intention and intensity with Open
Space, the more Open Space becomes a ³life practice² for everyday living and
community. And one becomes even more appreciative of the experience thus
the more deeply and pervasively one mucks with it. Nowadays, I rarely refer
to Open Space Technology, for me Open Space has simply become a way of
living.
Thanks for the compassionate and inviting asking !
Mark R. Jones
Chief Executive Officer
The Sunyata Group
The Integral Wellness Group
----------------------------------------------------------------------
PO Box 58788
Renton, Washington
USA 98058-1788
Phone: 425-413-6000
e-Mail: suny...@att.net <mailto:suny...@att.net>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
On 4/27/06 6:41 PM, "Glory Ressler" <on.the.e...@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Me too, Mark - I'd love to hear a story that reflects your experience/learning
> associated with the intense pace and # of sessions....
>
> Best wishes,
> Glory
>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: Tree Fitzpatrick <mailto:therese.fitzpatr...@gmail.com>
>>
>> To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu
>>
>> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 9:21 PM
>>
>> Subject: Re: innovative organizations
>>
>>
>> Wow, Mark Jones, you did more than two open space events per week one year!
>>
>> I am impressed.
>>
>> Has anyone else on this list had such a pace?
>>
>>
*
*
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