We of the wosonos host team around San Francisco think it's totally awesome that Harrison will be here for a special evening on July 22 to celebrate the new User's Guide and our friend its author.
If you are going to San Francisco (reminds me of a song) be sure to leave space in your luggage to take home your 3rd edition Users Guide. Whether we have a book signing, or some kind of blessing ceremony with smudge and sprinkled water, your copy of the book will be a favorite memento of the journey. (Next to the little tin cable car of course.) http://www.cablecarmuseum.org/store/toys.html Until we see you ~ Jeff Aitken Little Italy, San Francisco ---------------------------------------- > Date: Tue, 1 Jan 2008 16:45:50 -0500 > From: [email protected] > Subject: New Year's Resolutions > To: [email protected] > > Happy New Year everybody; what a year it has been! And 2008 and is just > around the corner (literally), and for sure there will be all sorts of > issues and opportunities for us to explore. I for one am definitely looking > forward to our sharing and good conversations > > For me, 2008 will be some sort of record year with two books coming out. One > is sort of "cheater" in as much as it is the 3rd Edition of the User's > Guide. That book will be coming out in the Spring and whether you are just > arrived in Open Space or an old timer I think you will find something of > interest and use. It is hard to believe that we have been at this strange > business called Open Space for 22, soon to be 23, years. And from where I > have been sitting, it only gets richer and deeper. Just about the time we > think we have answered the last question a whole new world of possibilities > opens up. That is what I call fun! > > The second book with the current title, "Wave Riders" will make its debut in > the fall. I confess that it has taken me longer to write this book than any > other previous effort which may have something to do with advancing years > and the fact the old neurons and synapses don't click as quickly as they > used to. And actually it is not done yet as the good folks at > Berrett-Koehler have now started their "review and revise" process. For > whatever it is worth, I can tell you that if you want to get the old ego > fractured, this process will do it. All those lovely words and ideas are > subject to rigorous critique and more than a few don't make it through. :-( > The reviewers say they are doing their job "sympathetically" but I have > always noticed a degree of sadism. But that is just an author talking with > an obvious degree of bias. > > Wave Riders is, in many ways a sequel to my last book - The Practice of > Peace. I and many others have noticed that somehow in Open Space, massive > levels of conflict find useful resolution - not by the elimination of > conflict but by creating an environment in which conflicting forces find the > way to a complementary flow. You might call it Peace. The deeper learning, > at least for me, has been that the "magic" is not Open Space Technology, but > rather that which seemingly empowers OST - namely self-organization. It > therefore makes sense to eliminate the middle man (OST) and learn how to > directly apply (work with) that deep power, no longer as an "event" of > several day's duration - but every day and all the days 24X7X365. I believe > we can do that and the result is what I have called, The Practice of Peace. > Needless to say there is an infinite amount to be learned and explored, and > given the current shape of the Planet and it peoples, there are no shortage > of possibilities for application. For the New Year I would hope that we can > go deeper still. Call that a New Year's Resolution! > > The new book, Wave Riders, shares much of the logic of The Practice of > Peace, but it starts from a different place. It has been a common experience > in Open Space that work groups achieve levels of performance they can hardly > believe. A hard nosed AT&T executive once called it "magic" when his team > managed to accomplish in 2 days what they knew "must" take at least 10 > months. Were this to have happened just once, that would be interesting, but > in my own experience it is almost common place. I suppose something of the > sort happens every time space is opened, but when the folks are engaged in a > project with definite end points, as in designing a building, or creating a > new product, the high level of performance becomes almost overwhelming. It > won't surprise you to learn that I think we can, and should, eliminate the > middle man and go straight to the source. > > Our good friend, Chris Corrigan has referred to Open Space Technology as > "training wheels" - those funny little appendages you attach to a child's > bike. But hopefully the day will come when you can take the training wheels > off and just ride. I believe that day has arrived and it is my hope that > 2008 will be the time that we collectively take the leap. There is so much > to learn and even more to do. Call it a Resolution. Can't wait! > > Of course, there must always be a place here on good old OSLIST for new > comers who are just edging into Open Space. It is true that we now have a > large body of experience - but it is also true that every time an "old > question" is asked some new space is opened and we are all the richer. > > Happy New Year! > > Harrison > > Harrison Owen > 7808 River Falls Drive > Potomac, Maryland 20854 > Phone 301-365-2093 > Skype hhowen > Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com > > Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org > Personal website www.ho-image.com > OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives > Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > > > > * > * > ========================================================== > [email protected] > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of [email protected]: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist _________________________________________________________________ i’m is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making a difference. http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/MTV/?source=text_Cause_Effect * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
