when i did my first event in open space, i studied the book, pieced together a script, and made posters. 'be prepared to be surprised' was one of the posters, and has been ever since. so i think that line must have come from the user's guide, which brian told me he reviewed, at least a little bit, before every opening. must have been the church thing seeping into the ost side of his work -- do the reading and then do the feast. <grin> i used to post 'be prepared...' and talk about it as the last of the four posters, a sort of summary, but i saw brian do something different with it: he put it up on the door, as a sort of first shot when people arrived. in that way, it not only said surprise, but it was, itself, surprising. if i were to add anything to the four principles, it might be brian's simple summary: it's all good.
m -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates http://www.michaelherman.com http://www.ronanparktrail.com http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org http://www.openspaceworld.org 312-280-7838 (mobile) On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 8:32 AM, Michael M Pannwitz <mmpa...@boscop.org>wrote: > Dear Artur, > "Be prepared to be surprised!", in German, which I understand you have been > learning in preparation for your trip to the WOSonOS in Berlin, I phrase it > "Augen Auf! Mit Ueberraschungen ist zu rechnen!" > Aside the four facts of life (them aint principles, come on) it is what > Harrison called the admonition (all tongue in cheek, never to be taken with > total seriousness...all on page 91 of the third edition to the Guide). > So its been part of my intro to OST all on an extra large flipchart paper. > I had the notion that everybody has been using this seeing it sometimes on > photos of os events. > Maybe I am missing something here. > > Fact is, I have never been to an os event where there were no surprises! > Great and small, happy and nasty... > > See you next week at the WOSonOS where I will expect you with the denatured > ethyl alcohol in hand for the "international suitcase buffet" to fuel your > grill for the chouriços...I remember them well at 8th WOSonOS in Berlin 10 > years ago... > Cheers > mmp > > Artur Silva schrieb: > > Chris (and all, in Melbourne and elsewhere) >> >> >> I understand and respect your desire to honor Brian, >> which I used to call a friend, even if we have met only once. But one >> single face to >> face meeting is enough to develop a solid friendship, especially when one >> is >> prepared to be surprised... >> >> >> As you all know my relationship with the principles is >> not easy, and I only can understand them as "what always happens" if one >> opens >> space - or in what Harrison used to call an "InterActive >> Organization". >> >> >> Anyhow, for me, "Be Prepared..." is not something >> that always happens. Is a king of recommendation to open oneself to the >> space >> being opened. >> >> >> My counter suggestion comes like this: OST has 1 Law >> (and a very powerful one), 4 principles (if we have to accept that...) and >> one recommendation >> (you may chose another name), that from now on can be called "Brian's >> Recommendation". >> >> >> What do you all (in Melbourne and elsewhere) think >> about that? >> >> >> Regards from a sunny Lisbon - happy because I will soon >> met a lot of friends in Berlin and unhappy as I will not have the >> possibility >> to met some others that will not come this time >> >> >> Artur >> >> >> --- On Mon, 5/3/10, Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> wrote: >> >> From: Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> >> Subject: [OSLIST] Brian Bainbridge and the fifth principle >> To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >> Date: Monday, May 3, 2010, 9:49 PM >> >> Hello from Melbourne. I've just opened space at a conference here with >> Viv McWaters, Geoff Brown, Anne Pattillo and Johnnie Moore. We've got a two >> day, full on participatory conference on evaluation with 179 people. 40 >> topics have gone up for our day and a half OS. >> >> It's sweet for me being here in Melbourne, which for me is the spiritual >> home of Open Space in Australia (would you agree Brendan? :-)). Of course >> for me that impression largely comes from the fact that this was Father >> Brian Banibridge's home, and I regret that I never made it here while he >> was alive, only able to meet him over the years at various OSonOS gatherings >> or when he stopped by our place on retreat or en route to elsewhere. >> >> Brian of course was such a stalwart member of our community...he and Viv >> have hosted trainings in Australia for years and of course they took the >> mantle of hosting OSonOS X in 2002 after Laurel Doersam and I co-hosted it >> in Vancouver. It's such a pleasure to be here working with Viv and our team >> in this place, with Brian's presence very much in our mind. >> >> And so as way of honouring Brian in our own little way today we took the >> unprecedented step of officially adding a fifth principle to the Open Space >> canon. Of course the four principles are very important and probably all we >> need, but Brian always posted a fifth one up when he worked: Be Prepared to >> be Surprised. For years I have also made a poster with that one on it and >> put it up in the room, but today in my opening I elevated that most >> excellent phrase by making it the third principle of five. It comes right >> after Whoever comes... and Whatever happens... Be Prepared to be Surprised. >> And then When it starts... and when it's over...lovely. >> >> It seems a perfectly natural place to put it, and, being here in >> Melbourne, it seemed a perfectly natural act to just say out loud "Open >> Space has 5 principles and one law..." Viv and I both got a little shiver >> up our spine, our own little testimonial to a great friend of our community >> of practice whose presence we miss dearly. >> >> So from now on it'll be five principles for me, and in reciting them I >> always see in my own mind Harrison's call to simplicity, Anne Stadler's call >> to take simplicity seriously (which helped Harrison get the principles right >> - that IS the story, right?) and Brian's mischievous imperative to be open >> to surprise. >> >> So as we prepare to gather here in Melbourne on May 11 for a little OSonOS >> with 40 or so local OS-workers, and our community of friends and colleagues >> gathers internationally in Berlin, Viv and I invite you to officially adopt >> Brian's fifth principle not for sentimental reasons, but just because it >> makes sense, and it lightens the invitation in just the right way. >> >> It's all good. >> >> Chris >> ---- >> Chris Corrigan >> ch...@chriscorrigan.com >> http://www.chriscorrigan.com >> >> * >> * >> ========================================================== >> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >> ------------------------------ >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html >> >> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: >> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist >> >> >> >> >> * >> * >> ========================================================== >> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >> ------------------------------ >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html >> >> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: >> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist >> > > -- > Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg > Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany > ++49-30-772 8000 > mmpa...@boscop.org > www.boscop.org > > > Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 397 resident Open > Space Workers in 68 countries working in a total of 141 countries worldwide > Have a look: > www.openspaceworldmap.org > > > * > * > ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist > * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
