THAT truth, I can certify, Jeff! :-) Chris
On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 4:16 PM, Jeff Aitken <[email protected]> wrote: > having been trained by the motley lot who dreamed up this stuff, i can > attest that even that great privilege does not mean that i know much or > should be let near the folks in your organization. > > jeff. > > On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 3:53 PM, Peggy Holman <[email protected]>wrote: > >> To be certified confused…where do I sign up? >> >> Chris -- thanks for your decidedly clear and unconfused comments on >> certification. >> >> I seem to recall in some past conversation that rather than >> certification, lineage is alternative to the client conundrum of who am I >> hiring? To be trained by the creator, or by someone who trained with >> creator, on down the line seems to have worked for a variety of practice >> traditions through the ages. >> >> Still no guarantee, as Chris noted below. >> >> appreciatively, >> Peggy >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Aug 8, 2013, at 10:35 AM, Chris Corrigan <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Ohh I love this topic too, because as we go on and on it becomes >> clearer and clearer to me that Harrison's original idea (which predated >> Open Source) was sheer genius. There is an expression in english: "Closing >> the barn doors after the horse has left." It's too late to certify people >> in Open Space Technology, and thank God! >> >> You simply cannot certify people as a way to protect the brand and the >> reason is simple. >> >> Certification is based on an industrial quality assurance model In other >> words, every product leaving the factory is guaranteed to work the way we >> say it is going to work. If it doesn't you can have your money back and >> we'll give you a new one that works. Every product can be tested before it >> leaves the factory to be sure it works reliably, >> >> You simply cannot do that with facilitators. No amount of certification >> will guarantee that a client will get what they want every single time. >> And a facilitator taking a single training in Open Space or some other >> method will by definition NOT be perfect leaving the factory. You need to >> develop a practice, and even still there are contexts and situations that >> will challenge and surprise you. "Be Prepared to Be Surprised" is the only >> certification I can reliably give to anyone that has trained with me. We >> are not engineers, architects or doctors. We are people whose skill is in >> responding well to myriad and changing contexts. >> >> The International Association of Facilitators went down this route. I >> have seen some horrible facilitation done by people who are certified by >> the IAF. So much so that I have no faith in that certification as standing >> for anything. It is a worthy idea but it simply cannot be implemented. >> >> Open Space is a brand like brainstorming is a brand, like using markers >> and flipcharts is a brand, like parliamentary procedure is a brand. In a >> few more decades, with any luck, the world will have forgotten where it all >> came from and it will just become a basic operating system of groups. In >> the last 10 years that prospect has really come on as people have stolen, >> mashed up, mixed together, modified and redesigned Open Space Technology. >> Participatory process is becoming an acceptable way of doing things, and >> will only become more so. Most conference goers for example are now able >> to report on conference evaluations that they would have rather had a world >> cafe or an Open Space than a keynote address. I see it all the time. >> There is a fluency in the world with this method and others. >> >> I fundamentally distrust anyone who makes a concerted effort to certify >> Open Space. If Harrison Owen, the guy that put it all down on paper, >> refuses to do it for excellent reasons, then I wonder what gives anyone >> else the right to do it. >> >> And for me that is a terrific example of how to steward something that >> really has an impact in the world. Offer it up and let it go and only >> defend it from those that would try to own it. Thankfully Open Space >> Technology I think is at a place in the world where it defies ownership. >> Anyone who tries it will simply be laughed off the stage. >> >> Chris >> >> >> >> >> On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 9:29 AM, Kári Gunnarsson < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I love the Certification dialogue and I think that the recurrence of >>> the dialogue is necessary. As I have looked around of things that >>> trace there roots to open space or give the impression to be similar >>> is some way. Some of these processes have the Certification hierarchy >>> protecting the Quality of the Brand and the revenues steaming from the >>> property that the brand name is. >>> >>> The hierarchy of the Certification process associated with Brand names >>> is a way to close space and create tension witch in turn will fuel the >>> flow of cash from the people that can pay, excluding the people that >>> can not. It is an exercise in creating a closed system to fuel a >>> business plan. And naturally, any start up consultancy offering some >>> tools will need some flow of cash to pay the phone bill. >>> >>> When I was at Wosonon in Berlin back in 2010, I head one participant >>> saying. "You always have the clients that you deserve". >>> >>> By knowing that the space for clients is well open and the law of >>> mobility is active from them is perhaps a little scary. This scare can >>> be remedied by letting go of the outcome and commit time to prepare to >>> be of more benefit for my future clients. >>> >>> Here I have opened up many lines of thoughts that stay with me when I >>> think about this topic. What I would like to have written down is some >>> sort of vision on how to go about using the open space as a central >>> idea and core philosophy in a practise. >>> >>> On Certification, my vote would go for "no central Certification", but >>> I don't mind that various offspring's of Open Space go ahead and >>> create there own brand name with the associated cash flow headaches >>> and salaried sales staff of Certification trainings in there bid to >>> get a bought with a handsome cash out from lager companies. >>> >>> That said, I would like to see more people get interested in the >>> "boring" methought of meeting, working and begin together called open >>> space. >>> >>> By the way, I am bored to tears by people hearing about open space and >>> begin pissed off by the way open office layout (also called open space >>> in my country) has been ruining there work experiences. >>> >>> This is starting to be a long rant, Ill stop now. >>> >>> With the breeze from Iceland >>> Kári >>> >>> >>> On 8 August 2013 14:50, Harrison Owen <[email protected]> wrote: >>> > Certification (whatever that might mean) seems to be a perennial >>> topic. I >>> > suppose that is understandable, but for myself it is a horrible idea. >>> My >>> > reasons are several. First of all it is too much work. The thought of >>> > developing the criteria, programs, and even worse, “protecting the >>> brand” is >>> > totally exhausting. We’d have to have certifiers to certify the >>> certifiers >>> > and so on ad infinitum. Second reason – Open Space seems to be taking >>> care >>> > of itself. When folks come on with “A little Open Space,” “Sort of Open >>> > Space,” “Modified Open Space,” ... the participants (increasingly) >>> > understand that they aren’t getting the genuine article—and say so. I >>> recall >>> > one instance where a large gentleman stood up in the middle of the >>> “program” >>> > and loudly proclaimed, “This sure ain’t Open Space! I’m out of here.” >>> And he >>> > walked. I guess you could call that “Market Certification.” Best of >>> all --- >>> > it works all by itself. One more thing not to do!! >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > Harrison >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > Harrison Owen >>> > >>> > 7808 River Falls Dr. >>> > >>> > Potomac, MD 20854 >>> > >>> > USA >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) >>> > >>> > Camden, Maine 04843 >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > Phone 301-365-2093 >>> > >>> > (summer) 207-763-3261 >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > www.openspaceworld.com >>> > >>> > www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) >>> > >>> > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of >>> OSLIST >>> > Go to: >>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > OSList mailing list >>> > To post send emails to [email protected] >>> > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>> > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >>> > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >>> > >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Kári Gunnarsson >>> [email protected] >>> gsm: +354 8645189 >>> _______________________________________________ >>> OSList mailing list >>> To post send emails to [email protected] >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> --- >> CHRIS CORRIGAN >> Facilitation - Training - Process Design >> Open Space Technology - Art of Hosting >> >> http://www.chriscorrigan.com >> >> *Upcoming workshops* >> * >> >> Wise Leadership in >> Practice<http://www.kaasamine.ee/koolitused/wise-leadership-in-practice> >> August 22-25, Sänna Cultural Manor, Estonia >> >> * >> *Art of Hosting - Art of (Inter)action* <http://www.aohmontreal.org/en/> >> *October 8-10, 2013, Montreal, PQ.* >> >> * >> Art of Hosting <http://aohrivendell.withtank.com/> - Participatory >> Leadership and Social Collaboration >> November 11-14, 2013, Bowen Island, BC, Canada. >> * >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OSList mailing list >> To post send emails to [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > -- --- CHRIS CORRIGAN Facilitation - Training - Process Design Open Space Technology - Art of Hosting http://www.chriscorrigan.com *Upcoming workshops* * Wise Leadership in Practice<http://www.kaasamine.ee/koolitused/wise-leadership-in-practice> August 22-25, Sänna Cultural Manor, Estonia * *Art of Hosting - Art of (Inter)action* <http://www.aohmontreal.org/en/> *October 8-10, 2013, Montreal, PQ.* * Art of Hosting <http://aohrivendell.withtank.com/> - Participatory Leadership and Social Collaboration November 11-14, 2013, Bowen Island, BC, Canada. *
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