...and, from where I look at all of this, doing absolutely nothing (the
perfect performance) is very effective in getting out of the way of the
forces of selforganisation.
So far, assuming that the forces of selforganisation are the key
element, this gives me a very simple theory to grasp what is going on
and that simple theory supports my facilitation work (I am not yet doing
nothing) in all practice aspects of my work.
In fact, it also frees me from trying to figure out the type of "change"
OST effects: OST effects no change as such, it simply supports the
emergence of that which we observe in OST events... and that does not
seem to be "business as usual"... although, surprise, participants often
seem to be oblivious to all the wonderful things we as facilitators "see"...
It would be nice to know more about this strange force
"selforganisation". We know that it thrives under certain conditions
(the prerequisites). Sometimes I feel content with not knowing much
about it or that I can tell stories about the phenomenon as I see it
playing out... still, I am curious... its not killing me to not really
understand the sun or the wind or the flow of time. In fact, its
comforting to experience the sun, I can count on it and other stuff and
I can also count on selforganisation... no amount of control will stop it.
cheers
mmp
On 26.08.2013 15:51, Harrison Owen wrote:
Artur – I remember that discussion very well. Indeed it was one of the
seminal many that have enriched OSLIST over the years. I also recall a
small chuckle when I encountered the word, “metanoia” – a word very
central to Christian thought and usually translated “repentance.” But
whether you understand “profound change,” “transformative change” – or
“repentance” I think it pretty well comes out to the same thing. A
realignment with the deep forces of reality, and/or a turning away from
false options. So – from where I sit it is indeed an old discussion that
never gets old. It just gets deeper. It will be fun to see where we end
up this time???
The interesting part of reading your questions of more than a decade ago
is to notice how pertinent they still are, and simultaneously, how the
passage of time has (in my view) provided a simple answer to each one:
Yes. For example, even the most hardened skeptic would have to admit
that the behaviors manifest in Open Space represent a radical change of
direction from “Business as Usual” for that particular group. Massively
dysfunctional organizations effectively communicate and work together,
hostile parties, ordinarily given to shooting each other are seen to be
hugging a kissing. Odd to say the least, and perhaps metanoia –
definitely some new directions. How long the “change” lasts may be
another question, but Rome was not built in a day. Or something.
But the passage of time has done something else, at least for me. The
questions as posed presuppose that there is a definite process, defined
by someone (presumably me), performed by a community of individuals in
ways that are “correct” or not. I would certainly agree that at a
superficial level, those presuppositions are valid, but if so, they
create a degree of anomaly that is deliciously inviting. I say
“delicious” because I truly love anomalies simply because they point the
way to deep and interesting questions.
The anomalous lump appears for me in my extending experience of
facilitating Open Space. The more I “do” the clearer it becomes that
doing more is the wrong way to go. In fact the less I do, the better
things get. Following this vector it appears that perfection performance
for me as a facilitator would be to do absolutely nothing at all.
Strange practice/process. Seems best when it isn’t there!
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.openspaceworld.com%20>
www.ho-image.com <www.ho-image.com%20>(Personal Website)
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
OSLIST Go
to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
*From:*[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
[mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Artur Silva
*Sent:* Sunday, August 25, 2013 6:52 AM
*To:* [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>; World wide
Open Space Technology email list
*Subject:* [OSList] Profound change (was: The Open Agile Adoption story)
Dear Michael:
Thanks for asking about what I mean by "profound change" and sorry for
the delay in my answer.
Since I have joined the OSLIST (in 1998, I think) my main objective has
always been to try to understand the*role of OST as a tool to facilitate
profound changes* in organizations, communities, societies, as well as
in individuals.
As we can talk about "root learning" versus "profound learning"
(paradigm shift) we can also talk about change that only alters the
symptoms or the accessories from change that profoundly affect the
structures and mental models of the individual, the community, the
organization or even the society at large.
For many year I have used (and I still use) the Greek word “metanoia” to
describe that type of change.
If you make a search in the Archives of this list for "OST and metanoia"
you will see a post of Tue Oct 9 2001 (which I repeat bellow, just for
fun), where I have pointed to a post in another list
(http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html) to define the concept of
“metanoia” based on the Italian sociologist Alberoni and then asked four
questions trying to relate “OST and Metanoia”.
The thread had the participation of people like the late Laurel,
Florian, Reinhardt, Meg Salter, Harrison, Chris Weaver - that commented
parts of it - and only one post that tried to answer to all my 4
questions: a post from the late Fr. Brian Bainbridge (/Sun Nov 25/).
Here is my old post that initiated that conversation. Enjoy.
---
OST and metanoia
*Artur F. Silva*artsilva
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
at mail.eunet.pt
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
/Tue Oct 9 15:34:32 PDT 2001/
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
Dear OS-practitioners:
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
As many of you know, I am discussing in another list the problem of
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
enhancing organizational learning, especially double loop learning and
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
metanoia.
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
I plan, in a near future, to present OST and discuss how it can improve
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
double loop learning (or metanoia).
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
In the last post to them I have presented Alberoni's conception of
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
metanoia. I am asking for those of you who care about the subject to
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
read that post and then answer, to the list or privately to me, to this
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
questions, using always the meaning that Alberoni gives to "metanoia":
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
1) From your experience with OST, do you think that OST is an important
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
way to enhance metanoiaic states in organizations and communities?
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
2) Do you think that some concepts current in the OST community may
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
facilitate this? and others may make it difficult? What concepts?
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
3) Do you think that the OS community qualifies in itself as a "birth stage"
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
(of a movement or of a Community of Practice, as Etienne Wenger defines
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
CoP's)?
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
4) If so, do you think that there is a risk that the community may disperse in different
"sub-practices", and that can diminish the overall metanoic
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
potential of OST?
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
For those of you that want to help me in understanding this, the
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
referred (and long) post can be found at:
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
_http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html_
<mailto:oslist%40lists.openspacetech.org?Subject=Re%3A%20OST%20and%20metanoia&In-Reply-To=%3CTUE.9.OCT.2001.233432.0100.OSLIST%40LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU%3E>
Thank you very much to all that will accept the challenge
<http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html>
Artur <http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html>
--- <http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html>
Best regards <http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html>
Artur <http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html>
*From:Michael M Pannwitz <[email protected]_>
To:Artur Silva <[email protected]_>; World wide Open Space
Technology email list <[email protected]_>
Sent:Tuesday, August 20, 2013 5:34 PM
Subject:Re: [OSList] The Open Agile Adoption story
<http://www.learning-org.com/01.10/0025.html>*
Dear Artur,
tell me more about "profound changes"...
A couple of years ago, I had the privilege to facilitate an OST event
for an agile consulting company. They schemed on how to transform their
organisational life and process and structure in such a way that nobody
would have to quit the company again on account of an employee becoming
parent. Since they managed to invite and have attend partners and
children (including ex-employees) I knew the whole thing would be a
grand success. Its always been that way when I saw children attending an
OST event.
I have no idea what happened to their burning business issue. They never
told me which is probably a sign for them doing business as usual,
profoundly.
Wish you all the best in your journey... ever thought of beginning it
with an OST event?
Cheers
mmp
On 20.08.2013 16:21, Artur Silva wrote:
(...) <mailto:[email protected]>
_______________________________________________
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
--
Michael M Pannwitz
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49 - 30-772 8000
Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 412 resident Open
Space Workers in 72 countries working in a total of 143 countries
worldwide: www.openspaceworldmap.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
