What a fascinating thread!
"..the forces of creativity soared to the joy and terror of all involved."
Two things are clear: the old rules no longer apply, and individuals are
reacting WAY faster than institutions. We are liminal. We are no longer
where we were, and not yet where we are going. We are in transition. The
Individuals, the whole...the whole ball of wax is going liminal in a
huge way...
Is everyone more liminal than ever before?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liminality
The primary way to make sense of a near-chaos situation (like the one we
are in) is to inspect everything much more frequently. We know this from
Agile software methods. When the situation gets really messy, the answer
is empiricism...iteration...frequent inspection...and frequent
adjustment. This last part is tricky because it requires a very open
mind, and more than a little alacrity. In Japanese, the word 'ronin sums
up this idea. It means 'wave man' or 'wave rider'.
Is everyone a ronin because of what feels like s state of constant
change.....aka "permanent Liminality?" Are OST Facilitators actually
playing a Ronin role, serving for a time and moving on?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C5%8Dnin
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Way_of_the_Ronin.html?id=G2g5KsKEOfoC
One of the things that seems to be the new normal is 'stigmergy', the
form of self-organization that depends on one-way announcements and
unilateral broadcasts. The basic idea is a "send/receive" protocol where
anyone can "send" a message, and the "receive" is 100% optional. It's a
kind of invitation to listen. And optionally respond.
Sound familiar?
Is stigmergy the new normal?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigmergy
Everywhere, I see stigmergy, everywhere I see wave-people, everywhere I
see liminality. Various groups in various places are hosting
conversations and events, and making plans, and announcing them, and
going from there. No one group is "in charge" in any sense of that term.
It's futile to try. Any and all alignments by and between groups are
based on shared values and relative urgency, in the now. The most
effective people (both as individuals and in groups) are iterating and
inspecting VERY frequently now.
I wonder if Open Space is about to emerge one of the most useful if not
THE most useful piece of social technology for making sense of reality
in groups when everything is changing. The rise of stigmergy as a way of
organizing naturally favors the use of Open Space, for brewing new
things... by and between groups that find each other.
Is everyone more liminal than ever before?
Are OST Facilitators actually ronin?
Is stigmergy the new normal?
On 9/1/13 6:59 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
David Osborne's statement and Chris's question precipitated something in my
head. Needless to say David can and should speak for himself. However from
my relatively isolated corner of the universe (Maine) I have noticed a few
interesting suggestions that something of a shift might be in the wind.
Whether it will be sufficient to save Homo sapiens from ossification, only
time will tell.
One such suggestion in the increase of questioning. As a child of the 50's
(and yes there really were human beings walking the earth in that primal
time), my world was firmly described by answers. Everybody knew precisely
how life should be lived. There were rules to be followed, and if followed
success was assured. Of course there were deviants who were largely
marginalized and suppressed, but WE knew the Answers... the right way.
And then a funny thing called the '60s blew all that certainty away. It was
at once terrifying, refreshing, and exhilarating. And one thing was for
sure: The primacy of answers gave way to an avalanche of questions. It is in
the nature of questions to open space. Answers close it.
With all the fresh air of openness, the forces of creativity soared to the
joy and terror of all involved. Space in all dimensions exploded, and the
tight societies of Philadelphia and New York, in which I grew up, shattered
to merge with insular rural communities, and make contact with strange
creatures on The Other Coast. Strange new world!
The 70's and early 80's possessed a rich nutrient openness. New stories, and
the answers they purported to provide, popped up like mushrooms. Some were
weird, some substantive, some technological and all of them creating as many
new questions as the answers they supposedly offered. Thrilling!
But as the 80's ended and the 90's arrived it seemed that the age of answers
were settling more than a few of the questions. Author's could write
knowingly about "New Rules"... and while there was a breath of novelty it
seemed the rules (answers) were known.
The 90's slid by with almost dream like certainty. At least that's how it
seemed to me. The Markets were up, America ruled. Some were even suggesting
that the Age of Aquarius had actually begun! I guess there were still some
questions, but none that we couldn't handle with the right Process or
Procedure. And if not today, then tomorrow. So ended the Millennium.
The New Millennium rolled in as predicted. Surprise! But in a funny way it
seemed pretty anti-climactic. To be sure there were lots of parties,
fireworks, speeches, the usual turn of the Millennia Fantasies. But at the
end of the day it was pretty much more of the same... Until a bright clear
day in September. September 11th to be exact. Maybe this was just a turning
point for those of us in the USA. But I do believe, as I listen to my
friends and colleagues from around the world -- we were all there. Doubtless
with different feelings and interpretations. But for better, for worse, for
richer, for poorer... it was a very different world!
How different, we are only just beginning to understand. And for the first
time in some long time -- the Questions vastly outnumber the available
answers. This is a Turning Point. And a wonderful one, I do believe. When we
as a species are compelled to sit in that really uncomfortable and juicy
moment created by truly profound questions, the Space is truly OPENED. I
think that is where we are at, and best of all I see lots of new faces
rising to the bait. Call them "Millennials" or whatever... but it is every
bit as exciting as the "60's" and we may or may not survive to tell the
tale. But that has always been true.
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)
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-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris Kloth
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 8:15 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list; David Osborne
Subject: Re: [OSList] Federal Reserve Employees Survey
David,
I wonder if you could share a little more about what is going on already. I
have had conversations with Fed officials in San Francisco and Cleveland
and, while they are doing some things I am very interested in and impressed
by, I have yet to see evidence of OST.
--
Shalom,
Chris Kloth
ChangeWorks of the Heartland
254 South Merkle Road
Bexley, OH 43209-1801
ph 614-239-1336
fax 614-237-2347
www.got2change.com
Quoting David Osborne <[email protected]>:
Yes Brett. Being Done.
Consider looking beyond the reporting....to the fact that space has
been opened for this to be shared and talked about. What is in the
news is not always the best reflection of what is actually happening.
--
David Osborne
www.change-fusion.com | [email protected] | 703.939.1777 On
Sat, Aug 31, 2013 at 12:35 PM, Brett Barndt <[email protected]>wrote:
Can the OST community perhaps help here? It is a sad state of affairs
in which we all have a stake. Even citizens of the world have a stake
in this dysfunction owing to the interconnected nature of the global
economies, our livelihoods, and well-being.
The appointees, and congress by association, should not be permitted
to let it go on this way any longer. People are dying out there with
higher poverty, food insecurity, mortality, and suicide rates as a
result of this situation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/federal-reserve-employees-su
rvey_n_3826165.html
Discourse and dialogue are the last thing that should be stifled by
culture or any other dysfunction in an institution like this one.
OST and an open process of multi-stakeholder engagement is of course
part of the solution.
This seems like it should be well within our rights to insist upon at
this moment in time. We are stakeholders. Albeit. we are
non-consulted, unrepresented stakeholders in the current practice.
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