what a precious tale and what wise words… Thank you so much Rob Romy
Romy Shovelton Director Wikima and Tyddyn Retreat The Mid Wales Retreat & Holiday Centre www.walescottageandvenue.co.uk Facebook: Tyddyn Retreat Twitter: @MidWalesRetreat [email protected] [email protected] skype: romy shovelton 07767 370739 Tyddyn y Pwll Carno Caersws Powys SY17 5JU On 7 Aug 2014, at 21:04, [email protected] wrote: > Send OSList mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of OSList digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Management and Organization (R Chaffe) > 2. Re: Management and Organization (Harrison Owen) > 3. Re: Management and Organization (Daniel Mezick) > > From: R Chaffe <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [OSList] Management and Organization > Date: 7 August 2014 04:53:11 BST > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <[email protected]> > Reply-To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <[email protected]> > > > I have been following this thread with interest. Some may recall OSonOS > gathering in Marysville in November 2002 when we went out into the forest to > see and hear the night creatures. As we walked into the forest the only > sound was the sound of our feet on the earth and despite the best efforts of > a highly skilled ranger no night creatures could be found. All the > components were in place, well organised and managed. No night creatures! > The forest was silent. > > Everyone went away with their own thoughts including disbelief that the > Australian forest is alive at night. There was a strong sense of > disappointment - it did not work! > > Before the month had ended the environment responded with a series of wild > fires that included over 6million hectares of high rainfall and alpine forest > and the National Capital city was invaded by fire. Complex self organising > systems at work. > > The question then goes back to that silent night. Some of us listened to > the silence and with a deep sense of dread realising that all was not well. > There was no "silver bullet" quick fix it was a systemic issue way beyond > control or management. What we did was prepare the things we had control > over in readiness for the fires that would come. Little did I know that I > would spend most of 57 days in an incident control centre coordinating > information and advice to the community about the sate of a rapidly changing > mostly unpredictable wild fire. The result in Victoria was less that 10 > homes lost and on the day a rain storm eventually controlled the fire a young > lady was drowned when her vehicle was washed into a stream by flood waters - > yes in a drought and after nearly two months of fire. > > What did I learn about complex systems, management and control? > > First wild fire cannot be "controlled" by man. We stay at the edges and do > the best to protect assets, we mop up and clear up, we do our best to give > the people the best information to make informed decisions about what they > will do. (In the end it is their choice). Mostly people organise themselves > well, some better than others but in the end, good or bad, the decisions are > theirs. > > Second willing participants in an "open" environment can achieve outstanding > things way beyond what expectations might be. How they do it is up to them, > they have some guidelines but the process that evolves is theirs. Again > sometimes it works and sometimes..... Despite what I think or do. > > In a major incident "co-ordination" centre there is structure with key > decision points (people) a time table (plan mostly to ensure others needs are > respected) a massive amount of self organising and adjustment to constant > change. Change that could be fatal, change that does not allow the luxury of > time out to plan a process or select a model and change that needs a response > now. Within the organisation the one thing that was most controllable was > the selection and support of the people working there. The outcome was a > sense of team with each member working to dovetail into the work of others to > remove frustration and reach consensus with the best possible outcome. > > In some sense the team meetings each day were an open space event with each > bringing their issues and concerns acting with commitment and accepting a > high level of responsibility. The report from the meeting formed the game > plan until the next change, which at times may only be only minutes away - on > one night meetings were being held every 15 minutes with broadcasts over > national and regional radios to inform the community of the changes that may > impact on them so that they could do what they needed to do (not command or > control just advice). > > 12 years later I have spent too much time in incident coordination centres > yet remarkably, or not so, a similar pattern emerged. The most successful > always being where leadership focused on creating and environment where > individuals could perform at their best while respecting a diversity of > responses to change that reflect the complexity of the natural, human and > economic environment the change was taking place in. > > What can Open Space technology really offer? What control do I really have? > What I am responsible for? > > As I see it the reality is that as the Facilitator all that I can promise is > to provide an opportunity for the group to meet and an opportunity to > participate in dealing with a particular topic. I can influence the choice > of the topic, the invitation to participate and the creation of the safe > space including the structure of the event (environment, food, and other > safety needs that form the base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to free the > participants from these concerns and focus on the purpose of the meeting). > > I cannot promise any solutions, or reports, proceedings, quality of input or > output, satisfaction and the ongoing relationships between the participants. > These are the responsibilities of the sponsor or the organisation or > community who chose to attend. I may influence the methods that groups may > choose to explore their agenda item but in the end they must do it their way > including the law of two feet. > > I do not have a simple solution, quick fix, or a "silver bullet". I do have > the experience to share, that just as in the parable of the mustard seed > there will be outcomes way beyond what we can imagine. The mustard seed > grows into a tree, so what! The tree becomes an entire habitat for all types > of life (macro and micro) way beyond a simple tree. Some of the things that > come from planting the seed eventually lead to the death of the tree, but if > you do not plant the seed the tree will never grow and you will never know > what possibilities / opportunities you have lost including the genetic change > in the new seed crop that may grow into a new tree, not quite the same as the > old. The question then becomes, is the "sponsor" willing to allow the "seed" > to be planted and are they willing to assist the nurture of the "tree"as it > grows to what ever it will be? > > I see my task is in the preparation of the event and ensure the seed is > planted in the best possible way then, allow the passion and responsibility > of the sponsor and participants to do what they do. If there is respect for > diversity and a will to include all as best as possible there is a real > possibility that the "organisation" will be successful in their own terms. > > One implication is that there is always something of me left behind as I > opened the space and, if I have done my job, the participants will be > confident that they did it their way. > > Regards > Rob > > > > From: "Harrison Owen" <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [OSList] Management and Organization > Date: 7 August 2014 13:41:56 BST > To: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'" > <[email protected]> > Reply-To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <[email protected]> > > > Rob – Totally brilliant! Well thought and well written, deserving of many > re-reads and expansion. You got a book here that needs to be written!! > Something about the 5th Principle (Wherever it happens is the right place) > personified. Or “All the world is Open Space. OST is merely practice.” Pale > reflections of your wonderful tale... I know you will do better. Thank you!!! > > Harrison > > Winter Address > 7808 River Falls Drive > Potomac, MD 20854 > 301-365-2093 > > Summer Address > 189 Beaucaire Ave. > Camden, ME 04843 > 207-763-3261 > > Websites > www.openspaceworld.com > www.ho-image.com > OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > OSLIST Go > to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > From: OSList [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of R > Chaffe > Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2014 11:53 PM > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > Subject: Re: [OSList] Management and Organization > > I have been following this thread with interest. Some may recall OSonOS > gathering in Marysville in November 2002 when we went out into the forest to > see and hear the night creatures. As we walked into the forest the only > sound was the sound of our feet on the earth and despite the best efforts of > a highly skilled ranger no night creatures could be found. All the > components were in place, well organised and managed. No night creatures! > The forest was silent. > > Everyone went away with their own thoughts including disbelief that the > Australian forest is alive at night. There was a strong sense of > disappointment - it did not work! > > Before the month had ended the environment responded with a series of wild > fires that included over 6million hectares of high rainfall and alpine forest > and the National Capital city was invaded by fire. Complex self organising > systems at work. > > The question then goes back to that silent night. Some of us listened to > the silence and with a deep sense of dread realising that all was not well. > There was no "silver bullet" quick fix it was a systemic issue way beyond > control or management. What we did was prepare the things we had control > over in readiness for the fires that would come. Little did I know that I > would spend most of 57 days in an incident control centre coordinating > information and advice to the community about the sate of a rapidly changing > mostly unpredictable wild fire. The result in Victoria was less that 10 > homes lost and on the day a rain storm eventually controlled the fire a young > lady was drowned when her vehicle was washed into a stream by flood waters - > yes in a drought and after nearly two months of fire. > > What did I learn about complex systems, management and control? > > First wild fire cannot be "controlled" by man. We stay at the edges and do > the best to protect assets, we mop up and clear up, we do our best to give > the people the best information to make informed decisions about what they > will do. (In the end it is their choice). Mostly people organise themselves > well, some better than others but in the end, good or bad, the decisions are > theirs. > > Second willing participants in an "open" environment can achieve outstanding > things way beyond what expectations might be. How they do it is up to them, > they have some guidelines but the process that evolves is theirs. Again > sometimes it works and sometimes..... Despite what I think or do. > > In a major incident "co-ordination" centre there is structure with key > decision points (people) a time table (plan mostly to ensure others needs are > respected) a massive amount of self organising and adjustment to constant > change. Change that could be fatal, change that does not allow the luxury of > time out to plan a process or select a model and change that needs a response > now. Within the organisation the one thing that was most controllable was > the selection and support of the people working there. The outcome was a > sense of team with each member working to dovetail into the work of others to > remove frustration and reach consensus with the best possible outcome. > > In some sense the team meetings each day were an open space event with each > bringing their issues and concerns acting with commitment and accepting a > high level of responsibility. The report from the meeting formed the game > plan until the next change, which at times may only be only minutes away - on > one night meetings were being held every 15 minutes with broadcasts over > national and regional radios to inform the community of the changes that may > impact on them so that they could do what they needed to do (not command or > control just advice). > > 12 years later I have spent too much time in incident coordination centres > yet remarkably, or not so, a similar pattern emerged. The most successful > always being where leadership focused on creating and environment where > individuals could perform at their best while respecting a diversity of > responses to change that reflect the complexity of the natural, human and > economic environment the change was taking place in. > > What can Open Space technology really offer? What control do I really have? > What I am responsible for? > > As I see it the reality is that as the Facilitator all that I can promise is > to provide an opportunity for the group to meet and an opportunity to > participate in dealing with a particular topic. I can influence the choice > of the topic, the invitation to participate and the creation of the safe > space including the structure of the event (environment, food, and other > safety needs that form the base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to free the > participants from these concerns and focus on the purpose of the meeting). > > I cannot promise any solutions, or reports, proceedings, quality of input or > output, satisfaction and the ongoing relationships between the participants. > These are the responsibilities of the sponsor or the organisation or > community who chose to attend. I may influence the methods that groups may > choose to explore their agenda item but in the end they must do it their way > including the law of two feet. > > I do not have a simple solution, quick fix, or a "silver bullet". I do have > the experience to share, that just as in the parable of the mustard seed > there will be outcomes way beyond what we can imagine. The mustard seed > grows into a tree, so what! The tree becomes an entire habitat for all types > of life (macro and micro) way beyond a simple tree. Some of the things that > come from planting the seed eventually lead to the death of the tree, but if > you do not plant the seed the tree will never grow and you will never know > what possibilities / opportunities you have lost including the genetic change > in the new seed crop that may grow into a new tree, not quite the same as the > old. The question then becomes, is the "sponsor" willing to allow the "seed" > to be planted and are they willing to assist the nurture of the "tree"as it > grows to what ever it will be? > > I see my task is in the preparation of the event and ensure the seed is > planted in the best possible way then, allow the passion and responsibility > of the sponsor and participants to do what they do. If there is respect for > diversity and a will to include all as best as possible there is a real > possibility that the "organisation" will be successful in their own terms. > > One implication is that there is always something of me left behind as I > opened the space and, if I have done my job, the participants will be > confident that they did it their way. > > Regards > Rob > > > > From: Daniel Mezick <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [OSList] Management and Organization > Date: 7 August 2014 15:41:15 BST > To: [email protected] > Reply-To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <[email protected]> > > > Greetings Rob, > > Thanks for posting this narrative. > > So interesting that the military is now focusing on much of what you have > written here, about open systems etc. > > In fact, here is a link to a free PDF download of a book entitled, "The Agile > Organization": > http://www.dodccrp.org/files/Atkinson_Agile.pdf > > What is super interesting is the fact that the book never references software > agility, or the 'agile movement', not even one time. > > Chapter 2 starts with these entries: > > Open Systems > Self Organization > ...and... > Self Organizing Social Groups > > The whole www.dodccrp.org web site might be of interest to many here as well. > > Here is the link to the other useful and free publications found there: > http://www.dodccrp.org/html4/books_downloads.html > > Regards, > Daniel > > > On 8/6/14 11:53 PM, R Chaffe wrote: >> I have been following this thread with interest. Some may recall OSonOS >> gathering in Marysville in November 2002 when we went out into the forest to >> see and hear the night creatures. As we walked into the forest the only >> sound was the sound of our feet on the earth and despite the best efforts of >> a highly skilled ranger no night creatures could be found. All the >> components were in place, well organised and managed. No night creatures! >> The forest was silent. >> >> Everyone went away with their own thoughts including disbelief that the >> Australian forest is alive at night. There was a strong sense of >> disappointment - it did not work! >> >> Before the month had ended the environment responded with a series of wild >> fires that included over 6million hectares of high rainfall and alpine >> forest and the National Capital city was invaded by fire. Complex self >> organising systems at work. >> >> The question then goes back to that silent night. Some of us listened to >> the silence and with a deep sense of dread realising that all was not well. >> There was no "silver bullet" quick fix it was a systemic issue way beyond >> control or management. What we did was prepare the things we had control >> over in readiness for the fires that would come. Little did I know that I >> would spend most of 57 days in an incident control centre coordinating >> information and advice to the community about the sate of a rapidly >> changing mostly unpredictable wild fire. The result in Victoria was less >> that 10 homes lost and on the day a rain storm eventually controlled the >> fire a young lady was drowned when her vehicle was washed into a stream by >> flood waters - yes in a drought and after nearly two months of fire. >> >> What did I learn about complex systems, management and control? >> >> First wild fire cannot be "controlled" by man. We stay at the edges and do >> the best to protect assets, we mop up and clear up, we do our best to give >> the people the best information to make informed decisions about what they >> will do. (In the end it is their choice). Mostly people organise >> themselves well, some better than others but in the end, good or bad, the >> decisions are theirs. >> >> Second willing participants in an "open" environment can achieve outstanding >> things way beyond what expectations might be. How they do it is up to them, >> they have some guidelines but the process that evolves is theirs. Again >> sometimes it works and sometimes..... Despite what I think or do. >> >> In a major incident "co-ordination" centre there is structure with key >> decision points (people) a time table (plan mostly to ensure others needs >> are respected) a massive amount of self organising and adjustment to >> constant change. Change that could be fatal, change that does not allow the >> luxury of time out to plan a process or select a model and change that needs >> a response now. Within the organisation the one thing that was most >> controllable was the selection and support of the people working there. The >> outcome was a sense of team with each member working to dovetail into the >> work of others to remove frustration and reach consensus with the best >> possible outcome. >> >> In some sense the team meetings each day were an open space event with each >> bringing their issues and concerns acting with commitment and accepting a >> high level of responsibility. The report from the meeting formed the game >> plan until the next change, which at times may only be only minutes away - >> on one night meetings were being held every 15 minutes with broadcasts over >> national and regional radios to inform the community of the changes that may >> impact on them so that they could do what they needed to do (not command or >> control just advice). >> >> 12 years later I have spent too much time in incident coordination centres >> yet remarkably, or not so, a similar pattern emerged. The most successful >> always being where leadership focused on creating and environment where >> individuals could perform at their best while respecting a diversity of >> responses to change that reflect the complexity of the natural, human and >> economic environment the change was taking place in. >> >> What can Open Space technology really offer? What control do I really have? >> What I am responsible for? >> >> As I see it the reality is that as the Facilitator all that I can promise is >> to provide an opportunity for the group to meet and an opportunity to >> participate in dealing with a particular topic. I can influence the choice >> of the topic, the invitation to participate and the creation of the safe >> space including the structure of the event (environment, food, and other >> safety needs that form the base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to free the >> participants from these concerns and focus on the purpose of the meeting). >> >> I cannot promise any solutions, or reports, proceedings, quality of input >> or output, satisfaction and the ongoing relationships between the >> participants. These are the responsibilities of the sponsor or the >> organisation or community who chose to attend. I may influence the methods >> that groups may choose to explore their agenda item but in the end they must >> do it their way including the law of two feet. >> >> I do not have a simple solution, quick fix, or a "silver bullet". I do have >> the experience to share, that just as in the parable of the mustard seed >> there will be outcomes way beyond what we can imagine. The mustard seed >> grows into a tree, so what! The tree becomes an entire habitat for all types >> of life (macro and micro) way beyond a simple tree. Some of the things that >> come from planting the seed eventually lead to the death of the tree, but if >> you do not plant the seed the tree will never grow and you will never know >> what possibilities / opportunities you have lost including the genetic >> change in the new seed crop that may grow into a new tree, not quite the >> same as the old. The question then becomes, is the "sponsor" willing to >> allow the "seed" to be planted and are they willing to assist the nurture of >> the "tree"as it grows to what ever it will be? >> >> I see my task is in the preparation of the event and ensure the seed is >> planted in the best possible way then, allow the passion and responsibility >> of the sponsor and participants to do what they do. If there is respect for >> diversity and a will to include all as best as possible there is a real >> possibility that the "organisation" will be successful in their own terms. >> >> One implication is that there is always something of me left behind as I >> opened the space and, if I have done my job, the participants will be >> confident that they did it their way. >> >> Regards >> Rob >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > -- > Daniel Mezick, President > New Technology Solutions Inc. > (203) 915 7248 (cell) > Bio. Blog. Twitter. > Examine my new book: The Culture Game : Tools for the Agile Manager. > Explore Agile Team Training and Coaching. > Explore the Agile Boston Community. > > > _______________________________________________ > 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
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