Friends and Citizens of OSLIST:
Greetings.
As I continue to think, and get experience and learn, I realize that
what I often "see and hope for an org" and "what is possible right here
right now" .....those 2 items have a big, huge gap. Certainly a lot of
the gap can be closed in one step....but THE WHOLE THING?
So for example: yes, it is a great aspirational goal to "eliminate all
meetings", and even have Open Space as a passing aha (...we graduated!
We no longer need OST!!) and so on.
Question: How do you get there... without various people going out in
body bags from stress? From freaking out? from culture shock?
Eliminating any and all forms of meeting AND getting rid of any formal
facilitation are all great goals....to bring the org to such a state of
advancement that, well, you know, they are just AMAZING....all open
space all the time....
Now: is speeding that up beyond what people can handle actually a good
idea?
Wondering....
So for example getting rid of all meetings might go like this:
1. Facilitate all meetings or awhile
2. Make all meeting optional, too
3. Eventually, just GET RID OF all meetings.
This progression (through time) makes sense to me.
Because, to tell you the truth, "step 1" ain't as easy as it looks....
...now, can we just SHOCK an org into evolving?
Does the real world really work that way?
Consider the guidance for the Open Space invitation: "4 to 6 weeks in
advance." Yes we can do 2 weeks or 2 days, that said.... the standard
guidance is to give them many weeks.... to "figure out what the
invitation MEANS...." ... to "integrate the invite", etc.
Orgs seem to have "currently-available range of options" (destinations)
for evolving. A range or collection of /destinations/ they can go to....
from here. Kind of like stepping stones. Kind of like this:
1. Identify what set of stepping-stone destinations ("leaps") are
immediately possible, and
2. Invite them to pick one, and
3. Help them do that one leap.
I find this works well. Very well actually!
The alternative, a complete annihilation of everything that "was", a
complete annihilation of everything that "is"....in favor of the All-New
Shiny Thing.... the Shiny Thing that in theory "wants to happen"...or so
we say...this seems both impractical and extremely stressful for the org.
Not to mention: whatever happened to:
* /Whenever it starts is the right time?/
* /Whatever happens is the only thing that could? /
....And so I like the idea of "do a little, learn a little,
integrate...then SHIFT to the next level..."
The dual-OST, before/after Open Space with 100 days in the middle...what
we now call Open Agile Adoption....this seems to provide the kind of
place/space where the folks can actually "make some stew" together, and
boil it down, and enjoy it, and get to a new level of integration. And fast!
I'm not so sure "annihilation of everything that came before" is really
such a cool idea. It also seems kind of /forced/ as I think about it.
Kind of /violent/. I realize stuff has to "die" before the new stuff can
be "born" but do we have to burn the forest down to the ground to get
legitimate new growth?
How many organizations can live through that level of trauma without
freaking out ?
Is Open Space JUST for orgs that are in /total crisis/....those that are
/completely freaked out/....and completely out of aces and perceived
options?
Because, I suspect OST is a lot more robust than that.
I suspect OST is a lot more versatile than that.
And this has certainly been my experience so far.
Daniel
On 3/21/15 4:18 PM, Harrison wrote:
Dan --- Our organizations are definitely stodgy. Even the best of them
seem to clunk along when compared to what they might be doing. God
knows how you could ever produce any numbers to prove this assertion,
but I have yet to met anybody (even the wildest enthusiast) who would
affirm that their organization was running in top form. Good yes...
but with lots of room for improvement. But I suspect that the critical
issue is NOT a matter of “low level of development,” rather it is a
case of self inflicted wounds causing radical sub-optimization. The
“cure” would then be to stop the wounding, at least until we could see
how things might go. Of course, if the situation really is terminal,
then by all means, Bring it on! That could be SCRUM, Facilitation,
Last Rites, whatever...
So what would an organization look like if it stopped being shot? How
would it perform?
Sounds pretty abstract and difficult to visualize... but I do believe
we get the picture in wild living color, every time we have the
privilege of opening the space for a damaged organization, where the
trouble is real and palpable. I’m not talking about the two hour Open
Space on some frilly, safe topic. I mean the real deal where the
stakes are seriously high. Survival stuff.
My experience is shared by many, and the stories are often told. My
most recent encounter was with a very large US federal agency, which
according to its director was so dysfunctional that “most of the
people could not find their rear ends with both hands” (That’s a
direct quote). They were in trouble by any standard, and the Chief was
so out of options that Open Space sounded like a safe way to go – even
though he had never seen one.
Well we did it... and the organization I saw bore no relationship to
the one that had been described to me. The people were all the same,
the issues were familiar... but the behavior was brilliant. Total
flowing conversation with real engagement and workable solutions. Mind
Bending! And the chief was blown away – walking around with a silly
grin on his face.
I invited him to lunch because I wanted to feed him several drinks and
ask a question. We had the lunch, and after the drinks, came the
question: “What are you doing, Sir, as a matter of everyday business
that converts 177 bright, engaged, competent people into blundering
fools?” He looked a little surprised and I said, “I think you might
want to stop doing it.”
Dan – That’s my point. Before we do anything more, different, or
otherwise – I sincerely believe we need to stop and appreciate what
apparently happens very naturally, all by itself, with minimal or no
assistance. And after that appreciative moment, we might think of a
few things to do, but only a very few.
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 <%20www.openspaceworld.com>
www.ho-image.com
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*From:*OSList [mailto:[email protected]] *On
Behalf Of *Daniel Mezick via OSList
*Sent:* Thursday, March 19, 2015 11:32 PM
*To:* [email protected]
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] Agile-in-OpenSpace videos
Harrison and All,
Harrison you once said recently:
"The real operating system is self-organization, Daniel. Everything
else is an app. Open Space included!"
I've just recently integrated this idea more fully into my thinking. I
must admit it has taken "some time."
That said, my current belief is: most organizations are at a very low
level of development and can use/typically need the "app" of Open
Space...and/or the "app" of Scrum... and/or the "app" of Sociocracy,
what have you.
I think [facilitation] does fit nicely as a kind of component or
"widget" in each "app" (facilitation being part of OST, Scrum, Kanban)
...all of which run on the real OS of self-organization.
So these are all self-org "apps." The "f" word does after all has the
connotation of: "making it easy."
At Frank Tino's company INTUIT, they have embraced the idea of
creating "a culture of facilitation." This has resulted in some
interesting team behaviors...
...Frank Tino's staff, for example, does this very impressively
effective, brief daily-meeting called the 'daily huddle' at 430 PM
each day and it's super short like 12 minutes... and someone plays in
the facilitator role each time... and that f-role orbits/rotates
around to someone new each day who jumps in to do it.
And it seems to work pretty darned good. Everyone is a facilitator at
one time or another. I often observe them completing each other's
sentences in these 430PM meetings...
I like the idea of having a goal of ELIMINATING the need to for any
(facilitated!) 'Open Space' gatherings. These gatherings are after all
simply apps running on the REAL operating system we call: "you-know-what."
Daniel
On 3/19/15 3:07 PM, Harrison via OSList wrote:
I guess you could say that replying to your own note is rather
like talking to yourself. Guilty as charged but then I doit all
the time (Talk to myself). Anyhow, I expressed the hope that Dans
videos would not only inspire folks toemulate, but also to think
about going to the next level wherever that might be. Im not sure
I know, but I didnotice a little anomaly in the marvelous
interviews, which might suggest a direction. Dans client
obviously was movedby the Open Space the quality of
conversations, good ideas, actions generated, and all the good
stuff. Presuming that Dans Open Space is just like always, those
generativegroups that the client so enjoyed did it all by
themselves with not a facilitator in sight. No news here but
then inthe final interview, the client waxed enthusedly about
facilitation and said that from here on out he was alwaysgoing
to have a facilitator. Did I see a little disconnect here? A
little anomaly? If the folks could do it in OpenSpace...why not
every day, all the time? Perchance an opportunity to go to the
next level?
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 <%20www.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 *Harrison via OSList
*Sent:* Monday, March 16, 2015 4:57 PM
*To:* 'Daniel Mezick'; 'World wide Open Space Technology email list'
*Subject:* Re: [OSList] Agile-in-OpenSpace videos
Dan this is just wonderful! And to be clear... I never could have
done what you have done. First off, I dont
speakAgile/Scrum/... I joke, but seriously. And to anybody
else on this OSLIST, do yourself a favor. Watch Dans
videosthrough. Not with the idea of replicating what happened
(although that wouldnt be bad) but to be inspired to takeit all
to a new level. I so look forward to whatever discussion...
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 <%20www.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 *Daniel Mezick via OSList
*Sent:* Monday, March 16, 2015 4:01 PM
*To:* [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>
*Subject:* [OSList] Agile-in-OpenSpace videos
Greetings,
Find below 15-minute videos of software industry executive Frank
Tino, explaining his org's journey thru Open Space on the way to a
genuine, rapid, lasting, enterprise-wide, "scaled" Agile adoption.
Frank's 100-person company (now 150++ just one year layer)
authorized several full-day before/after Open Space events. In
between there was 100 days of experimentation and learning in
between those gatherings. In these videos he explains the
astonishing results obtained in just 100 days...
...Open Space is now part of the cultural fabric of his entire
organization. And the coaches are GONE.
<SHAMELESS HYPE WARNING>
Is Open Agile Adoption something completely new? Well yes, it is
actually. Thanks for asking! Explained here:
Open Agile Adoption Theory and Components
http://openagileadoption.com/open-agile-adoption-components/
</SHAMELESS HYPE WARNING>
Here's the links to those executive videos:
http://openagileadoption.com/open-agile-adoption-videos/
PART1: 15 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWjNQM7q64o
PART2: 15 mins
http://youtu.be/UdSmGS9JTtU
PART3: 15 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9cpRPlLHYU
*
*Open Agile Adoption (OAA) is a new composition of powerful
elements that work together to strongly encourage positive
cultural change in organizations. Open Agile Adoption incorporates
the power of invitation, Open Space, game mechanics, passage
rites, storytelling and more
so your Agile adoption can actually
take root.
OAA is based on people, THEN practices. You can introduce any
practice or framework with it. Open Agile Adoption is based on
www.Prime-OS.com <http://www.Prime-OS.com>, which is social
technology published under an open-source, free-to-the-world
("free culture") license from Creative Commons.
www.OpenAgileAdoption.com <http://www.OpenAgileAdoption.com>
www.Prime-OS.com <http://www.Prime-OS.com>
Daniel Mezick, President
New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
<http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for
the Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and
Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston
<http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/>Community.
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--
Daniel Mezick, President
New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
<http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/>Community.
--
Daniel Mezick, President
New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>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
Past archives can be viewed here:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
