My pithy statement about how self-organization works was not meant to be a tossed off reduction, but rather it has important consequences for managing.
Enabling constraints can indeed be very rigid. And in accepting the invitation to step into that container, one can make a conscious choice to confront the stress and see what comes of it. Deadlines, limited resources, restrictive mandates, policies and procedures are all constraints that are “forced’ upon people at work. As a manager you can always frame these as an invitation: “your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…” As a participant you can choose to accept it. Or not. People who write sonnets accept constraints. monks and nuns accept constraints. Musicians accept constraints. Athletes accept constraints. People who live on islands accept constraints. The idea here is that in accepting sometimes extremely limiting constraints, you are forced to go deeper in your work. AS a manager if you also offer invitations into a constrained space, you may indeed create the conditions for some amazing things to happen. “You have $3000 to work with on your prototype, but you have to work with two other people and get it done in two days. Do you accept this invitation? OK! Go!” The truly magnificent Open Space gatherings I have been a part of in my life have had a clear set of constraints (sometimes rigid and narrow, sometimes broad but still defined, as in “we are talking about anything you want, but if if you want to stop doing social services and start building Volvos, that isn’t going to make it into the plan…”) and a clear invitation. Good invitations are both attractors AND boundaries. They require intention to accept them; buy-in, if you will. Peter Block says that a good invitation contains a barrier…people have to work to accept it. They have to prioritize it to participate. When those conditions are in place, “Whoever comes are the right people” loses all of its sometimes fatalistic tone: we don’t merely accept folks with a shrug and a “I guess this is the best we could do.” Instead we see participants as folks who have decided to give something up in order to be there. And that sharpens our attention to one another, creates the conditions for mutual respect and engagement, and gives creative and powerful conversations a real chance. By contrast imposing an invitation and constraints on people rarely works. An invitation that uses a sexy door prize with a genuine attractor is a bribe: “come to this conversation you don’t want to have and win an iPad!". And invitation that forces people to show up because “that’s what I’m paying you for” is coercion. When Michael Herman and I did trainings years ago, the training guide he put together had this Kurt Hahn quote on the cover: "There are three ways of trying to win the young. There is persuasion. There is compulsion and there is attraction. You can preach at them; that is a hook without a worm. You can say "you must volunteer." That is the devil. And you can tell them, "you are needed" that hardly ever fails.” This is good advice. It’s easy, when your system is already command and control, to end up doing things like badly. The art of invitation IS the art of Open Space. It’s a good practice to learn. Chris > On Sep 1, 2015, at 9:19 AM, Daniel Mezick via OSList > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Ron, > > So interesting: > > You wrote one thing below, and that said, I know you mean you'd stay if it > actually worked: > > "But I promised to give it six months and if the team had not decided that XP > was a load of rubbish and were still doing it after 6 months I will leave and > find another job where sanity still rained. " > > > > Freedom > ------- > > The key is freedom. The key (I think) is that YOUR commitment was to an > "experiment for 6 months", not "a forced march until further notice" .... at > least in your mind. In your mind you were (and are) free...to "Law-of-2-Feet > it" out of there ! > > And so this is some small part of the (freedom) key: make a .... > > "a commitment to experiment" and then to > "inspect results" and then > "throw away what is not working" and > "keep doing what is working and do more of that" and > "do more experiments." > > In other words, to actually implement Agile ideas in an Agile way. > > > > > "Until Further Notice" > ----------------- > > Last time I checked, typical Agile adoptions are of the forced-march, "until > further notice" variety. Hello? > > Let's see: If the "until further notice" style of Agile adoption actually > worked, then (in theory at least) we could now joyfully point to tens of > thousands of verifiable, happy, healthy, whole, genuine, authentic, > high-engagement Agile adoptions. Right? It would so be easy to locate ten > thousand of them...if it actually worked in the long run.... > > Houston...we have a problem? > > > > Committing to Emergence (aka "experimentation and adaptation") > -------------------------------------------------------- > > Commit to an experiment to be inspected. So simple. Even joyful! > Ironically, this IS the Agile mindset, but ... not to be used when actually > implementing Agile in large organizations apparently ! > > Is self-organization what actually scales? If so, why are we using any other > approach? > > > The alternative-- a mandated and forced march to process change-- is > standard, and often the source of many sorrows. > > I really, really , REALLY like using Open Space in new Agile adoptions. > Because it actually works. And also like using Open Space in troubled Agile > adoptions, of which I notice, there seems to be no shortage of supply. > > The good news is, we are getting the [invitation] meme out there into the > Agile world. We invite everyone to give it a try ! > > > (If you like this rant, you may also enjoy: > http://www.openspaceagility.com/about <http://www.openspaceagility.com/about>) > > > Daniel > > PS Ron, nice suit ! > > > > > On 9/1/15 11:22 AM, Ron Quartel wrote: >> This debate happens in the world of agile also. Specifically when we talk >> about Extreme Programming over Scrum. Should a team be told to do the >> Extreme Programming practices or do we invite them to try them is a debate >> that rages again and again. (Extreme programming is a very disciplined way >> of developing software while scrum prescribes no disciplines.) >> >> The challenge with Extreme Programming is that the practices are counter >> intuitive and many will find them distasteful. E.g. why do I have to pair >> program with a junior developer? That will slow me down and we will get less >> work done. >> >> I don't claim to have an answer to force vs. invite but I can share my story >> on how I came to love Extreme Programming (XP). >> >> XP was forced on my dev team. We were given a new dev manager who said we >> are going to do XP. If you didn't like it you can use the law of two feet to >> leave the company. (Not those words exactly but I'm sure you get the drift.) >> Now I loved the team I was with, the place I worked and the work we were >> doing but absolutely hated XP. But I promised to give it six months and if >> the team had not decided that XP was a load of rubbish and were still doing >> it after 6 months I will leave and find another job where sanity still >> rained. I hated everything about XP and agile and it took me way out of my >> comfort zone as a software developer. But then somewhere during the six >> months the sense of it started to dawn on me and I actually started enjoying >> it. By the end of six months I was a fan and am now an evangelist for XP. I >> like finding the haters and assure them it's OK to hate XP. When they get >> it, they become the biggest advocates. >> >> So was it wrong to have XP forced on me? I will leave that up to you to >> decide. I often wonder if I would have ever come around to agile and >> especially XP if it had not been forced on me. >> >> An analogy I have to learning XP is learning downhill skiing. There is a >> point where you have to do the unintuitive and lean down the slope. Your >> body is screaming NO but your ski instructor is telling you that is how you >> do it. Turns out he is right but you have to get through that disbelief and >> discomfort to get to the other side. OK that is forcing myself after he >> invited me to try it - so maybe there needs to be a little of both? >> >> Ron Quartel >> FAST Agile <http://fast-agile.com/> - An agile software process >> incorporating Open Space Technology >> >> >> On Mon, Aug 31, 2015 at 1:40 PM, Daniel Mezick via OSList < >> <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> "Is it accurate to say that some self organizing happens by invitation and >> some happens by coercion/force? " >> >> >> Great question Lucas! >> >> >> The [invitation] wall-poster you suggest feels wall-worthy to me, so long as >> no one is obligated to examine it... or even look at it. >> >> >> My turn to ask a question: What might a world "void of manipulation" and >> "replete with invitation" actually look like? >> >> >> Daniel >> >> >> >> On 8/31/15 9:57 AM, Lucas Cioffi via OSList wrote: >>> Hi All, >>> >>> Is it accurate to say that some self organizing happens by invitation and >>> some happens by coercion/force? >>> >>> For example, from the perspective of someone who lives outside of Iraq, the >>> way the Ba'ath Party took charge of Iraq through a coup seems like an >>> example of self-organizing by force to us, because we're outside the system >>> of Iraq. I welcome some thoughts on this. >>> >>> Over the past few months (and working with Michael Herman for VOSonOS) I've >>> seen that the spirit of invitation shouldn't end with the writing of the >>> invitation, and instead it should be present throughout the open space. >>> When someone posts a topic on the marketplace wall, they are inviting >>> others to a conversation, not taking over a time slot (like having a coup >>> and taking over a small country). >>> >>> When someone wants to be a "dictator" of their open space session, yes >>> others can use their two feet and walk out, but that comes at a cost to the >>> social fabric of the organization. A better outcome would be that the >>> would-be dictator holds a welcoming space from the start. So I'd recommend >>> that another sign worth posting on the wall near "Law of Two Feet" would be >>> "Spirit of Invitation". I think it's wall-worthy, do you? >>> >>> Lucas Cioffi >>> Founder, QiqoChat.com <http://qiqochat.com/> >>> Charlottesville, VA >>> Mobile: 917-528-1831 <tel:917-528-1831> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Aug 31, 2015 at 5:07 AM, Paul Levy via OSList < >>> <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>> I think the clue lies in the wonderful word "self". >>> >>> We are the selves that organise. >>> >>> Beautiful. >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> OSList mailing list >>> To post send emails to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]> >>> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >>> <mailto:[email protected]> >>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >>> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >>> Past archives can be viewed here: >>> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >>> <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> >> -- >> Daniel Mezick, President >> >> New Technology Solutions Inc. >> >> (203) 915 7248 <tel:%28203%29%20915%207248> (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] >> <mailto:[email protected]> >> To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]> >> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: >> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >> <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> >> Past archives can be viewed here: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> >> > > -- > 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] > <mailto:[email protected]> > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > <http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org> > Past archives can be viewed here: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > <http://www.mail-archive.com/[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 Past archives can be viewed here: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
