you remind me of the christopher alexander, "nature of order" work/books, chris. life comes from life. we need to be space to open more space.
-- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates http://MichaelHerman.com http://OpenSpaceWorld.org On Wed, Sep 2, 2015 at 11:50 AM, Chris Corrigan via OSList < [email protected]> wrote: > I'm not sure cosmology agrees with your premise Harrison. I think it's > more like spacetime is finite but ever expanding. > > What has my attention these days is the dynamic that in this universe > everything comes for inside itself: it unfolds, within a constrained finite > context. > > I other words, an apple seed is indeed a constrained and finite thing, but > out of it unfolds the entire potentially infinite future of apple trees. > > Chris > > -- > CHRIS CORRIGAN > Harvest Moon Consultants > Facilitation, Open Space Technology and process design > > Check www.chriscorrigan.com for upcoming workshops, blog posts and free > resources. > > > > On Sep 1, 2015, at 2:58 PM, Harrison via OSList < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Here’s a thought... Space/time is infinite, defined by our minds, and > limited by our imagination. So “constraints” are only what you make them > out to be. AND... it is always nice to have as much “space/time” as > possible. A “genuine invitation” creates a LOT of space/time. > > > > Ho > > > > 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 <http://%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] > <[email protected]>] *On Behalf Of *Michael Herman > via OSList > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 01, 2015 1:15 PM > *To:* Chris Corrigan; World wide Open Space Technology email list > *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Inviting non-invitation > > > > 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!” > > > > yes! and there is the chance to notice that there can be a difference > between a manager imposing random constraints versus clearly articulating > and/or translating the constraints that ARE already existing in the > environment. there is also the possibility for managers to overreact in > the transmitting of environment to system, to editorialize and use outside > forces as excuses for imposing constraints. people can opt in to > constraints that are randomly or otherwise badly articulated, but i think > the ideal to strive for is the very cleanest transmission of the bigger > picture environmental constraints. the practice of invitation is a kind of > search for truth(s) about what is. > > > > > > -- > > Michael Herman > Michael Herman Associates > http://MichaelHerman.com > http://OpenSpaceWorld.org > > > > On Tue, Sep 1, 2015 at 12:03 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList < > [email protected]> wrote: > > 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) > > > 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 < > [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 > > > > > On Mon, Aug 31, 2015 at 5:07 AM, Paul Levy via OSList < > [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] > > 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] > > > > -- > > 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] > > > > > > -- > > 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] > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] > > > _______________________________________________ > 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] >
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