Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Peggy Holman via OSList]

So much good stuff in this thread!

Chris — yes to getting better at creating cultures of invitation such that Open 
Space just becomes the operating system of how things work.

Jeff - I am intrigued by your question of whether there’s something new and 
different in Nora’s work. How best to explore it? Are there folks on this list 
who have enough experience with warm data labs to speak to what excites them?

Birgitt — the main value I see in short OST meetings is they may create more 
willingness for multi-day meetings where magic. Among their many virtues, they 
do make it more likely that the issues that don’t surface on day 1 show up. And 
no matter the length, a genuine spirit of invitation is key. 

It’s been a while since this list has dived into a topic to explore in this 
way. Thanks, Jeff, for bringing it up.

Peggy




Peggy Holman
Co-founder
Journalism That Matters
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
206-948-0432
www.journalismthatmatters.org
www.peggyholman.com
Twitter: @peggyholman
JTM Twitter: @JTMStream

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity 




> On Nov 19, 2021, at 5:35 PM, Birgitt Williams via OSList 
>  wrote:
> 
> Peggy, Chris, Jeff, Michael, Thomas and those others of you interested in 
> this thread,
> I agree that getting the potential guest list right is of greatest 
> importance, as is the wording of the invitation. The spirit of intent behind 
> the invitation has great import. In the language I prefer, I say it must be 
> genuine. People always feel when the spirit of intent and the words don't 
> match.
> 
> I agree with Jeff in that it is also my experience that there are topics 
> posted on subsequent days that didn't get posted on the first day, that are 
> topics people are passionate about yet for whatever reason didn't get them up 
> onto the agenda wall the first day. I have had more than one occasion in 
> which the people didn't post the topics that really mattered to them at the 
> first OST in their organization...instead they watched and felt into the 
> experience of whether the space that was open for them to post topics was 
> genuinely open without retribution afterwards about what was said. Then 
> saying after the first OST that they realized it was genuine and wished they 
> had posted their topics. I liked it when it was possible for me to say "not 
> to worry, we are having another OST in a month and you will have the 
> opportunity to post your topics then"...and they did.
> 
> I am not fond of short OST meetings. I understand the magic of long OST 
> meetings of multiple days, and of multiple OST meetings in the same 
> organizationthose meetings where everything that wants to be spoken gets 
> its opportunity, where everything that wants to be listened to gets heard.
> 
> in genuine contact,
> Birgitt
> 
> 
> 
> Birgitt Williams
> Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants  
> Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership 
> development, and the power of nourishing  a culture of leadership.
> www.dalarinternational.com  
> 
> 
> >> Learn More & Register 
> >>  for any of our 
> >> upcoming workshops here.
> 
> 
> PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
> Phone: 01-919-522-7750
> Like us on Facebook 
> 
>   
> Connect on LinkedIn 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> On Thu, Nov 18, 2021 at 5:07 PM Peggy Holman via OSList 
> mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> 
> wrote:
> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind the 
> scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything on 
> their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out to 
> matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the passion, 
> interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is in an Open 
> Space meeting for the first time.
> 
> Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space, I 
> see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest 
> investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are 
> inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m working 
> with, I encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given their 
> purpose, who makes up the system — who are the people who care? In many 
> cases, that may include involving a microcosm in shaping the organizing 
> question and invitation so that it resonates with the people of the system.
> 
> I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv 
> Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inv

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Birgitt Williams via OSList]

Peggy, Chris, Jeff, Michael, Thomas and those others of you interested in
this thread,
I agree that getting the potential guest list right is of greatest
importance, as is the wording of the invitation. The spirit of intent
behind the invitation has great import. In the language I prefer, I say it
must be genuine. People always feel when the spirit of intent and the words
don't match.

I agree with Jeff in that it is also my experience that there are topics
posted on subsequent days that didn't get posted on the first day, that are
topics people are passionate about yet for whatever reason didn't get them
up onto the agenda wall the first day. I have had more than one occasion in
which the people didn't post the topics that really mattered to them at the
first OST in their organization...instead they watched and felt into the
experience of whether the space that was open for them to post topics was
genuinely open without retribution afterwards about what was said. Then
saying after the first OST that they realized it was genuine and wished
they had posted their topics. I liked it when it was possible for me to say
"not to worry, we are having another OST in a month and you will have the
opportunity to post your topics then"...and they did.

I am not fond of short OST meetings. I understand the magic of long OST
meetings of multiple days, and of multiple OST meetings in the same
organizationthose meetings where everything that wants to be spoken
gets its opportunity, where everything that wants to be listened to gets
heard.

in genuine contact,
Birgitt
[image: Picture]


*Birgitt Williams*
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants  *
*Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the power of nourishing  a culture of leadership.*
www.dalarinternational.com


>> Learn More & Register
 for any of our
upcoming workshops here.


PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
Phone: 01-919-522-7750
Like us on Facebook


Connect on LinkedIn




On Thu, Nov 18, 2021 at 5:07 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind
> the scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything
> on their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out
> to matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the
> passion, interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is
> in an Open Space meeting for the first time.
>
> Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space,
> I see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest
> investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are
> inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m
> working with, I encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given
> their purpose, who makes up the system — who are the people who care? In
> many cases, that may include involving a microcosm in shaping the
> organizing question and invitation so that it resonates with the people of
> the system.
>
> I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv
> Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” —
> with *A*uthority, *R*esources, *E*xpertise, *I*nformation, and *N*eed. I
> also suggest an overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking
> about that, I draw from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race,
> class, gender, geography, and generation and two “fissures” - politics and
> religion. Not all dimensions apply to every situation but bringing them up
> enables the people planning the Open Space to make a conscious choice about
> whom they invite and how.
>
> This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing
> the work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of
> topics will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the
> right people, I let go of worrying about it.
>
> Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I
> meant: *it is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the
> embodied experience*. For example, describing the experience of Open
> Space and what it produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing
> a description or even seeing a video doesn’t come close to being there. It
> is a multi-dimensional experience that involves, head, heart, body, spirit.
> Rarely does this come across in a description. A story might communicate
> more of it. But I’m guessing most people discover some aspect they hadn’t
> expected from just reading, hearing, or watching a

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

The reason I ask, about Nora getting at something new and different, is
that I know seasoned veterans of Open Space who are very excited about Warm
Data Labs.

Something seems new to them. (I will ask.)

Jeff

On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 11:33 AM Jeff Aitken  wrote:

> PS Chris - love what you shared. Already thinking of design ideas for that
> badge...
>
> On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 10:52 AM Jeff Aitken 
> wrote:
>
>> To come back around to Nora for a moment: She is exploring how a fresh
>> new hypothesis gets created, one which can be a better fit to a complex
>> situation in a time of crisis.
>>
>> Foundational to a new hypothesis is "the realm of unseen contributors
>> coalescing to produce the foundations of hypothesis."
>>
>> She finds that by intentionally placing different contexts of life side
>> by side in new configurations - literally doing so in the design of warm
>> data labs - the tender shoots of new hypothesis formation are nurtured.
>>
>> My question: Is this a restatement of the notion that "U shaped"
>> processes like Bohm dialogue or Open Space can foster conversation that
>> deepens us beneath our long held assumptions, to explore fresh assumptions?
>> (What some have called transformative learning, and what HHO originally
>> called "crossing the open space"?)
>>
>> Or is Nora getting at something new and different?
>>
>> Nora and colleagues might or might not be versed in the theory and
>> practice of what Peggy documented in The Change Handbook, with 18 and then
>> 60+ different processes.
>>
>> We have kinda danced around this question, and I want to ask it more
>> directly.
>>
>> Warmly
>>
>> Jeff
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 9:36 AM Chris Corrigan via OSList <
>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>>> I think I have come to learn that all the work of an Open Space meeting
>>> happens in the invitation, and the more personal and intentional the
>>> better.  Recently I had a client work for two months to get 20 very
>>> powerful people in a room to talk about a major issue in the education
>>> system, and the Open Space was only six hours, and my work was really only
>>> 20 minutes of active facilitation.  That to me is a mark of great
>>> participation and a high chance for sustainability of the results.  Hoping
>>> one day I can coach a client in invitation so well that they don;t even
>>> need a big face to face meeting, or at the very least, they don't need me
>>> there.  At that point I will call it "Achieving a Harrison" and award
>>> myself a badge.  And then go and take a nap.
>>>
>>> Chris
>>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 12:15 AM Thomas Herrmann via OSList <
>>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I love this way of clarifying how you can look for inviting the whole
>>>> system, Peggy! Thanks for sharing! I will make sure I incorporate it in my
>>>> practice as I think it helps the thinking about how to spread “the
>>>> irresistible invitation”. And I also agree its great to involve as many of
>>>> these stakeholders early in the process, especially as there is often a low
>>>> level of trust between them.
>>>>
>>>> Usually I invite my sponsors quite clearly to not jump up and raise
>>>> their topics but wait and see what happens, I assure them that I will be
>>>> very clear to give space for everyone and not closing the agenda creation
>>>> without very clear last opportunities – so they can rest assured that all
>>>> of their important topics can be posted. So if they miss anything at the
>>>> end, they can add. I agree with others, they are mostly surprised by the
>>>> richness of the agenda created by participants.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> One piece I have included in my designs the last years is to have a
>>>> “sync-meeting” some time the last week before the OST, to give them an
>>>> opportunity to share their hopes and fears for the upcoming OST and clarify
>>>> any practicalities they may be wondering about. This is much appreciated
>>>> and givs them more of a feeling of safety and it increases their curiosity,
>>>> openness and peace 😊.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> With appreciation for all of the wisdom in this circle
>>>>
>>>> Thomas Herrmann

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

PS Chris - love what you shared. Already thinking of design ideas for that
badge...

On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 10:52 AM Jeff Aitken  wrote:

> To come back around to Nora for a moment: She is exploring how a fresh new
> hypothesis gets created, one which can be a better fit to a complex
> situation in a time of crisis.
>
> Foundational to a new hypothesis is "the realm of unseen contributors
> coalescing to produce the foundations of hypothesis."
>
> She finds that by intentionally placing different contexts of life side by
> side in new configurations - literally doing so in the design of warm data
> labs - the tender shoots of new hypothesis formation are nurtured.
>
> My question: Is this a restatement of the notion that "U shaped" processes
> like Bohm dialogue or Open Space can foster conversation that deepens us
> beneath our long held assumptions, to explore fresh assumptions? (What some
> have called transformative learning, and what HHO originally called
> "crossing the open space"?)
>
> Or is Nora getting at something new and different?
>
> Nora and colleagues might or might not be versed in the theory and
> practice of what Peggy documented in The Change Handbook, with 18 and then
> 60+ different processes.
>
> We have kinda danced around this question, and I want to ask it more
> directly.
>
> Warmly
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 9:36 AM Chris Corrigan via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> I think I have come to learn that all the work of an Open Space meeting
>> happens in the invitation, and the more personal and intentional the
>> better.  Recently I had a client work for two months to get 20 very
>> powerful people in a room to talk about a major issue in the education
>> system, and the Open Space was only six hours, and my work was really only
>> 20 minutes of active facilitation.  That to me is a mark of great
>> participation and a high chance for sustainability of the results.  Hoping
>> one day I can coach a client in invitation so well that they don;t even
>> need a big face to face meeting, or at the very least, they don't need me
>> there.  At that point I will call it "Achieving a Harrison" and award
>> myself a badge.  And then go and take a nap.
>>
>> Chris
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 12:15 AM Thomas Herrmann via OSList <
>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>>> I love this way of clarifying how you can look for inviting the whole
>>> system, Peggy! Thanks for sharing! I will make sure I incorporate it in my
>>> practice as I think it helps the thinking about how to spread “the
>>> irresistible invitation”. And I also agree its great to involve as many of
>>> these stakeholders early in the process, especially as there is often a low
>>> level of trust between them.
>>>
>>> Usually I invite my sponsors quite clearly to not jump up and raise
>>> their topics but wait and see what happens, I assure them that I will be
>>> very clear to give space for everyone and not closing the agenda creation
>>> without very clear last opportunities – so they can rest assured that all
>>> of their important topics can be posted. So if they miss anything at the
>>> end, they can add. I agree with others, they are mostly surprised by the
>>> richness of the agenda created by participants.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> One piece I have included in my designs the last years is to have a
>>> “sync-meeting” some time the last week before the OST, to give them an
>>> opportunity to share their hopes and fears for the upcoming OST and clarify
>>> any practicalities they may be wondering about. This is much appreciated
>>> and givs them more of a feeling of safety and it increases their curiosity,
>>> openness and peace 😊.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With appreciation for all of the wisdom in this circle
>>>
>>> Thomas Herrmann
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Från:* OSList  *För *Peggy
>>> Holman via OSList
>>> *Skickat:* den 18 november 2021 23:08
>>> *Till:* Open Space Listserv 
>>> *Kopia:* Peggy Holman 
>>> *Ämne:* Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind
>>> the scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything
>>> on their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out
>>> to matter to t

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

To come back around to Nora for a moment: She is exploring how a fresh new
hypothesis gets created, one which can be a better fit to a complex
situation in a time of crisis.

Foundational to a new hypothesis is "the realm of unseen contributors
coalescing to produce the foundations of hypothesis."

She finds that by intentionally placing different contexts of life side by
side in new configurations - literally doing so in the design of warm data
labs - the tender shoots of new hypothesis formation are nurtured.

My question: Is this a restatement of the notion that "U shaped" processes
like Bohm dialogue or Open Space can foster conversation that deepens us
beneath our long held assumptions, to explore fresh assumptions? (What some
have called transformative learning, and what HHO originally called
"crossing the open space"?)

Or is Nora getting at something new and different?

Nora and colleagues might or might not be versed in the theory and practice
of what Peggy documented in The Change Handbook, with 18 and then 60+
different processes.

We have kinda danced around this question, and I want to ask it more
directly.

Warmly

Jeff








On Fri, Nov 19, 2021, 9:36 AM Chris Corrigan via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> I think I have come to learn that all the work of an Open Space meeting
> happens in the invitation, and the more personal and intentional the
> better.  Recently I had a client work for two months to get 20 very
> powerful people in a room to talk about a major issue in the education
> system, and the Open Space was only six hours, and my work was really only
> 20 minutes of active facilitation.  That to me is a mark of great
> participation and a high chance for sustainability of the results.  Hoping
> one day I can coach a client in invitation so well that they don;t even
> need a big face to face meeting, or at the very least, they don't need me
> there.  At that point I will call it "Achieving a Harrison" and award
> myself a badge.  And then go and take a nap.
>
> Chris
>
> On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 12:15 AM Thomas Herrmann via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> I love this way of clarifying how you can look for inviting the whole
>> system, Peggy! Thanks for sharing! I will make sure I incorporate it in my
>> practice as I think it helps the thinking about how to spread “the
>> irresistible invitation”. And I also agree its great to involve as many of
>> these stakeholders early in the process, especially as there is often a low
>> level of trust between them.
>>
>> Usually I invite my sponsors quite clearly to not jump up and raise their
>> topics but wait and see what happens, I assure them that I will be very
>> clear to give space for everyone and not closing the agenda creation
>> without very clear last opportunities – so they can rest assured that all
>> of their important topics can be posted. So if they miss anything at the
>> end, they can add. I agree with others, they are mostly surprised by the
>> richness of the agenda created by participants.
>>
>>
>>
>> One piece I have included in my designs the last years is to have a
>> “sync-meeting” some time the last week before the OST, to give them an
>> opportunity to share their hopes and fears for the upcoming OST and clarify
>> any practicalities they may be wondering about. This is much appreciated
>> and givs them more of a feeling of safety and it increases their curiosity,
>> openness and peace 😊.
>>
>>
>>
>> With appreciation for all of the wisdom in this circle
>>
>> Thomas Herrmann
>>
>>
>>
>> *Från:* OSList  *För *Peggy
>> Holman via OSList
>> *Skickat:* den 18 november 2021 23:08
>> *Till:* Open Space Listserv 
>> *Kopia:* Peggy Holman 
>> *Ämne:* Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread
>>
>>
>>
>> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind
>> the scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything
>> on their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out
>> to matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the
>> passion, interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is
>> in an Open Space meeting for the first time.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open
>> Space, I see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The
>> biggest investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved
>> with are inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever
>> I’m working with, I enco

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Chris Corrigan via OSList]

I think I have come to learn that all the work of an Open Space meeting
happens in the invitation, and the more personal and intentional the
better.  Recently I had a client work for two months to get 20 very
powerful people in a room to talk about a major issue in the education
system, and the Open Space was only six hours, and my work was really only
20 minutes of active facilitation.  That to me is a mark of great
participation and a high chance for sustainability of the results.  Hoping
one day I can coach a client in invitation so well that they don;t even
need a big face to face meeting, or at the very least, they don't need me
there.  At that point I will call it "Achieving a Harrison" and award
myself a badge.  And then go and take a nap.

Chris

On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 12:15 AM Thomas Herrmann via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> I love this way of clarifying how you can look for inviting the whole
> system, Peggy! Thanks for sharing! I will make sure I incorporate it in my
> practice as I think it helps the thinking about how to spread “the
> irresistible invitation”. And I also agree its great to involve as many of
> these stakeholders early in the process, especially as there is often a low
> level of trust between them.
>
> Usually I invite my sponsors quite clearly to not jump up and raise their
> topics but wait and see what happens, I assure them that I will be very
> clear to give space for everyone and not closing the agenda creation
> without very clear last opportunities – so they can rest assured that all
> of their important topics can be posted. So if they miss anything at the
> end, they can add. I agree with others, they are mostly surprised by the
> richness of the agenda created by participants.
>
>
>
> One piece I have included in my designs the last years is to have a
> “sync-meeting” some time the last week before the OST, to give them an
> opportunity to share their hopes and fears for the upcoming OST and clarify
> any practicalities they may be wondering about. This is much appreciated
> and givs them more of a feeling of safety and it increases their curiosity,
> openness and peace 😊.
>
>
>
> With appreciation for all of the wisdom in this circle
>
> Thomas Herrmann
>
>
>
> *Från:* OSList  *För *Peggy
> Holman via OSList
> *Skickat:* den 18 november 2021 23:08
> *Till:* Open Space Listserv 
> *Kopia:* Peggy Holman 
> *Ämne:* Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread
>
>
>
> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind
> the scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything
> on their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out
> to matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the
> passion, interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is
> in an Open Space meeting for the first time.
>
>
>
> Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space,
> I see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest
> investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are
> inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m
> working with, I encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given
> their purpose, who makes up the system — who are the people who care? In
> many cases, that may include involving a microcosm in shaping the
> organizing question and invitation so that it resonates with the people of
> the system.
>
>
>
> I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv
> Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” —
> with *A*uthority, *R*esources, *E*xpertise, *I*nformation, and * N*eed. I
> also suggest an overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking
> about that, I draw from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race,
> class, gender, geography, and generation and two “fissures” - politics and
> religion. Not all dimensions apply to every situation but bringing them up
> enables the people planning the Open Space to make a conscious choice about
> whom they invite and how.
>
>
>
> This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing
> the work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of
> topics will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the
> right people, I let go of worrying about it.
>
>
>
> Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I
> meant: *it is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the
> embodied experience*. For example, describing the experience of Open
> Space and what it produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing
> 

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Thomas Herrmann via OSList]

I love this way of clarifying how you can look for inviting the whole system, 
Peggy! Thanks for sharing! I will make sure I incorporate it in my practice as 
I think it helps the thinking about how to spread “the irresistible 
invitation”. And I also agree its great to involve as many of these 
stakeholders early in the process, especially as there is often a low level of 
trust between them.
Usually I invite my sponsors quite clearly to not jump up and raise their 
topics but wait and see what happens, I assure them that I will be very clear 
to give space for everyone and not closing the agenda creation without very 
clear last opportunities – so they can rest assured that all of their important 
topics can be posted. So if they miss anything at the end, they can add. I 
agree with others, they are mostly surprised by the richness of the agenda 
created by participants.

One piece I have included in my designs the last years is to have a 
“sync-meeting” some time the last week before the OST, to give them an 
opportunity to share their hopes and fears for the upcoming OST and clarify any 
practicalities they may be wondering about. This is much appreciated and givs 
them more of a feeling of safety and it increases their curiosity, openness and 
peace 😊.

With appreciation for all of the wisdom in this circle
Thomas Herrmann

Från: OSList  För Peggy Holman via 
OSList
Skickat: den 18 november 2021 23:08
Till: Open Space Listserv 
Kopia: Peggy Holman 
Ämne: Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind the 
scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything on 
their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out to 
matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the passion, 
interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is in an Open 
Space meeting for the first time.

Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space, I 
see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest investment 
of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are inviting, as 
Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m working with, I 
encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given their purpose, who 
makes up the system — who are the people who care? In many cases, that may 
include involving a microcosm in shaping the organizing question and invitation 
so that it resonates with the people of the system.

I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv Weisbord 
and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” — with 
Authority, Resources, Expertise, Information, and Need. I also suggest an 
overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking about that, I draw 
from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race, class, gender, geography, 
and generation and two “fissures” - politics and religion. Not all dimensions 
apply to every situation but bringing them up enables the people planning the 
Open Space to make a conscious choice about whom they invite and how.

This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing the 
work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of topics 
will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the right people, 
I let go of worrying about it.

Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I meant: it 
is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied 
experience. For example, describing the experience of Open Space and what it 
produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing a description or even 
seeing a video doesn’t come close to being there. It is a multi-dimensional 
experience that involves, head, heart, body, spirit. Rarely does this come 
across in a description. A story might communicate more of it. But I’m guessing 
most people discover some aspect they hadn’t expected from just reading, 
hearing, or watching a video about it.

Appreciatively,
Peggy




Peggy Holman
Co-founder
Journalism That Matters
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
206-948-0432
www.journalismthatmatters.org<http://www.journalismthatmatters.org>
www.peggyholman.com<http://www.peggyholman.com>
Twitter: @peggyholman
JTM Twitter: @JTMStream

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into 
Opportunity<http://www.engagingemergence.com>





On Nov 17, 2021, at 1:52 PM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList 
mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:

Dear Birgitt,

your two sentences:

"My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the 
moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted at 
that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to pre-post 
topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than abund

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[John Watkins via OSList]

Jeff,

In the educational equity world we call this “radical inclusion” and “design 
from the margins.” Glad to see it show up in your work too. And of course it 
reminds us of the classic Meg Wheatley quote about healing a system by getting 
it together with more of itself, especially the parts of it that it didn’t even 
know were part of it. 

John W

Sent from John's iPhone

> On Nov 18, 2021, at 5:10 PM, Jeff Aitken via OSList 
>  wrote:
> 
> Thanks Peggy. 
> 
> Your practices for intentional invitation look great - glad you shared them! 
> 
> My question was being a little bit provocative. Your response is a big key. 
> 
> I've been taught that the vital insights needed for the health of a system 
> (such as a lifeplace) often come from the bottom and the edges.
> 
> The capacity to listen to "the stranger" who shows up in Open Space is also a 
> cultural teaching. 
> 
> I've experienced OS in which topics that needed to be raised did not appear 
> until the second day. The tricky elements of trust, comfort, risk, courage, 
> power, etc all have their say in this. We can prepare with sponsor coaching 
> and skilled invitation as you detailed.
> 
> Thank you again, and Birgitt and Michael.
> 
> Jeff
> 
> 
> 
>> On Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 2:15 PM Peggy Holman via OSList 
>>  wrote:
>> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind the 
>> scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything on 
>> their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out to 
>> matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the passion, 
>> interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is in an 
>> Open Space meeting for the first time.
>> 
>> Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space, I 
>> see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest 
>> investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are 
>> inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m working 
>> with, I encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given their 
>> purpose, who makes up the system — who are the people who care? In many 
>> cases, that may include involving a microcosm in shaping the organizing 
>> question and invitation so that it resonates with the people of the system.
>> 
>> I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv 
>> Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” — 
>> with Authority, Resources, Expertise, Information, and Need. I also suggest 
>> an overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking about that, I 
>> draw from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race, class, gender, 
>> geography, and generation and two “fissures” - politics and religion. Not 
>> all dimensions apply to every situation but bringing them up enables the 
>> people planning the Open Space to make a conscious choice about whom they 
>> invite and how.
>> 
>> This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing the 
>> work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of topics 
>> will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the right 
>> people, I let go of worrying about it.
>> 
>> Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I meant: 
>> it is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied 
>> experience. For example, describing the experience of Open Space and what it 
>> produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing a description or 
>> even seeing a video doesn’t come close to being there. It is a 
>> multi-dimensional experience that involves, head, heart, body, spirit. 
>> Rarely does this come across in a description. A story might communicate 
>> more of it. But I’m guessing most people discover some aspect they hadn’t 
>> expected from just reading, hearing, or watching a video about it.
>> 
>> Appreciatively,
>> Peggy
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Peggy Holman
>> Co-founder
>> Journalism That Matters
>> 15347 SE 49th Place
>> Bellevue, WA  98006
>> 206-948-0432
>> www.journalismthatmatters.org
>> www.peggyholman.com
>> Twitter: @peggyholman
>> JTM Twitter: @JTMStream
>> 
>> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Nov 17, 2021, at 1:52 PM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList 
>>>  wrote:
>>> 
>>> Dear Birgitt,
>>> 
>>> your two sentences:
>>> 
>>> "My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the 
>>> moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted 
>>> at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to 
>>> pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than 
>>> abundance of possibilities."
>>> 
>>> had some memories come up.
>>> 
>>> In at least three of the ost events I was involved in it turned out that 
>>> the sponso

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Thanks Peggy.

Your practices for intentional invitation look great - glad you shared
them!

My question was being a little bit provocative. Your response is a big key.

I've been taught that the vital insights needed for the health of a system
(such as a lifeplace) often come from the bottom and the edges.

The capacity to listen to "the stranger" who shows up in Open Space is also
a cultural teaching.

I've experienced OS in which topics that needed to be raised did not appear
until the second day. The tricky elements of trust, comfort, risk, courage,
power, etc all have their say in this. We can prepare with sponsor coaching
and skilled invitation as you detailed.

Thank you again, and Birgitt and Michael.

Jeff



On Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 2:15 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind
> the scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything
> on their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out
> to matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the
> passion, interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is
> in an Open Space meeting for the first time.
>
> Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space,
> I see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest
> investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are
> inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m
> working with, I encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given
> their purpose, who makes up the system — who are the people who care? In
> many cases, that may include involving a microcosm in shaping the
> organizing question and invitation so that it resonates with the people of
> the system.
>
> I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv
> Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” —
> with *A*uthority, *R*esources, *E*xpertise, *I*nformation, and *N*eed. I
> also suggest an overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking
> about that, I draw from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race,
> class, gender, geography, and generation and two “fissures” - politics and
> religion. Not all dimensions apply to every situation but bringing them up
> enables the people planning the Open Space to make a conscious choice about
> whom they invite and how.
>
> This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing
> the work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of
> topics will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the
> right people, I let go of worrying about it.
>
> Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I
> meant: *it is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the
> embodied experience*. For example, describing the experience of Open
> Space and what it produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing
> a description or even seeing a video doesn’t come close to being there. It
> is a multi-dimensional experience that involves, head, heart, body, spirit.
> Rarely does this come across in a description. A story might communicate
> more of it. But I’m guessing most people discover some aspect they hadn’t
> expected from just reading, hearing, or watching a video about it.
>
> Appreciatively,
> Peggy
>
>
>
> 
> Peggy Holman
> Co-founder
> Journalism That Matters
> 15347 SE 49th Place
> Bellevue, WA  98006
> 206-948-0432
> www.journalismthatmatters.org
> www.peggyholman.com
> Twitter: @peggyholman
> JTM Twitter: @JTMStream
>
> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into
> Opportunity 
>
>
>
>
>
> On Nov 17, 2021, at 1:52 PM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Dear Birgitt,
>
> your two sentences:
>
> "My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the
> moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted
> at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to
> pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than
> abundance of possibilities."
>
> had some memories come up.
>
> In at least three of the ost events I was involved in it turned out that
> the sponsors prepared a set of "issuse" they felt should be part of the
> event before the event... in case nobody would post them.
> To the surprises of the sponsors all their issues were posted by the
> participants.
> In addition, they themselves experienced that other issues entered their
> mind during the process that they then posted.
> In many other ost events sponors were very surprised about the broad
> passion, interest, creativity, etc. and most of all selforganisation that
> manifested...
>
> For what actually happens when ost is part of t

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Peggy Holman via OSList]

Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind the 
scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything on 
their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out to 
matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the passion, 
interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is in an Open 
Space meeting for the first time.

Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space, I 
see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest investment 
of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are inviting, as 
Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m working with, I 
encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given their purpose, who 
makes up the system — who are the people who care? In many cases, that may 
include involving a microcosm in shaping the organizing question and invitation 
so that it resonates with the people of the system.

I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv Weisbord 
and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” — with 
Authority, Resources, Expertise, Information, and Need. I also suggest an 
overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking about that, I draw 
from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race, class, gender, geography, 
and generation and two “fissures” - politics and religion. Not all dimensions 
apply to every situation but bringing them up enables the people planning the 
Open Space to make a conscious choice about whom they invite and how.

This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing the 
work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of topics 
will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the right people, 
I let go of worrying about it.

Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I meant: it 
is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied 
experience. For example, describing the experience of Open Space and what it 
produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing a description or even 
seeing a video doesn’t come close to being there. It is a multi-dimensional 
experience that involves, head, heart, body, spirit. Rarely does this come 
across in a description. A story might communicate more of it. But I’m guessing 
most people discover some aspect they hadn’t expected from just reading, 
hearing, or watching a video about it.

Appreciatively,
Peggy




Peggy Holman
Co-founder
Journalism That Matters
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
206-948-0432
www.journalismthatmatters.org
www.peggyholman.com
Twitter: @peggyholman
JTM Twitter: @JTMStream

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity 






> On Nov 17, 2021, at 1:52 PM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList 
>  wrote:
> 
> Dear Birgitt,
> 
> your two sentences:
> 
> "My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the 
> moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted at 
> that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to 
> pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than 
> abundance of possibilities."
> 
> had some memories come up.
> 
> In at least three of the ost events I was involved in it turned out that the 
> sponsors prepared a set of "issuse" they felt should be part of the event 
> before the event... in case nobody would post them.
> To the surprises of the sponsors all their issues were posted by the 
> participants.
> In addition, they themselves experienced that other issues entered their mind 
> during the process that they then posted.
> In many other ost events sponors were very surprised about the broad passion, 
> interest, creativity, etc. and most of all selforganisation that manifested...
> 
> For what actually happens when ost is part of the everyday life of an 
> organisation over a number of years with a special focus on the vast system 
> of that enterprise have a look here
>> https://www.westkreuz-verlag.de/de/Practicing-Open-Space-Our-First-Ten-Years-E-Book
> 
> in English, French, Polish, Spanish and Chinese ... translated from the 
> German Original by ost-colleagues all of you know
> 
> Cheers from Berlin
> mmp
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Am 17.11.2021 um 21:32 schrieb Birgitt Williams via OSList:
>> Jeff...thanks for sharing the article and for the discussion that emanated 
>> from the question you posed to the OS list. I have enjoyed the responses and 
>> look forward to more conversation showing up. You have added more great 
>> questions.
>> You asked:Do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a gathered 
>> group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to generate 
>> excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen 
>> tra

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

https://thesideview.co/journal/warm-data-and-iced-lemonade

Here Nora and global friends talk about Warm Data, and the new project they
created last year, People Need People, trying this work online together.

Stories like this share the juicy reality, as we also know from our
experiences in Open Space.

On the oslist, I like to put focus on the different design elements of OST
and WDL, which are important to assess and learn.

And yet our lived stories are "what gives credence to the notion that a
deeply human response to complexity is possible."

This ties in to our earlier thread, about Working With Stories, and the
beauty that we gather in our stories of Open Space around our world.

Onward...
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Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Michael M Pannwitz via OSList]

Dear Birgitt,

your two sentences:

"My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the 
moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be 
posted at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on 
anyone to pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation 
rather than abundance of possibilities."


had some memories come up.

In at least three of the ost events I was involved in it turned out that 
the sponsors prepared a set of "issuse" they felt should be part of the 
event before the event... in case nobody would post them.
To the surprises of the sponsors all their issues were posted by the 
participants.
In addition, they themselves experienced that other issues entered their 
mind during the process that they then posted.
In many other ost events sponors were very surprised about the broad 
passion, interest, creativity, etc. and most of all selforganisation 
that manifested...


For what actually happens when ost is part of the everyday life of an 
organisation over a number of years with a special focus on the vast 
system of that enterprise have a look here

https://www.westkreuz-verlag.de/de/Practicing-Open-Space-Our-First-Ten-Years-E-Book


in English, French, Polish, Spanish and Chinese ... translated from the 
German Original by ost-colleagues all of you know


Cheers from Berlin
mmp




Am 17.11.2021 um 21:32 schrieb Birgitt Williams via OSList:
Jeff...thanks for sharing the article and for the discussion that 
emanated from the question you posed to the OS list. I have enjoyed the 
responses and look forward to more conversation showing up. You have 
added more great questions.


You asked:Do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a gathered 
group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to generate 
excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen 
transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?


Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying 
topics/contexts to invite that fruitful variety?


What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post 
and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and 
does that limit the potential and health of the system?


My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the 
moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be 
posted at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on 
anyone to pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation 
rather than abundance of possibilities.


Peggy...I am intrigued by your sentences "Sometimes more and different 
words can help. More often, it takes an embodied experience." I would 
like to understand more. My current understanding is that it is not the 
words used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied experience. 
Is this what you mean?


in genuine contact,
Birgitt


Picture*
*


*Birgitt Williams*
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
*Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership 
development, and the power of nourishing  a culture of leadership.*

www.dalarinternational.com 


 >> Learn More & Register 
 for any of our 
upcoming workshops here.



PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
Phone: 01-919-522-7750
Like us on Facebook 

Connect on LinkedIn 




On Wed, Nov 17, 2021 at 7:31 AM Jeff Aitken via OSList 
mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> 
wrote:


Now I am considering whether there is a (hopefully) funny joke
lurking here somewhere.

The facilitator asked the sponsor, "do you want a book of
proceedings created from your event?" And the sponsor said "no, I'm
going for the aphanipoesis, but thanks."

But seriously folks, do we assume that the passion and
responsibility of a gathered group will create the requisite variety
of topics/contexts to generate excellent Warm Data from a theme
question, and foster these unseen transcontextual sources of systems
changing creativity?

Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying
topics/contexts to invite that fruitful variety?

What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate
post and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get
posted, and does that limit the potential and health of the system?

What can the OST methodology teach the WDL methodology, and vice versa?

Early morning questions,
Jeff



On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 5:45 PM Peggy Holman via OSList
mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:

 From what I can glean in Bateson’s ar

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Thanks Birgitt.

Yes, surely a wise response to a perceived lack of diversity of topics in
OST would be to increase the diversity of perspectives in the room.

It was made clear to me that "whoever comes are the right people" needed to
be explained as referring to the movements of the people who are already
within the room. That helps folks understand that we will value an increase
in diversity of perspectives for the next time. Assuming that is true!

With a Warm Data Lab, the diversity if contexts posted is limited by the
imagination of the sponsor and facilitator (and the number of breakout
spaces.) So it seems.

Warmly
Jeff

On Wed, Nov 17, 2021, 12:32 PM Birgitt Williams <
birg...@dalarinternational.com> wrote:

> Jeff...thanks for sharing the article and for the discussion that emanated
> from the question you posed to the OS list. I have enjoyed the responses
> and look forward to more conversation showing up. You have added more great
> questions.
>
> You asked:Do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a gathered
> group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to generate
> excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen
> transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?
>
> Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying topics/contexts
> to invite that fruitful variety?
>
> What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post
> and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and does
> that limit the potential and health of the system?
>
> My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the
> moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted
> at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to
> pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than
> abundance of possibilities.
>
> Peggy...I am intrigued by your sentences "Sometimes more and different
> words can help. More often, it takes an embodied experience." I would like
> to understand more. My current understanding is that it is not the words
> used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied experience. Is this
> what you mean?
>
> in genuine contact,
> Birgitt
>
>
> [image: Picture]
>
>
> *Birgitt Williams*
> *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants  *
> *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
> development, and the power of nourishing  a culture of leadership.*
> www.dalarinternational.com
>
>
> >> Learn More & Register
>  for any of our
> upcoming workshops here.
>
>
> PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
> Phone: 01-919-522-7750
> Like us on Facebook
> 
>
> Connect on LinkedIn
> 
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 17, 2021 at 7:31 AM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> Now I am considering whether there is a (hopefully) funny joke lurking
>> here somewhere.
>>
>> The facilitator asked the sponsor, "do you want a book of proceedings
>> created from your event?" And the sponsor said "no, I'm going for the
>> aphanipoesis, but thanks."
>>
>> But seriously folks, do we assume that the passion and responsibility of
>> a gathered group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to
>> generate excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen
>> transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?
>>
>> Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying
>> topics/contexts to invite that fruitful variety?
>>
>> What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post
>> and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and does
>> that limit the potential and health of the system?
>>
>> What can the OST methodology teach the WDL methodology, and vice versa?
>>
>> Early morning questions,
>> Jeff
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 5:45 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>>> From what I can glean in Bateson’s article and what I have heard about
>>> Warm Data, what happens does sound parallel to what occurs when people meet
>>> in Open Space.
>>>
>>> I find her writing frustrating. But when one is attempting to give
>>> language to new ideas, it’s rough. The effort falls into a pattern she
>>> discusses: our tendency to want to relate to the ideas through habitual
>>> lenses. Sometimes more and different words can help. More often, it takes
>>> an embodied experience. Perhaps a Warm Data Lab?
>>>
>>> I find her insight that we need a word for life coalescing towards
>>> vitality in unseen ways intriguing. By naming it, I hope it will become
>>> more seen. Sounds like something we want to notice and gro

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Birgitt Williams via OSList]

Jeff...thanks for sharing the article and for the discussion that emanated
from the question you posed to the OS list. I have enjoyed the responses
and look forward to more conversation showing up. You have added more great
questions.

You asked:Do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a gathered
group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to generate
excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen
transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?

Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying topics/contexts
to invite that fruitful variety?

What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post and
host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and does
that limit the potential and health of the system?

My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the
moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted
at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to
pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than
abundance of possibilities.

Peggy...I am intrigued by your sentences "Sometimes more and different
words can help. More often, it takes an embodied experience." I would like
to understand more. My current understanding is that it is not the words
used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied experience. Is this
what you mean?

in genuine contact,
Birgitt


[image: Picture]


*Birgitt Williams*
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants  *
*Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the power of nourishing  a culture of leadership.*
www.dalarinternational.com


>> Learn More & Register
 for any of our
upcoming workshops here.


PO Box 19373, Raleigh, NC, USA 27613
Phone: 01-919-522-7750
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On Wed, Nov 17, 2021 at 7:31 AM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Now I am considering whether there is a (hopefully) funny joke lurking
> here somewhere.
>
> The facilitator asked the sponsor, "do you want a book of proceedings
> created from your event?" And the sponsor said "no, I'm going for the
> aphanipoesis, but thanks."
>
> But seriously folks, do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a
> gathered group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to
> generate excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen
> transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?
>
> Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying topics/contexts
> to invite that fruitful variety?
>
> What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post
> and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and does
> that limit the potential and health of the system?
>
> What can the OST methodology teach the WDL methodology, and vice versa?
>
> Early morning questions,
> Jeff
>
>
>
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 5:45 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> From what I can glean in Bateson’s article and what I have heard about
>> Warm Data, what happens does sound parallel to what occurs when people meet
>> in Open Space.
>>
>> I find her writing frustrating. But when one is attempting to give
>> language to new ideas, it’s rough. The effort falls into a pattern she
>> discusses: our tendency to want to relate to the ideas through habitual
>> lenses. Sometimes more and different words can help. More often, it takes
>> an embodied experience. Perhaps a Warm Data Lab?
>>
>> I find her insight that we need a word for life coalescing towards
>> vitality in unseen ways intriguing. By naming it, I hope it will become
>> more seen. Sounds like something we want to notice and grow.
>>
>> Thanks for sending the article Jeff.
>>
>>
>> 
>> Peggy Holman
>> Co-founder
>> Journalism That Matters
>> Bellevue, WA  98006
>> 206-948-0432
>> www.journalismthatmatters.org
>> www.peggyholman.com
>> Twitter: @peggyholman
>> JTM Twitter: @JTMStream
>>
>> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into
>> Opportunity 
>>
>>
>>
>> On Nov 16, 2021, at 2:48 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList <
>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>> Thanks for sharing this Jeff. I have known about Nora's work for sometime
>> and although I don't fully understand it yet I think what I do know of it,
>> it's great.).
>>
>> WHy does she choose the words she chooses? I think because this is how
>> she has come to an understanding about the simple truths that Warm Data
>> works with. God k

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Now I am considering whether there is a (hopefully) funny joke lurking here
somewhere.

The facilitator asked the sponsor, "do you want a book of proceedings
created from your event?" And the sponsor said "no, I'm going for the
aphanipoesis, but thanks."

But seriously folks, do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a
gathered group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to
generate excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen
transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?

Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying topics/contexts
to invite that fruitful variety?

What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post and
host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and does
that limit the potential and health of the system?

What can the OST methodology teach the WDL methodology, and vice versa?

Early morning questions,
Jeff



On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 5:45 PM Peggy Holman via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> From what I can glean in Bateson’s article and what I have heard about
> Warm Data, what happens does sound parallel to what occurs when people meet
> in Open Space.
>
> I find her writing frustrating. But when one is attempting to give
> language to new ideas, it’s rough. The effort falls into a pattern she
> discusses: our tendency to want to relate to the ideas through habitual
> lenses. Sometimes more and different words can help. More often, it takes
> an embodied experience. Perhaps a Warm Data Lab?
>
> I find her insight that we need a word for life coalescing towards
> vitality in unseen ways intriguing. By naming it, I hope it will become
> more seen. Sounds like something we want to notice and grow.
>
> Thanks for sending the article Jeff.
>
>
> 
> Peggy Holman
> Co-founder
> Journalism That Matters
> Bellevue, WA  98006
> 206-948-0432
> www.journalismthatmatters.org
> www.peggyholman.com
> Twitter: @peggyholman
> JTM Twitter: @JTMStream
>
> Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into
> Opportunity 
>
>
>
> On Nov 16, 2021, at 2:48 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Thanks for sharing this Jeff. I have known about Nora's work for sometime
> and although I don't fully understand it yet I think what I do know of it,
> it's great.).
>
> WHy does she choose the words she chooses? I think because this is how she
> has come to an understanding about the simple truths that Warm Data works
> with. God know we have some pretty funny language amongst us all to explain
> things like "let people look after things they care about."  But, Jeff, the
> first piece you posted of hers makes a lot of sense to me and is a concise
> description of Warm Data process, and is very helpful to me having an "aha"
> about it.
>
> Chris
>
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 1:37 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> Also I note that Nora is still very early in the practice of a
>> methodology that she invented (I think.)
>>
>> Maybe it's like the first five-ten years of OST as folks were figuring
>> out what the hell this is all about... : )
>>
>> And from the lens of an artist and family therapy researcher whose father
>> was Gregory Bateson. That makes sense to me...
>>
>> Warmly
>> Jeff
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:21 PM Jeff Aitken 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi Birgitt. My first guess is that it serves practitioners to be simple,
>>> while it serves systems scientists to be complicated or complex.
>>>
>>> They are writing about living systems at all scales and making very
>>> subtle distinctions.
>>>
>>> It may serve us practitioners to have some appreciation for the latter.
>>> "Your mileage may vary" tho, as a friend says!
>>>
>>> Warmly
>>> Jeff
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:10 PM Birgitt Williams <
>>> birgittwilli...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
 Jeff..I don't understand why it serves to be so complicated? Why not
 simply refer to seen and unseen?

 Birgitt

 On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 3:57 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
 oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> One more email - I was amiss to mention this new theory by Nora,
> without defining the word she is introducing, and she finds occurring in
> Warm Data Lab and I think is true in OST too.
>
> It is "a way to describe a life giving process, by which vitality,
> healing, and creativity come into being by the coalescence of multiple
> unseen factors."
>
> "Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this
> way in which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. (Aphanis comes
> from a Greek root meaning obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from one
> meaning to bring forth, to make.)"
>
> Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at a systems science
> conference and in a journal a

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Peggy Holman via OSList]

From what I can glean in Bateson’s article and what I have heard about Warm 
Data, what happens does sound parallel to what occurs when people meet in Open 
Space.

I find her writing frustrating. But when one is attempting to give language to 
new ideas, it’s rough. The effort falls into a pattern she discusses: our 
tendency to want to relate to the ideas through habitual lenses. Sometimes more 
and different words can help. More often, it takes an embodied experience. 
Perhaps a Warm Data Lab?

I find her insight that we need a word for life coalescing towards vitality in 
unseen ways intriguing. By naming it, I hope it will become more seen. Sounds 
like something we want to notice and grow.

Thanks for sending the article Jeff.



Peggy Holman
Co-founder
Journalism That Matters
Bellevue, WA  98006
206-948-0432
www.journalismthatmatters.org
www.peggyholman.com
Twitter: @peggyholman
JTM Twitter: @JTMStream

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity 




> On Nov 16, 2021, at 2:48 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList 
>  wrote:
> 
> Thanks for sharing this Jeff. I have known about Nora's work for sometime and 
> although I don't fully understand it yet I think what I do know of it, it's 
> great.). 
> 
> WHy does she choose the words she chooses? I think because this is how she 
> has come to an understanding about the simple truths that Warm Data works 
> with. God know we have some pretty funny language amongst us all to explain 
> things like "let people look after things they care about."  But, Jeff, the 
> first piece you posted of hers makes a lot of sense to me and is a concise 
> description of Warm Data process, and is very helpful to me having an "aha" 
> about it. 
> 
> Chris
> 
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 1:37 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList 
> mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> 
> wrote:
> Also I note that Nora is still very early in the practice of a methodology 
> that she invented (I think.) 
> 
> Maybe it's like the first five-ten years of OST as folks were figuring out 
> what the hell this is all about... : )
> 
> And from the lens of an artist and family therapy researcher whose father was 
> Gregory Bateson. That makes sense to me...
> 
> Warmly
> Jeff 
> 
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:21 PM Jeff Aitken  > wrote:
> Hi Birgitt. My first guess is that it serves practitioners to be simple, 
> while it serves systems scientists to be complicated or complex. 
> 
> They are writing about living systems at all scales and making very subtle 
> distinctions. 
> 
> It may serve us practitioners to have some appreciation for the latter. "Your 
> mileage may vary" tho, as a friend says! 
> 
> Warmly
> Jeff
> 
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:10 PM Birgitt Williams  > wrote:
> Jeff..I don't understand why it serves to be so complicated? Why not simply 
> refer to seen and unseen?
> 
> Birgitt 
> 
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 3:57 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList 
> mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org>> 
> wrote:
> One more email - I was amiss to mention this new theory by Nora, without 
> defining the word she is introducing, and she finds occurring in Warm Data 
> Lab and I think is true in OST too. 
> 
> It is "a way to describe a life giving process, by which vitality, healing, 
> and creativity come into being by the coalescence of multiple unseen factors."
> "Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this way in 
> which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. (Aphanis comes from a 
> Greek root meaning obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from one meaning 
> to bring forth, to make.)"
> 
> Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at a systems science conference 
> and in a journal article. 
> 
> Useful for practitioners to think about and to notice in our work? That's my 
> question for the oslist.
> 
> It reminds me of Harrison's definition of "peace" in The Practice of Peace. 
> With an emphasis on the unseen, internal, very subtle shifts that take place 
> that are NOT reflected in proceedings and action plans.
> 
> Warmly, Jeff.
> 
> Reference:
> 
> Bateson, N.,(2021). Aphanipoiesis. In Journal of the International Society 
> for the Systems Sciences, Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of the ISSS, 
> Virtual (Vol. 1, №1) — under review.
> 
> 
> 
> This work was presented at the Annual Biosemiotics Conference June 2021, the 
> Annual Conference of the International Society of Systems Sciences July 2021, 
> and the Annual conference of the Institute of General Semantics September 
> 2021.
> 
> 
> On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 11:16 PM Jeff Aitken  > wrote:
> As a refresher or quick intro to the process, Warm Data Lab starts with a 
> group of folks and a theme question. But the topics of conversation are 
> chosen in advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each breakout table (or area) 
> gets 

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Chris Corrigan via OSList]

Thanks for sharing this Jeff. I have known about Nora's work for sometime
and although I don't fully understand it yet I think what I do know of it,
it's great.).

WHy does she choose the words she chooses? I think because this is how she
has come to an understanding about the simple truths that Warm Data works
with. God know we have some pretty funny language amongst us all to explain
things like "let people look after things they care about."  But, Jeff, the
first piece you posted of hers makes a lot of sense to me and is a concise
description of Warm Data process, and is very helpful to me having an "aha"
about it.

Chris

On Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 1:37 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> Also I note that Nora is still very early in the practice of a methodology
> that she invented (I think.)
>
> Maybe it's like the first five-ten years of OST as folks were figuring out
> what the hell this is all about... : )
>
> And from the lens of an artist and family therapy researcher whose father
> was Gregory Bateson. That makes sense to me...
>
> Warmly
> Jeff
>
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:21 PM Jeff Aitken  wrote:
>
>> Hi Birgitt. My first guess is that it serves practitioners to be simple,
>> while it serves systems scientists to be complicated or complex.
>>
>> They are writing about living systems at all scales and making very
>> subtle distinctions.
>>
>> It may serve us practitioners to have some appreciation for the latter.
>> "Your mileage may vary" tho, as a friend says!
>>
>> Warmly
>> Jeff
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:10 PM Birgitt Williams 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Jeff..I don't understand why it serves to be so complicated? Why not
>>> simply refer to seen and unseen?
>>>
>>> Birgitt
>>>
>>> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 3:57 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
>>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>>
 One more email - I was amiss to mention this new theory by Nora,
 without defining the word she is introducing, and she finds occurring in
 Warm Data Lab and I think is true in OST too.

 It is "a way to describe a life giving process, by which vitality,
 healing, and creativity come into being by the coalescence of multiple
 unseen factors."

 "Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this
 way in which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. (Aphanis comes
 from a Greek root meaning obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from one
 meaning to bring forth, to make.)"

 Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at a systems science
 conference and in a journal article.

 Useful for practitioners to think about and to notice in our work?
 That's my question for the oslist.

 It reminds me of Harrison's definition of "peace" in The Practice of
 Peace. With an emphasis on the unseen, internal, very subtle shifts that
 take place that are NOT reflected in proceedings and action plans.

 Warmly, Jeff.

 Reference:

 Bateson, N.,(2021). Aphanipoiesis. In Journal of the International
 Society for the Systems Sciences, Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of
 the ISSS, Virtual (Vol. 1, №1) — under review.

 This work was presented at the Annual Biosemiotics Conference June
 2021, the Annual Conference of the International Society of Systems
 Sciences July 2021, and the Annual conference of the Institute of General
 Semantics September 2021.

 On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 11:16 PM Jeff Aitken 
 wrote:

> As a refresher or quick intro to the process, Warm Data Lab starts
> with a group of folks and a theme question. But the topics of conversation
> are chosen in advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each breakout table (or
> area) gets a topic written on a sign: which names a context from which to
> address the theme question.
>
> So if the theme is drug abuse, the chosen wide variety of contexts
> might be: education, prisons, public health, initiation, addiction,
> pharmaceuticals, parenting, ceremony, etc. People go to the breakouts of
> their choice and stay or move as they wish. The law of mobility is used. A
> closing circle might end the event after some number of hours.
>
> It has some qualities of OST and World Cafe while being different.
>
> I've only been in one WDL so other folks might improve my description.
>
> Jeff
>
> On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 7:22 PM Jeff Aitken 
> wrote:
>
>> Where does systemic change take place? I am reflecting on earlier
>> posts about the Warm Data Lab and comparing - contrasting this work with
>> other hosted conversation processes like OST.
>>
>> What seems different - please correct this if it's wrong - is the
>> level of attention paid to the complex ways in which WDL might help bring
>> about change. Looking well beyond action plans and carefully harvested
>> proceed

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Also I note that Nora is still very early in the practice of a methodology
that she invented (I think.)

Maybe it's like the first five-ten years of OST as folks were figuring out
what the hell this is all about... : )

And from the lens of an artist and family therapy researcher whose father
was Gregory Bateson. That makes sense to me...

Warmly
Jeff

On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:21 PM Jeff Aitken  wrote:

> Hi Birgitt. My first guess is that it serves practitioners to be simple,
> while it serves systems scientists to be complicated or complex.
>
> They are writing about living systems at all scales and making very subtle
> distinctions.
>
> It may serve us practitioners to have some appreciation for the latter.
> "Your mileage may vary" tho, as a friend says!
>
> Warmly
> Jeff
>
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:10 PM Birgitt Williams 
> wrote:
>
>> Jeff..I don't understand why it serves to be so complicated? Why not
>> simply refer to seen and unseen?
>>
>> Birgitt
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 3:57 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
>> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>>> One more email - I was amiss to mention this new theory by Nora, without
>>> defining the word she is introducing, and she finds occurring in Warm Data
>>> Lab and I think is true in OST too.
>>>
>>> It is "a way to describe a life giving process, by which vitality,
>>> healing, and creativity come into being by the coalescence of multiple
>>> unseen factors."
>>>
>>> "Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this
>>> way in which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. (Aphanis comes
>>> from a Greek root meaning obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from one
>>> meaning to bring forth, to make.)"
>>>
>>> Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at a systems science
>>> conference and in a journal article.
>>>
>>> Useful for practitioners to think about and to notice in our work?
>>> That's my question for the oslist.
>>>
>>> It reminds me of Harrison's definition of "peace" in The Practice of
>>> Peace. With an emphasis on the unseen, internal, very subtle shifts that
>>> take place that are NOT reflected in proceedings and action plans.
>>>
>>> Warmly, Jeff.
>>>
>>> Reference:
>>>
>>> Bateson, N.,(2021). Aphanipoiesis. In Journal of the International
>>> Society for the Systems Sciences, Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of
>>> the ISSS, Virtual (Vol. 1, №1) — under review.
>>>
>>> This work was presented at the Annual Biosemiotics Conference June 2021,
>>> the Annual Conference of the International Society of Systems Sciences July
>>> 2021, and the Annual conference of the Institute of General Semantics
>>> September 2021.
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 11:16 PM Jeff Aitken 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 As a refresher or quick intro to the process, Warm Data Lab starts with
 a group of folks and a theme question. But the topics of conversation are
 chosen in advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each breakout table (or area)
 gets a topic written on a sign: which names a context from which to address
 the theme question.

 So if the theme is drug abuse, the chosen wide variety of contexts
 might be: education, prisons, public health, initiation, addiction,
 pharmaceuticals, parenting, ceremony, etc. People go to the breakouts of
 their choice and stay or move as they wish. The law of mobility is used. A
 closing circle might end the event after some number of hours.

 It has some qualities of OST and World Cafe while being different.

 I've only been in one WDL so other folks might improve my description.

 Jeff

 On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 7:22 PM Jeff Aitken 
 wrote:

> Where does systemic change take place? I am reflecting on earlier
> posts about the Warm Data Lab and comparing - contrasting this work with
> other hosted conversation processes like OST.
>
> What seems different - please correct this if it's wrong - is the
> level of attention paid to the complex ways in which WDL might help bring
> about change. Looking well beyond action plans and carefully harvested
> proceedings etc.
>
> This may be a fruitful area of inquiry for OST folks. (The subject
> line here is from a reference in a book by Nora Bateson's late father
> Gregory.)
>
> Nora Bateson just shared a video and long essay, coming out prior to
> her essay being published soon in a journal. She is introducing a new term
> "aphanipoiesis" to the conversation of systemic transformation.
>
> The essay is here:
> https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc
>
> Some teaser paragraphs for us. Can this also be said about OST, but we
> just don't??
>
> "Rewilding the Interior
>
> In the words of the Warm Data hosting theory, we tend the “about” so
> that what is re-configured is in the “within.” It does not really matter
> what people talk “about” in a War

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Hi Birgitt. My first guess is that it serves practitioners to be simple,
while it serves systems scientists to be complicated or complex.

They are writing about living systems at all scales and making very subtle
distinctions.

It may serve us practitioners to have some appreciation for the latter.
"Your mileage may vary" tho, as a friend says!

Warmly
Jeff

On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:10 PM Birgitt Williams 
wrote:

> Jeff..I don't understand why it serves to be so complicated? Why not
> simply refer to seen and unseen?
>
> Birgitt
>
> On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 3:57 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList <
> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> One more email - I was amiss to mention this new theory by Nora, without
>> defining the word she is introducing, and she finds occurring in Warm Data
>> Lab and I think is true in OST too.
>>
>> It is "a way to describe a life giving process, by which vitality,
>> healing, and creativity come into being by the coalescence of multiple
>> unseen factors."
>>
>> "Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this way
>> in which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. (Aphanis comes from
>> a Greek root meaning obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from one
>> meaning to bring forth, to make.)"
>>
>> Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at a systems science
>> conference and in a journal article.
>>
>> Useful for practitioners to think about and to notice in our work? That's
>> my question for the oslist.
>>
>> It reminds me of Harrison's definition of "peace" in The Practice of
>> Peace. With an emphasis on the unseen, internal, very subtle shifts that
>> take place that are NOT reflected in proceedings and action plans.
>>
>> Warmly, Jeff.
>>
>> Reference:
>>
>> Bateson, N.,(2021). Aphanipoiesis. In Journal of the International
>> Society for the Systems Sciences, Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of
>> the ISSS, Virtual (Vol. 1, №1) — under review.
>>
>> This work was presented at the Annual Biosemiotics Conference June 2021,
>> the Annual Conference of the International Society of Systems Sciences July
>> 2021, and the Annual conference of the Institute of General Semantics
>> September 2021.
>>
>> On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 11:16 PM Jeff Aitken 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> As a refresher or quick intro to the process, Warm Data Lab starts with
>>> a group of folks and a theme question. But the topics of conversation are
>>> chosen in advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each breakout table (or area)
>>> gets a topic written on a sign: which names a context from which to address
>>> the theme question.
>>>
>>> So if the theme is drug abuse, the chosen wide variety of contexts might
>>> be: education, prisons, public health, initiation, addiction,
>>> pharmaceuticals, parenting, ceremony, etc. People go to the breakouts of
>>> their choice and stay or move as they wish. The law of mobility is used. A
>>> closing circle might end the event after some number of hours.
>>>
>>> It has some qualities of OST and World Cafe while being different.
>>>
>>> I've only been in one WDL so other folks might improve my description.
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>>
>>> On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 7:22 PM Jeff Aitken 
>>> wrote:
>>>
 Where does systemic change take place? I am reflecting on earlier posts
 about the Warm Data Lab and comparing - contrasting this work with other
 hosted conversation processes like OST.

 What seems different - please correct this if it's wrong - is the level
 of attention paid to the complex ways in which WDL might help bring about
 change. Looking well beyond action plans and carefully harvested
 proceedings etc.

 This may be a fruitful area of inquiry for OST folks. (The subject line
 here is from a reference in a book by Nora Bateson's late father Gregory.)

 Nora Bateson just shared a video and long essay, coming out prior to
 her essay being published soon in a journal. She is introducing a new term
 "aphanipoiesis" to the conversation of systemic transformation.

 The essay is here:
 https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc

 Some teaser paragraphs for us. Can this also be said about OST, but we
 just don't??

 "Rewilding the Interior

 In the words of the Warm Data hosting theory, we tend the “about” so
 that what is re-configured is in the “within.” It does not really matter
 what people talk “about” in a Warm Data Lab. There is nothing to capture at
 that level. What matters is the way the participants are internally sewing
 together the different conversations and contexts. On a transcript this
 information is inaccessible.

 "In the Warm Data processes, communication in explicit form is not held
 to be the communication of interest. That level of conversation is there as
 a skeleton, onto which the stories not told reshape the person who did not
 tell them, the alterations in tone, the re-tilted 

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

One more email - I was amiss to mention this new theory by Nora, without
defining the word she is introducing, and she finds occurring in Warm Data
Lab and I think is true in OST too.

It is "a way to describe a life giving process, by which vitality, healing,
and creativity come into being by the coalescence of multiple unseen
factors."

"Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this way
in which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. (Aphanis comes from
a Greek root meaning obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from one
meaning to bring forth, to make.)"

Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at a systems science conference
and in a journal article.

Useful for practitioners to think about and to notice in our work? That's
my question for the oslist.

It reminds me of Harrison's definition of "peace" in The Practice of Peace.
With an emphasis on the unseen, internal, very subtle shifts that take
place that are NOT reflected in proceedings and action plans.

Warmly, Jeff.

Reference:

Bateson, N.,(2021). Aphanipoiesis. In Journal of the International Society
for the Systems Sciences, Proceedings of the 64th Annual Meeting of the
ISSS, Virtual (Vol. 1, №1) — under review.

This work was presented at the Annual Biosemiotics Conference June 2021,
the Annual Conference of the International Society of Systems Sciences July
2021, and the Annual conference of the Institute of General Semantics
September 2021.

On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 11:16 PM Jeff Aitken  wrote:

> As a refresher or quick intro to the process, Warm Data Lab starts with a
> group of folks and a theme question. But the topics of conversation are
> chosen in advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each breakout table (or area)
> gets a topic written on a sign: which names a context from which to address
> the theme question.
>
> So if the theme is drug abuse, the chosen wide variety of contexts might
> be: education, prisons, public health, initiation, addiction,
> pharmaceuticals, parenting, ceremony, etc. People go to the breakouts of
> their choice and stay or move as they wish. The law of mobility is used. A
> closing circle might end the event after some number of hours.
>
> It has some qualities of OST and World Cafe while being different.
>
> I've only been in one WDL so other folks might improve my description.
>
> Jeff
>
> On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 7:22 PM Jeff Aitken  wrote:
>
>> Where does systemic change take place? I am reflecting on earlier posts
>> about the Warm Data Lab and comparing - contrasting this work with other
>> hosted conversation processes like OST.
>>
>> What seems different - please correct this if it's wrong - is the level
>> of attention paid to the complex ways in which WDL might help bring about
>> change. Looking well beyond action plans and carefully harvested
>> proceedings etc.
>>
>> This may be a fruitful area of inquiry for OST folks. (The subject line
>> here is from a reference in a book by Nora Bateson's late father Gregory.)
>>
>> Nora Bateson just shared a video and long essay, coming out prior to her
>> essay being published soon in a journal. She is introducing a new term
>> "aphanipoiesis" to the conversation of systemic transformation.
>>
>> The essay is here:
>> https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc
>>
>> Some teaser paragraphs for us. Can this also be said about OST, but we
>> just don't??
>>
>> "Rewilding the Interior
>>
>> In the words of the Warm Data hosting theory, we tend the “about” so that
>> what is re-configured is in the “within.” It does not really matter what
>> people talk “about” in a Warm Data Lab. There is nothing to capture at that
>> level. What matters is the way the participants are internally sewing
>> together the different conversations and contexts. On a transcript this
>> information is inaccessible.
>>
>> "In the Warm Data processes, communication in explicit form is not held
>> to be the communication of interest. That level of conversation is there as
>> a skeleton, onto which the stories not told reshape the person who did not
>> tell them, the alterations in tone, the re-tilted perception is given free
>> rein to rub memories and stories against each other. One comment that comes
>> up repeatedly is, “Your story changed my story.” Through this
>> “side-by-side-ing,” stories told change stories almost told, and their
>> bearers are able to reshape their impressions in ways that are untamed. By
>> careful tending of the “about” and “within,” the rich world of memory and
>> story re-wilds.
>>
>> "The gaps are where the hope of systemic transformation is waiting. In
>> the Warm Data processes, participants are given a structure to re-stitch,
>> to re-wild, to begin a new abductive process into these gaps. Again, by
>> placing the contexts of life side-by-side in new configurations, the
>> aphanipoietic processes are given room, without conscious purpose or goals
>> or defined outcomes, without scripts or roles or trends — t

Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

As a refresher or quick intro to the process, Warm Data Lab starts with a
group of folks and a theme question. But the topics of conversation are
chosen in advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each breakout table (or area)
gets a topic written on a sign: which names a context from which to address
the theme question.

So if the theme is drug abuse, the chosen wide variety of contexts might
be: education, prisons, public health, initiation, addiction,
pharmaceuticals, parenting, ceremony, etc. People go to the breakouts of
their choice and stay or move as they wish. The law of mobility is used. A
closing circle might end the event after some number of hours.

It has some qualities of OST and World Cafe while being different.

I've only been in one WDL so other folks might improve my description.

Jeff

On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 7:22 PM Jeff Aitken  wrote:

> Where does systemic change take place? I am reflecting on earlier posts
> about the Warm Data Lab and comparing - contrasting this work with other
> hosted conversation processes like OST.
>
> What seems different - please correct this if it's wrong - is the level of
> attention paid to the complex ways in which WDL might help bring about
> change. Looking well beyond action plans and carefully harvested
> proceedings etc.
>
> This may be a fruitful area of inquiry for OST folks. (The subject line
> here is from a reference in a book by Nora Bateson's late father Gregory.)
>
> Nora Bateson just shared a video and long essay, coming out prior to her
> essay being published soon in a journal. She is introducing a new term
> "aphanipoiesis" to the conversation of systemic transformation.
>
> The essay is here:
> https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc
>
> Some teaser paragraphs for us. Can this also be said about OST, but we
> just don't??
>
> "Rewilding the Interior
>
> In the words of the Warm Data hosting theory, we tend the “about” so that
> what is re-configured is in the “within.” It does not really matter what
> people talk “about” in a Warm Data Lab. There is nothing to capture at that
> level. What matters is the way the participants are internally sewing
> together the different conversations and contexts. On a transcript this
> information is inaccessible.
>
> "In the Warm Data processes, communication in explicit form is not held to
> be the communication of interest. That level of conversation is there as a
> skeleton, onto which the stories not told reshape the person who did not
> tell them, the alterations in tone, the re-tilted perception is given free
> rein to rub memories and stories against each other. One comment that comes
> up repeatedly is, “Your story changed my story.” Through this
> “side-by-side-ing,” stories told change stories almost told, and their
> bearers are able to reshape their impressions in ways that are untamed. By
> careful tending of the “about” and “within,” the rich world of memory and
> story re-wilds.
>
> "The gaps are where the hope of systemic transformation is waiting. In the
> Warm Data processes, participants are given a structure to re-stitch, to
> re-wild, to begin a new abductive process into these gaps. Again, by
> placing the contexts of life side-by-side in new configurations, the
> aphanipoietic processes are given room, without conscious purpose or goals
> or defined outcomes, without scripts or roles or trends — to allow the
> tender new beginnings of another abductive description to form mutually.
>
> "Through this work, I have found I needed this term to embark on a deeper
> study of the importance of aphanipoiesis. The changes I witness occurring
> in the Warm Data processes are completely unpredictable and profound. They
> suggest ever more vividly that there is a real, if unseen, mingling of the
> body, culture, education, family — and a whole batch of transcontextual
> experience that is guiding all other actions. It is to this change that I
> have devoted my efforts toward systemic transformation."
> Warmly,
> Jeff
> Yelamu / San Francisco
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
___
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[OSList] Where angels fear to tread

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Where does systemic change take place? I am reflecting on earlier posts
about the Warm Data Lab and comparing - contrasting this work with other
hosted conversation processes like OST.

What seems different - please correct this if it's wrong - is the level of
attention paid to the complex ways in which WDL might help bring about
change. Looking well beyond action plans and carefully harvested
proceedings etc.

This may be a fruitful area of inquiry for OST folks. (The subject line
here is from a reference in a book by Nora Bateson's late father Gregory.)

Nora Bateson just shared a video and long essay, coming out prior to her
essay being published soon in a journal. She is introducing a new term
"aphanipoiesis" to the conversation of systemic transformation.

The essay is here: https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc

Some teaser paragraphs for us. Can this also be said about OST, but we just
don't??

"Rewilding the Interior

In the words of the Warm Data hosting theory, we tend the “about” so that
what is re-configured is in the “within.” It does not really matter what
people talk “about” in a Warm Data Lab. There is nothing to capture at that
level. What matters is the way the participants are internally sewing
together the different conversations and contexts. On a transcript this
information is inaccessible.

"In the Warm Data processes, communication in explicit form is not held to
be the communication of interest. That level of conversation is there as a
skeleton, onto which the stories not told reshape the person who did not
tell them, the alterations in tone, the re-tilted perception is given free
rein to rub memories and stories against each other. One comment that comes
up repeatedly is, “Your story changed my story.” Through this
“side-by-side-ing,” stories told change stories almost told, and their
bearers are able to reshape their impressions in ways that are untamed. By
careful tending of the “about” and “within,” the rich world of memory and
story re-wilds.

"The gaps are where the hope of systemic transformation is waiting. In the
Warm Data processes, participants are given a structure to re-stitch, to
re-wild, to begin a new abductive process into these gaps. Again, by
placing the contexts of life side-by-side in new configurations, the
aphanipoietic processes are given room, without conscious purpose or goals
or defined outcomes, without scripts or roles or trends — to allow the
tender new beginnings of another abductive description to form mutually.

"Through this work, I have found I needed this term to embark on a deeper
study of the importance of aphanipoiesis. The changes I witness occurring
in the Warm Data processes are completely unpredictable and profound. They
suggest ever more vividly that there is a real, if unseen, mingling of the
body, culture, education, family — and a whole batch of transcontextual
experience that is guiding all other actions. It is to this change that I
have devoted my efforts toward systemic transformation."
Warmly,
Jeff
Yelamu / San Francisco
___
OSList mailing list
To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org
To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org
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/oslist@lists.openspacetech.org