Getting it "in"//keeping it going

Holman Holman
Tue Jan 7 11:47:00 PST 1997


On Introducing It

As an internal consultant, I'd say serandipity also plays a significant
role in bringing OS in.  A group needs to be ready.  This seems to
translate into "things are awful as they are; I don't know what to do;
HELP!"  They also need to trust the person making the suggestion.  It is
a leap of faith to the uninitiated, so agreeing to proceed seems to have
more to do with relationships than anything else.

It took about 6 months of planting seeds before someone at U S WEST
"bit."  I've been at Weyerhaeuser for 18 months and although the concept
is intriguing to many of my colleagues in Total Quality and Organization
Development, there hasn't yet been a situtation where a customer group
has felt the need to try something that seems so radical to them.

I think the most critical factor in introducing OS is the relationship
between the change agent and the personwho has the need.  If trust
exists, then the likelihood is higher they'll give OS a try.
 ----------
From: Larry Peterson
To: Multiple recipients of list OSLIST
Subject: Getting it "in"//keeping it going
Date: Thursday, January 02, 1997 12:46PM


Two good questions Peggy. Maybe as an internal, getting it in is fairly
easy. For an external, it means "serindipity". Somebody has to
experience
it, hear about it or be ready themselves in order to make the leap. I
have
had more opportunities come from people who experience it and are
intrigued
or have heard about it from a friend -- than by any other means. We'll
see
what Billie and Barbara's book does in generating more interest.

Keeping it going depends on a number of conditions being present, both
within and without the organization. The willingness of leadership to
risk
is critical. I'm writing the Bank of Montreal story and it is surprsing
how
many factors have come together to fost the substantial impact that Open
Space appears to have had.




More information about the OSList mailing list