Outcomes from reflections on OSonOS Oz4

[Murli Nagasundaram]

>From Alan Stewart
===============

I am a professional conversationalist, which means (in part)
that participants and I co-create the conditions in which
people tell their stories and make the opportunity to see
that they have a choice in the way their story unfolds.

Part of my practice is as a facilitator of OST. Recently I worked
with the senior managers of Levi Strauss in Sydney to explore a
complex question pertinent to their practice. One of the outcomes
of this gathering, according to the MD, is that the company discarded
many of the 'rules' on which its operations were based at the time.

I was the convenor of OsonOS Oz4 held in Adelaide in May of this year.

I also offer 'A Fresh Map of Life' conversation for people who are at a
crossroads in their lives. Groups of about 8-10 people come together for
one session a week for 4 weeks to explore their stories, their
priorities, their resources. Most people do not do this systematically.
It is reportedly a powerful trigger to reflective learning and renewed
action.

I am a member of a very lively group called Regenerate South Australia.
This has about 20 members and we undertake projects which focus on
social and environmental sustainability. In September of this year we
are bringing Robert Theobald, the noted futurist, to Adelaide to
converse about 'The Healing Century'. We are also in process of setting
up a Creative Living Centre for 'at risk' young people.

I am currently based in Adelaide, South Australia. In October I plan to
be in the UK and in November on the west coast of the US, to take in a
fine event in Monterey.

Anyone who wishes to connect with me just drop a line in the etheric
ocean.

Alan Stewart, PhD
Tel 61 8 8232 6393 Fax 61 8 8232 0241

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Hi All

Here is an excerpt from a letter that I sent recently to the CEO of a
company undergoing radical change. You may find it triggers something
useful for you to converse about.

The description of OST that I give here is one that came to me from the
Open Space on Open Space that was held here in Adelaide in May of this
year. The CEO to whom the letter was addressed is au fait with
principles and practice of self organising systems and their cybernetic
underpinnings.


When we met in your office you said to me 'I am intrigued by what you
have described to me about the Open Space process but can you
clarify for me precisely how we could use it in our context?' Seemingly
at the time I was not able to, to your satisfaction; I am confident that
I can now.

The starting point is 'What is Open Space Technology?' I have come to
appreciate that it is ...

a unique meetings process that provides useful answers to a
complex question from the collective wisdom of all who
participate. The answers which emerge from the conversations
in and around the Open Space gathering and from reflecting on these are
ones for which participants feel passion, responsibility and ownership.

Is anything constructive likely to happen unless these do emerge?

This is highly condensed! Nonetheless I wonder if you
perceive its relevance to the enterprise that you are setting
up, viz a national partnership with another organization.

For inevitably diverse complex questions will come forth. Bringing the
Open Space process to bear on these in turn will ALWAYS produce
useful answers of the kind about which stakeholders feel 'passion,
responsibility and ownership' - and are prepared to invest their
best efforts in a spirit of 'We're in this together.'

I say ALWAYS advisedly for two reasons. One is that this is when
the conditions are created in which respectful conversation takes place,
intelligence is the only thing that could happen. Intelligence here is
discerned by members of the group displaying more curiosity, more trust,
more creativity .... the list goes. It is the only thing that could
happen because INTELLIGENCE IS A PROPERTY OF CONVERSATION, according to
the late Gordon Pask, cybernetician extraordinaire.

The other reason is that it accords with my lived experience and
from reports of the experience of others.

Apart from the principles that underpin the process, there is one
prerequisite of those who come: be prepared to be open to experiences
of high learning, high play and high productivity.

Let me know when you wish to explore this further.

Good connecting

Alan Stewart