Phoenix Rising -- A Next Step? (long)

[Harrison Owen]

In the wake of 911 it occurred to me that the new reality (or the old 
reality seen with new eyes) might possibly provide the opportunity to take 
a few large steps in the direction of  truly enhanced organizational 
effectiveness. Not for everybody or all organizations -- but for those who 
care to take a leap, having perceived that their present circumstances were 
less than ideal. The result of my reflections was the following proposal 
which became the basis for a marvelous gathering of 25 here in Washington. 
Our discussions were rich indeed. They also appear to be ongoing. I share 
all this with you good folks on the LIST in the hope that it might tickle 
your fancy. I would love your reactions and thoughts, and should you care 
to try the approach suggested (it is by no means proprietary) I would love 
to know how it goes. On one level there is nothing new here -- in one way 
or another it is what we have all been thinking and doing. What is new (I 
think) is the directness of approach. I tried it out with several potential 
clients, and am pleased to say that one (a good sized corporation) has 
apparently come on board. I say "apparently" because agreement and 
follow-through can be two very different things. Anyhow, some thoughts for 
the new year. And Happy New Year everybody!
Harrison

********************************

Phoenix Rising
A Proposal
October, 2001

Harrison Owen

A proposal to enable the transformation of organizations from their present 
state to what Dee Hock has called a Chaordic Organization, and what I have 
called an InterActive Organization. Under either name (or a new one) the 
reality pointed to is that of a conscious self-organizing system which 
knows itself, its environment and its prospects – and optimizes all of them.


Background and Presuppositions


         The events of 911 have re-contexted, if not totally changed, the 
world in which all organizations do business. Heightened levels of 
security, restricted travel, altered relationships with customers and 
suppliers, employee shock –  all combine to produce a new and constricted 
environment. Add in massive economic dislocation to say nothing of 
down-turn and we have a very challenging situation.
         The immediate response is predictably a very conservative one. 
Conserve cash, energy, and all other resources, and indeed this is just 
what is happening, as we watch massive layoffs, with more doubtless to 
come. The conservative response is not only predictable, but probably 
necessary, but as a continuing solution to the present dilemma it will not 
be effective.
         Effective alternatives will require ways of doing business that 
are efficient and effective in the extreme. We are not talking incremental 
movement, but something approaching quantum leaps. And these new ways 
cannot be draconian in nature, a 21st century version of the sweatshop. 
Humanitarian considerations aside, common sense, to say nothing of massive 
amounts of experience, tells us that stressed out, over-worked people do 
not make it over time, and equally importantly, they lack the essential 
characteristic for the moment: agility. As difficult as things may be at 
the moment, it is absolutely guaranteed that they will change, and change, 
and change. What works now will fail soon. Lightening fast adaptation to 
emergent conditions will spell the difference between survival and less 
pleasant alternatives.

The Power of Self-Organization and a New Way of Doing Business

         Self-organizing systems have been around for ever, probably since 
the moment of the Big Bang. It is only recently that we have begun to 
understand their function and power, and even more recently –  that human 
systems, like all systems, are basically self-organizing. This later notion 
is perceived as heretical in many (most) quarters if only because it flies 
in the face of virtually all organizational theory and practice. However, 
it is a testable hypothesis, and I believe there is substantial evidence to 
support it.  If this is true (or to the extent that it is true) we have 
some good news indeed. Based upon the 15 year ongoing, natural experiment 
with Open Space Technology with thousands of iterations in a myriad of 
circumstances, I would definitely agree with  Johann Paulsen who recently 
mailed me that, “OST is the most potent 'tool' to apply the principles of 
complex adaptive systems in an organizational context!” And the news is 
even better in detail. We know as a matter of experience that enormously 
complex (sometimes very technical) issues can effectively be dealt with 
quickly, sometimes amazingly quickly. And while the substantive output may 
be impressive, I am even more impressed with the “softer side of things.” 
Leadership appears without training, personal empowerment is a common 
experience, productive teams the norm, and diversity is appreciated as a 
resource and not a problem. Learning often occurs at lightspeed, genuine 
community manifests, and best of all, people have fun. There is High Play 
in abundance. In short, the common experience in Open Space is exactly the 
sort of thing required by our present circumstances: Super efficient and 
effective organization which does not achieve these characteristics in a 
sweatshop environment.
         Of course this is just “Open Space” which is usually a time 
limited event, and not necessarily to be confused with an on-going 
organization. But this, I think, is to put the cart before the horse, so to 
speak. The issue is not the magic of the methodology, but rather the power 
of the pre-existing reality –  self-organizing systems. All Open Space does 
is to introduce us to what is going on anyhow.
         While the Open Space experiment was under way, another experiment 
was also taking place, and it too was a natural one – which means nobody 
set it up intentionally, but we have sure learned a great deal from it. 
This is Dee Hock’s experience with Visa International, to which he has now 
attached the glorious title, Chaordic Organization.
         I believe, and I think most would agree, that what Hock is talking 
about is, once again, Self-organizing systems. It is interesting to note 
how (apparently) it all came about. It wasn’t planed, it wasn’t intended, 
and it certainly wasn’t designed. But somehow, in some way – and probably 
in spite of the best efforts to the contrary – the system did it all by 
itself. Totally remarkable when seen from the point of view of  “standard” 
organizational theory and practice. And totally predictable when seen in 
the light of what we now know about self-organization.
         Now it seems that everybody (or at least a lot of somebodies) 
wants to be a Chaoridic Organization. And for good reason: They work. It is 
interesting to note, however, how folks are going about doing this. A 
presentation at a recent ODN gathering offered to enlighten participants on 
How To Organize Self-Organizing Systems. And based on some unsubstantiated 
gossip, I understand the Dee Hock is traveling a similar road. With his 
notoriety as the inventor of Chaordic Organizations it is reasonable that a 
number of people would like to benefit from his experience. And he is 
attempting to oblige. However, as I understand it, the success rate to this 
point in time has been zero. I do not have the details, but I believe he 
has started with the “traditionals” – Clear Mission, Goals ... etc. etc. 
Sounds an awful lot like trying to organize a self-organizing system. His 
heart is definitely in the right place.  However, I think we can do it better.

The Program
         Reduced to basics, the critical issues are how to start up a 
self-organizing system, (or start it up again if stopped or damaged) and to 
sustain it over time. With regard to the later (sustenance) I refer you to 
Part IV of my book cited above, where I have outlined practical approaches 
to maintaining effective communication and coordination, as well as the 
deeper task of sustaining the focus (mission) and values of the operation. 
The tools are familiar: InterNet and the organizational mythology.
         Start-up or Re-start is a job well performed by Open Space 
Technology. It has become clear that the “magic” of Open Space is that we 
unintentionally stumbled upon the essential preconditions for 
self-organization. In short it is no “magic” at all – simply what all of us 
do, all of the time whether we like it or not, even if we are totally 
unconscious of our actions. Nothing new, simply a blinding flash of the 
obvious.
         But obviously the obvious is not all that obvious to all. In fact 
the majority of present organizational activities (managerial and 
executive) are premised upon the notion that somebody has to be in control, 
and that organization happens only when we design, create and control it. 
After all, what are we being paid for?
         And there is the rub. Much of what happens in a well functioning 
self-organizing system (as also in an Open Space event) is perceived as 
being counterintuitive at best and probably impossible –  even illegal, 
immoral and fattening. So why would anybody want to go there? The answer is 
simple one: It works. Not only does it work in substantive terms, but the 
results are achieved (typically) in a fraction of the “usual” time and with 
minimal stress and strain. Clearly one can continue to do business as usual 
based on the traditional model of command and control – that works too, but 
in a hugely sub-optimal fashion.
         When the stakes are high enough and the time available short 
enough –  impossible alternatives become acceptable, which has been our 
experience globally with Open Space. Possibly 10,000 organizations and 
groups around the world have chosen to do what most would call impossible. 
In short there is a track record.

The Core of The Program

         The core of the program is less about creating the conditions for 
self-organization and sustaining them over time than about enabling current 
executives and managers to be comfortable and competent with all of the 
above. And whatever we do, it must be congruent with the painful 
constraints of the moment, to say nothing of a wildly turbulent 
environment. In short it must be fast, economical, and effective – which 
not incidentally – is precisely our experience with Open Space. There is a 
natural rhythm to the proposed undertaking: Open Space, Reflection, 
Improvement, Open more Space strategically...

Opening Space: Initiating/re-starting self-organization is the easy part. 
It always works, and the results are predictable, if not in detail then 
certainly at the grosser levels of group performance and production. In a 
word there is immediate return on the investment – no training necessary, 
no planning required. The good news is, any concerned group can quickly 
become what it already is, a self-organizing system. Best of all, the 
benefits are concrete and almost immediate: new products, resolution of 
thorny issues, new and expanded bodies of knowledge, in addition to a great 
bunch of “fringe benefits.” The major problem is that things happen so fast 
and appear so natural (easy) that many, perhaps most, people simply do not 
realize what has gone on. Which means, unfortunately that they are less 
likely to do it again and do it better.

Reflection: Reflection need not be a major time consumer for the objective 
is simply to acknowledge and anchor the experience. This is not about 
reviewing the substantive outcomes, but rather a consideration of how we 
did what we did with the thought that next time around we might do it 
better – or all the time.

Improvement: I suppose this might look a lot like a “training program” but 
it is radical, experiential learning. Concepts may be useful, but the 
experience is primary. Thus the group may have noticed that Leadership in a 
self-organizing system was emergent and effective. Definitely good news, 
which raises the question – how do we do it better and more consciously? 
And then some bad news appears. Turns out that positional power is not only 
absent, but when present (a holdover from the ancien regime) it gets in the 
way and generally mucks things up. Worse, effective leadership seems to 
have a lot to do with Letting Go and forgetting about Span of Control, 
Lines of Authority, Direct Reports – all those things dear to the heart and 
ego of most of us. It would appear that some attitude adjustment, might we 
say Coaching, would be in order.
         And there are a few other dis-comforting things that may come to 
view. For example, at any given time a person may be leader and follower in 
multiple groups. So how should we handle compensation and benefits? Or – it 
appears that innovation and application can occur very rapidly and not on a 
pre-existing schedule. So how do we handle Planning and Accounting? Clearly 
we do not want to discard a real money maker because it is not in The Plan 
(and I’ve seen that done) nor do we want to loose the money because our 
Financial System is so rigid that we can’t book it. It appears that the new 
(old ) reality requires the best attention of folks from Human Resources 
and Finance – not to do the same old thing, but to utilize their 
considerable talents in support of productive work as it is actually taking 
place.

Strategic Self-Organization: Self-organization is something that happens 
quite naturally, without our assistance. At the same time we may become 
more fully conscious of the process and learn to ride the waves of our 
lives with greater competence. The reference to “waves” is not 
happenstance, for I believe conscious life in self-organization has a lot 
to do with surfing. The surfer does not create the waves, but he/she can 
learn to recognize a good one. Technique matters, experience counts, and 
good equipment won’t hurt. Helping organizations to realize and practice 
Strategic Self-Organization is the top of the mountain. It begins with 
first steps, as in Opening Space, Reflection and then Improvement – but the 
whole is more than the sum of the parts, and the journey is more than the 
sum of the steps. This is going “meta” to the whole affair. Everybody is 
surely capable of doing all this at some level, but those who’s view 
encompasses the highest levels will surely be in a position to contribute 
mightily to their organization’s future. I think we can get them there.

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland - 20854
Phone 301-469-9269
Email owenhh at mindspring.com

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, MD 20854 USA
phone 301-365-2093
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.mindspring.com/~owenhh

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