A First Step From Rome

[Heidi and Dan Chay]

Hi Harrison,

You wrote:

>>
Since my time 10 years ago in South Africa, it has been clear to me that
OS has enormous power for what we might call conflict resolution, but it
is a resolution that does not eliminate conflict. If anything the
conflict is magnified, but space is provided so that the conflict, and
the energy it contains, may become a positive force.
<<

For many years, now, in our conflict resolution practice we have
observed that for us, "resolution" in "conflict resolution" is as much
about increasing our ability to see and understand with questions as it
is about achieving and packaging "answers."

It occurs to me "conflict" is a loaded word, having different
connotations in different cultures. For example, we have Bahai friends
who see no benefits in the category "conflict."  They talk about
"conflict free conflict resolution," with heavy emphasis on our common
humanity. This and other examples notwithstanding, we use the term
"conflict resolution" frequently, and we like the common association of
"conflict" with the Chinese Mandarin word "wei-ji," usually translated
as "crisis" and embodying the characters for danger and opportunity.

This is all by way of agreeing with you that we have a lot to learn
about conflict resolution in and from Open Space and its ability to free
energy as a positive force.

>>
All of this takes place without any carefully crafted process or
procedure. In a most remarkable way, it seems to happen all by itself.
Which leads me to the conclusion that the apparent magic has nothing to
do with Open Space Technology, and everything to do with the power of
self-organization. All we do in Open Space is to create the conditions
under which a completely natural process can start or re-start.
<<

I am very interested in questions associated with what are necessary and
sufficient conditions for constructive OS process.  I notice in this
case that a relatively large expenditure of energy must have been
required create and fill the Open Space vessel we read about in Rome,
far from the pressure cooker of home.?

De Lange on the learning-org list many times has observed the following
"essentialities" that give form to what he considers are conditions of
emergence in self-organizing complex systems:

Wholeness (associativity-unity)
Liveness (becoming-being)
Fruitfulness (connect-beget)
Sureness (identity-categoricity)
Spareness (quantity-limit)
Otherness (quality-variety)
Openness (open-paradigm)

I think Open Space has potential to deliver on these "essentialities"
quite well.

All best wishes,

Dan

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