margaret wheatley on simplicity

[john engle]

friends,

i read an very short article yesterday in the shambhala sun magazine by
margaret wheatley entitled, "some friends and i started talking..." it made
me think of this discussion about the role of the facilitator and open space
in general with a group of people.

regretfully, i could not find the article on-line. its in the march 2002
issue.

here are the four paragraphs that caught my attention:

"I meet many people who would like to simplify their lives, yet the world
grows only more complex. Complexity has taken over how we attempt to get
things done in organizations, communities and governments. We can't seem to
do anything simply anymore. Making a decision, creating a plan, holding a
meeting--all of these now involve complex and time-consuming processes. A
once-simple process, like neighborly conversation, has become a "technique,"
an "inter-generational, cross-cultural dialogue," perhaps. We become
exhausted by the intricacy of these processes and frustrated by the lack of
productive outcomes.

As much as we'd like to leave behind the impotence we experience with these
processes, it's extremely difficult to reverse the movement toward
complexity. As soon as a simple process becomes a technique, it grows only
more complex and difficult. It never becomes simpler. It becomes the
specialized knowledge of experts, and everyone else becomes dependent on
them. We forget that we already know how to do simple things like thinking,
planning and holding a conversation. Instead, we become meek students of
difficult methods.

In the presence of so many specialized techniques for doing simple things,
we've become suspicious of anything that looks easy. And those of us who
have technical expertise are especially suspicious. I've seen myself pull
back from simplicity more than once because I realized I wouldn't be needed
any longer. These are useful moments that force me to clarify what's more
important--my expert status or making sure the work gets done well. (i have
not always chosen the nobler path).

There may be another reason why people hesitate to believe in simple
solutions: it's hard to acknowledge that we've wasted our time. If something
is so simple, why have we invested so much time and money in learning a
complicated method? We stay invested in what's complicated just because it
took us so long to learn it....."

over the years, i've had a number of people who had an experience with open
space come to me months later saying, "i've begun doing something similar
with my staff as a result of the open space event in which i  participated
with you." this comment has often made me worry as i think to myself, "are
they doing it right? god, they could really be screwing it up."

in reading this article, i'm reminded of the genius behind open space that
someone would have one brief experience and feel comfortable enough to begin
experimenting themselves.

again, i feel compelled to thank you, harrison and others on this community
who are pushing forward with actions and a message that says, "everyone can,
if they want to, begin doing this now."

john


http://www.beyondborders.net/experiment.htm

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