OSO and chaordic commons

Birgitt Williams birgitt at mindspring.com
Fri Mar 15 08:08:27 PST 2002


I add my voice to the fact that we are already there. When we work with the
conscious Open Space Organization, we work with what is already there but
from a more and ever evolving conscious perspective. We discipline ourselves
to be intentional about removing the toxins (barriers) and to nourishing the
organization. There is no way to design for this and honor the inherent
nature of the living organism. Within every organism, and from my
perspective this includes the organization, there is the blueprint for
perfect health for that organism. The clutter that gets in the way needs to
be removed so that this blueprint can be worked with.

Birgitt



-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Harrison
Owen
Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 8:28 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: OSO and chaordic commons

At 08:53 PM 3/13/2002 -0500, Rich Norris wrote:


HMMMM...........Open Space sounds like the natural hatchery for chaordic
embryos.

HMMM.... yourself. Rich -- this is infinitely more than an incidental point,
an idle reflection. If we are correct in understanding that one of the
central mechanisms "behind" Open Space is the phenomenon of
self-organization, then I think you have hit the nail precisely on the head,
and the implications are quite profound. From where I sit our growing
understanding of self-organization provides a useful basis from which to
answer a number of bothersome questions arising from our experience and
practice of Open Space. Such as Why does it work? Why does it work so
quickly? Why does it apparently work everywhere, regardless of geography,
ethnicity, economics, education, culture....? Why do we have to explain so
little in order to achieve so much?

        The common experience of bringing 100's of diverse, conflicted folks
together to deal with complex issues productively -- all without prior
agenda, designated leadership, and pre-designed structure -- can only be
viewed as a mental aberration when looked at through the eyes of what I
might call "Standard" organizational theory. OST cannot happen. Indeed it
should not happen. But it does, and when viewed through the eyes of
self-organization theory -- our experience is totally predictable.
        The rapidity of organization in OS is another problem for the
standard view, because we all know that organization happens only by dint of
major effort and usually takes a long time. Self Organization Theory tells
us that what we experience is what we should expect.
        With regard to the apparent universality of Open Space (see our
growing list of Countries) a standard view would suggest that given the
divisions, complexities, and peculiarities (uniqueness) of cultures and
peoples no procedure or process could work  equally all across the globe.
Yet it appears that Open Space is somehow "culture free." Which would
suggest that the fundamental mechanism of Open Space is "behind" or
"beneath" culture. That would be the case if the operative mechanism were
indeed self-organization. Just as all peoples are subject to Gravity, so
also Self-Organization -- regardless of culture, time and place.
        And why do we have to say so little in order to achieve so much? No
training of participants, no endless meetings and conferences of the agenda,
no extended procedural steps to bring the group to the point of action ....
just 20 minutes of conversation about 4 principles and a law ... and we are
off. For all of us who over the years have labored in the Meeting Management
world or the world of Training, this is quite a shock. And it can be very
expensive, because we used to bill clients for all that activity. Obviously
something is wrong, and yet when seen through the eyes of self-organization
this experience is also predictable. After all, why would you have to
explain something as deeply rooted as DNA?

So is it really all about Self-Organization? Well it is certainly a testable
hypothesis, and it works for me. But time will tell. In the meantime, I find
it a very useful starting point for not only understanding the function of
Open Space, but also its potential applications as well. Which brings me
back to Rich's HMMMM.... Open Space sounds like the natural hatchery for
chaordic embryos. Chaordic Organization is of course Dee Hock's happy
appellation for a self-organizing system. And if you want to get there, as a
number of people seemingly do, the way forward is probably not through an
intensive design process combined with clear executive decision (We will now
become a Chaordic Organization!) and extensive training for all concerned.
Just open some space and you will discover that you are already there. But
that is just the start of the story -- embryos, after all are always a
beginning. You will have to decide if you want to continue and how to grow
up.

Thanks Rich!


Harrison




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

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