"empowerment" is a disempowering concept

Harrison Owen owenhh at mindspring.com
Mon May 20 09:00:00 PDT 2002


At 08:41 AM 5/20/2002 -0600, Paul Roberts wrote:
>One of the questions that intrigues me, and around which I am doing my
>work, is how to engage this system:  where do we locate the carrot, as we
>work alongside the corporation (or inside it...not my personal preference
>at this point in time)?  How can the corporate structure make the
>transition into a new, more open structure that reflects evolution on the
>Spiral?  I know Ken Wilber is addressing about the same things in his
>Integral Institute...and so does the Apostle Paul, in talking about his own
>stealth strategy of missionizing:  being wise as a serpent, and harmless as
>a dove.

I would suppose you are asking THE question of the moment -- whether in
terms of Corporations or countries (Palestine and Israel for example). I
know a lot people are tying a lot of ways, but in my experience only one
thing really works. Gently put we might call it a "significant emotional
event." Or more accurately a Whack to the side of the head. This could be
something like bankruptcy -- or more positively -- a marvelous new
opportunity for which you are not prepared. Either way  -- a clear and
growing recognition that going the way we are going we will not get to
where we want. Period.

there is always the hope that we might find an easier, gentler way. And if
we could -- that would be wonderful. But I think the change required is so
far outside of what might appear possible that unless the stakes get very
high, few if any would contemplate the jump. And it is a jump --
transformational no less. And nobody in their right mind would willingly do
it unless they saw no alternatives. And for sure they will look for
alternatives, and there will be many sellers. But to date, I haven't seen
any that work. cosmetic changes for sure and in abundance. But something
useful? Not yet.

Obviously this presents real issues when you are looking at a one industry
town with lots of lives involved. but I don't think that changes the
realities involved -- it just makes it more immediate for a lot of folks. A
microcosm of all this (and sometimes it can be the whole ball of wax)
occurs every time one brings up the subject of doing an Open Space. It is
not something you can or should "argue" somebody into. They have to decide
on their own, or not. Actually in my experience, Open Space is about the
only effective mechanism for the sort of change/transformation you are
talking about. Once they have made the jump and decided to go they suddenly
find themselves in a radically new situation where the old rules simply
don't apply and it works. Perhaps they will determine that once in Open
Space is more than sufficient, but at least they have had the experience --
and unless they wish to pretend that it was purely an imaginary one (and
strangely lots of folks do that) they can never quite go home again.

So all I can really say is tell the story, and let those who have ears to
hear -- hear. As for the rest... I guess First Aid for all those in that
awful category of "collateral damage." But sooner or later you have to fish
or cut bait. shoot or relinquish the fowling piece -- or one other pat
phrase which should not be used in this polite company. The choice is
theirs -- and it is a choice they must make for themselves, no matter how
much I might want to fix things.

Harrison


>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 http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm

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