OST vs OD

Harrison Owen owenhh at mindspring.com
Fri Sep 27 06:10:37 PDT 2002


At 11:35 AM 9/27/2002 +1000, Rob wrote:
>Then we go back into the world around us.  The facilitator, well we did it
>ourselves so why bother, it is so simple anyone can do it.   So we see the
>organisation reform about their old norms and get on with the job.  The
>participants filled with the experience bounce back into the world, only
>to slam
>headlong into brick walls of the REAL world.  Confused, bruised and wiser they
>may choose to keep going but many are not prepared for the hard yards required
>to be successful.

The distinction between the Real World, and the world of Open Space is one
that is often made. I definitely know what people are saying and why -- but
I am very uncomfortable with it for several reasons. First of all, I think
it is wrong, or at the very least, it has the cart before the horse. From
where I sit, I must consider the world in all of its multiple
manifestations (galaxies, people, countries, neutron stars etc) to
be  fundamentally self organizing. What we do on top of that (creating
departments, divisions etc) is a secondary addition which works when in
accord with the basic principles of self organizations, and falters when
they are not aligned. For me, Open Space is not about doing something new,
but rather recognizing what we truly are. So if we are to accord "reality"
to anything, it is what we (everybody) experiences in Open Space. All the
rest of it is an add on, and very often delusional. I know there are some
folks who actually think they are "in charge" -- and I know of many others
who co-conspire with that notion, if only so that they do not have to take
responsibility for what happens, including their own actions. But given the
massive complexity, added to the chaotic changeableness of this thing we
call life, being "in charge" is a non thought so far as I am concerned.

My second reason for discomfort is that when we make such a distinction
(real world vs Open Space) our job becomes infinitely harder. As I see it,
all we are trying to do is to help folks understand and practice what they
already are. If they choose to be miserable with miseries of their own
making, there is not a great deal that we can do to help. But we can bring
them to the point where they recognize the choice.

>For me Open Space is a form of traumatic experience, and an experience that
>needs to carefully processed so that I use the goodness in the most effective
>way when I leave the space for other parts.  This is for both facilitator and
>participant.   It also means that it takes a special environment in
>organisations to support the cultural change required to apply Open Space.  I
>believe that these organisations will be successful  but most likely not the
>most visible or profitable at least until the world  changes to champion
>sustainable, simple, life of interdependence .

There is no doubt the Open Space can be shocking. I used to call it Freedom
Shock. At some level it is very nice to believe that your life is
controlled and that your options are limited at best. You are then free to
bitch to your heart's content and blame "them" for whatever is going wrong.
Obviously there are limitations, but typically we don't even approach them
-- and at least in terms of my life, the areas of freedom so vastly out
weigh the areas of constraint that there is truly no comparison. Of course,
I live a privileged life, and reside in a privileged land... but I have
known many others who live under vastly different circumstances who's range
of freedom I find awesome -- terrifying, and of course shocking. Frankly, I
don't think we have to wait, or in fact can afford to wait, "until the
world  changes to champion
sustainable, simple, life of interdependence," given the issues of the
moment and the stakes we face. We can of course continue to do what we've
done, and we will get what we've gotten. But there is the option of
unleashing the kind of creative power and energy that bubbles up in every
Open Space -- which, I would argue, is nothing but the innate power of a
well functioning self-organizing system. Of course, if we don't do it,
others will. Some have suggested that Ben Laden and Co. constitute a good
example of an Open Space Organization. Doubtless he never heard the words,
and would object to them if he had -- but I think the point is tenable. And
if it is -- it would become clear that Open Space is not just about warm
fuzzies, love, and light. I guess that would take us into a whole new
discussion.

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 www.mindspring.com\~owenhh

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