Pattern Languages

[Michael Herman]

hello birgitt,

Birgitt Williams wrote:

>Michael,
>
>the article you wrote in your notebook at http://www.globalchicago.net.
>regarding Christopher Alexander 's work and complexity and our understanding
>of it in OST is exceptionally good. Well done and thank you!
>
>in the earlier days of the list, some of us participated in a discussion of
>Christopher Alexander's work and the relationship that we saw with what
>happened in OST. There may be something in the archives of interest to you.
>
>

well, i see the archives has a fancy new search layout.  very nice!
 ...but i did not find the old conversation.


>And now an excerpt from a piece I have been writing about the Conscious Open
>Space Organization:
>"What is a Conscious Open Space Organization?
>A Conscious Open Space Organization is alive, knows that it is alive, and
>chooses to nurture and strengthen its life for optimal performance. It is
>able to make the most of its resources including its great potential,
>infinite possibilities, wisdom from intellectual and intuitive knowledge,
>self managed work and work/project teams, inspiration, creativity,
>solutions, innovations, imagination, inspiration, insights, resolution,
>commitment, and focused action.  It creates focal points and the space
>needed for Spirit to do its work and the people to develop mastery with
>their work. It uses a blending of simple methods and frameworks to assist in
>creating the focal points and space for optimal performance. These simple
>methods and frameworks are easy to learn and are duplicable throughout the
>organization.
>
>Every Conscious Open Space Organization is different and has different
>amounts of evident open space for potential and possibilities to be worked
>with. In some, such as a necessarily hierarchical organization such as the
>police or military, the Conscious Open Space Organization has minimal
>evidence of where the space for inspiration is open. In others, there are
>very few “givens” or constraints, and the evident amount of space open for
>inspiration, innovation and so on is large."
>
>

i like how the living, wholeness bits from alexander are seeping into
this, birgitt.  chris corrigan and i are starting to cook some things
around the fifteen properties from the new alexander work, nature of
order.  in talking with chris just now by phone, it was quickly obvious
to us that we could spin the fifteen properties for wholeness and
aliveness into our old story based on quadrants and levels.  chris
pointed out that the quads/levels
(http://www.globalchicago.net/wiki/wiki.cgi?InvitingOrganizationEmerges)
IS a pattern language for open space.  i'm new enough at this language
that i'm not so sure, but think he's probably right.  that said,
however, i'm really hoping that the 15 properties gives me a chance to
step outside of all of my current story, esp the quads/levels and come
to these things fresh.  noticing where they exist naturally in os and
where i as facilitator, planner, sponsor can open more space for more of
these various properties, knowing that more of them is more of Life.  it
seems a simpler language than the quads/levels, which have been
generally hailed for their simplicity.  seems simpler, or likely more
easily understood and communicated to others, than some of the ost and
self-org story... or maybe it's just going to be more familiar to me.
 anyway, it's good to see these things soaking into our language in our
many places...


thanks, michaelh


>oisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
>
>

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Avenue #1105
Chicago IL 60610 USA
(312) 280-7838

http://www.michaelherman.com - consulting & publications
http://www.globalchicago.net - laboratory & playground
http://www.openspaceworld.org - worldwide open space

...inviting organization into movement

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