Open Space ,Self-Organizing Systems, and The Plexus Institute

Mon May 26 09:32:22 PDT 2003

Plexus runs a series of conference calls, to which you can subscribe by
visiting their website.  Harrison, you would make a great conference
call speaker.

Somehow I became a member of Plexus last year, and have been impressed
with the work they are doing.  Conferences, newsletters on complexity,
conference calls with interesting people.in the Pacific Northwest of
America (and the Pacific Southwest of Canada) we have formed a Plexus
fractal, which is just a mini Plexus.  There are plans in the works for
a regional conference.

So what would Plexus be interested in vis a vis Open Space?

I think perhaps they might find the following of interest:

*       How does OST work WITH the complexity inherent in organizations
anc communities vs.  process which need a more simple ground on which to
work?
*       Are organizations and communities holographic, that is, does
each member of the group carry a reflection of the whole group within
themselves?  If so, even metaphorically, what does this say about how
OST invites the character of groups and communities forward?
*       What does OST imply for the ongoing operation of organizations,
especially regarding dynamics that provoke complexity like diversity,
urgency, multiple goals and objectives, and conflict?
*       What's wrong with certainty?

I think the Plexus folks (at least the ones I know) would be open to
discussions of Spirit, flow, and self-organization for any number of
perspectives.  On our little regional fractal email list we have had
quotes and thinking shared from Wheatley, Csikszentmihalyi, Prigogine
and others.  For many people OST won't be unfamiliar terrain, and lots
of Plexus folks come from more scientific backgrounds than I do, or
Harrison or most of us that got here from the OD side.

I agree that Plexus will be a useful intermediary.  Perhaps one day they
will even hold a conference in Open Space :-)

Let us know what turns up, Harrison.

Chris

---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Bowen Island, BC, Canada
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
chris at chriscorrigan.com
(604) 947-9236

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Harrison Owen
Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 6:45 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Open Space ,Self-Organizing Systems, and The Plexus Institute

When it come to dealing with the interesting question: Why does Open
Space  Work? -- I have found the emerging theory and practice
surrounding Self organization to be very helpful. Not the only help to
be sure, but definitely on the short list. I also confess to a degree of
frustration -- that to the moment, few in the larger scientific
community have taken any notice or interest in Open Space. I think this
is a lose/lose situation. We lose because their insights and questions
might reveal aspects of Open Space that we have failed to notice. And I
think they lose because, from where I sit, Open Space is a wonderful
natural experiment over time and in the present. Over time, we have
probably some 20,000 iterations of the "experiment" from which to learn.
Since most of us were more interested in the practical results than
"doing science" detailed accounts are hard to come by. but we do have a
network, and it does have a memory. And what we may have lost as a
matter of historical record can be replicated any time someone chooses
to open space.

Anyhow, it may happen that the Plexus Institute  becomes a useful
intermediary. Those of you who were in OZ for OSONOS will remember Henri
Lipmanowicz who is chairman of the Institute and came to OZ to find out
about Open Space. The mission of the Institute is to discover and foster
the application of principles of self-organization to the real world of
human systems, particularly health care systems. Since OZ, Henri and I
have had a number of conversations, and I attended a conference they
sponsored in Austin TX -- which was most interesting and definitely
neither Open Space nor self-organizing. But one thing is sure, Plexus
did manage to attract substantive folks from multiple disciplines and
some useful conversations have started.

My conversations with Henri will continue, and hopefully move from talk
to action. Which brings me to the point (at long last) of this note.
What sort of actions, questions, explorations occur to you which might
be pursued with Plexus. Henri, Curt (The president) and I will be
conversing next week, and I will let you know the outcome -- but if any
burning, passionate issues or opportunities jump to your mind -- let me
know.

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

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