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

[Michael Herman]

  Harrison Owen wrote:

> At 07:42 PM 5/28/2003 -0500, Michael Herman wrote:
>
>> hi all, if it's not too late to get in the game here, i'll add a few
>> thoughts, too.  not sure if they go anywhere helpful or not.  it's quite
>> a question and quite a discussion already... thanks to all for that.
>> and here is what i add...
>
>
> Michael -- definitely not too late, and more to the point, I think
> your are pushing in some very good and useful directions. The notions
> about "healing" and "wholing" are ideas that I have played with rather
> extensively in my "Practice of Peace." And linking all this to Varela,
> while adding your won twist is just great. Carry on!
>
> Harrison
>

thanks, harrison.  i'll add one more observation... real world news item
-- combining ost, communication training, individual coaching, and real
project work.  a bit cryptic here because i haven't been able to find
the source of this story today to iron out more of the details, but
wanted to get it into the mix before the meeting.  here's the story,
such as it is...

it comes from a friend and colleague, a veteran of some major
corporations who was recently explaining how she's doing ongoing
openspace inside of a big company.  quarterly meetings.  for 6 quarters
now?  i think.   here's a bit about how she's done it...

first she got invited in.  that always helps to have a friendly welcome,
rather than a sales pitch.  then she's run an 8 week or so program, in
open space and in more formal teaching sessions with something called
creative interchange.  http://www.synerchange.com i think.  learning
those skills, doing the project work, practicing in openpsace.

program starts with a one-day program... the purpose is (has been, so
far anyway) to launch or renew a project team.  the morning is for
creative interchange learning, the afternoon is for open space... to
practice morning learning, while getting real work done, in open space.
 this is followed by daily journalling and weekly coaching.  program two
three weeks later is repeat of same sort of model... and three weeks
more coaching.

after this the story gets foggy for me, but she's got them meeting in
open space regularly, quarterly and as needed here and there... and is
moving toward having them open for themselves and learn open space
directly, really just noticing what it is that they've been doing all
along.  she has some phenomenal business and personal outcomes documented.

this is one of the best stories of dissolving these things together that
i've heard yet.  something powerful about being able to say nothing
about open space, have them in skills-learning mode AND in project doing
mode, and be one-on-one with them in coaching presence.

would be interesting to get a plexus group to go through a year or two
of this, documenting work on the wall and personal notes in journals,
holding space in circles and coaching calls, and see what comes out.
 maybe this is one way to do what i was suggesting yesterday... studying
os IN and AS open spaces.

developing...

m


--

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 - open space institute usa

...inviting organization into movement

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html