Hierarchies, decision making and a real-life example

Harrison Owen hhowen at comcast.net
Fri Apr 2 14:19:17 PST 2004


Wonderful to see you back online, Peggy -- and to know that the Sun actually
shines in Seattle. As for your discussion on COSMOS etc -- I think we need
more SWAMPS. Swamps (those grungy, smelly places where turtles hang out) are
always getting a bad rap. But they really are wonderful. Life begins there
for lots of critters, and the forms are always emergent and new. Of course
it is sort of a mess, but that seems to be what life is all about -- a good
mess. And when we finally get it all straightened out -- well I think it is
over. So here's to Swamps and messes. And to you too Peggy. And you can make
whatever you like out of that sequence -- swamp, mess, Peggy. . . .

ho

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20845
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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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Peggy
Holman
Sent: Friday, April 02, 2004 12:03 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Hierarchies, decision making and a real-life example

Ah, Michael, you caught me.  I used the broad term (CAS) when really meaning
that elusive subset sometimes called the conscious self-organizing system,
sometimes named as an open space organization.  What I mean by these terms
remains a challenge for me to describe.  My latest attempt is organizations
that aspire to operate with ever increasing capacity for emergent leadership
and form.  What to call it?  How about COSMOS for Consciously Opening
Space - More - OrganizationS.  How's that for including the whole of it?


> Another thing that puzzles me: What exactly was the decision/action
> that Michael H took?

Sorry I didn't explicitly name what I saw as Michael's decision.  It was
actually just a query he made that caused our listserv hosts to flip a
switch making the archives available without registering for the list.


The name aside, my reflections still stand.  I experience something tangibly
different about communities and organizations where the mix of rigidity and
fluidity in leadership and form is heavily on the fluid end of the spectrum
such that roles and structure are more likely to emerge based on passion and
responsibility.


>From Seattle, where the sun is actually shining two days in a row,
Peggy

_______________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
425.746.6274
www.opencirclecompany.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Pannwitz, Michael M" <mmpanne at boscop.de>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 10:29 PM
Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Hierarchies, decision making and a real-life example


> Dear Peggy,
> and here I thought all systems and organizations (traditional or
> whatever) are complex adaptive systems?
> Also, I had the hunch from my long life in a "traditional"
> organization (and that enforces my question on all systems being CAS)
> that things there often appeared to happen regardless, in spite of ,
> etc. what decisions were being taken at the "top". In fact, if those
> decisions from the "top" would really have had the impact imagined,
> the organization would long have gone out of busisness.
> Another thing that puzzles me: What exactly was the decision/action
> that Michael H took?
> Greetings from Berlin
> mmp
>
>
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