PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS

Tue Dec 21 10:45:45 PST 2004

I just love the way you think things through, Harrison.  You have a way of
taking seemingly convoluted issues and presenting them in a real clear
'sunshiney' way that always leaves me with a 'aha' and a smile.

It reminds me of the phrase 'robust dialogue' (from the book Execution by
Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan) where the authors can't stop talking about the
virtues of such a dialogue. A dialogue is robust when it is dynamic,
truthful, uninhibited, (mature and respectful of others views - I added
that) and puts 'truth over harmony'.  I believe where there is robust
dialogue between mature and secure individuals, then the question of
provocative questions simply does not arise.

Anu Parmar
SCA Strategies Inc.
83 Leander Street,
Brampton, Ont. L6S 3M4
Canada
(905) 457 8623
anuparmar at scastrategies.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at comcast.net>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 8:04 AM
Subject: [SPAM] Re: PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS

>I was recently asked to write a piece about "Nescience and Open Space." I
> suspect your reaction paralleled mine -- what the hell is that? Truthfully
> I
> had never seen the word "Nescience" before -- although I could guess the
> meaning. Something about "ignorance." But that doesn't quite do it. If you
> take the word apart, just a little bit, something a little deeper starts
> to
> come out. Ne-Science. Science is knowledge, or the process of gaining
> knowledge. Nescience would be the absence of knowledge, usually called
> ignorance -- but maybe more. It occurred to me that Nescience and Science
> might relate to each other in the same way that "negative" and "positive"
> do
> when one speaks about electricity or an electrical field. Neither one is
> good or bad, and both are necessary in order for current to flow. Useful
> power only shows up when the positive is grounded in the negative. All by
> itself, the positive does nothing.
>
> A little arcane and weird, I guess, but following the thought along --
> Nescience would be the negative field which draws out Science. Or --
> Nescience is the Open Space in which knowledge shows up. Or -- Necience is
> the question and Science the answer.
>
> Which might bring you to the curious position that Open Space is
> questionable. Which is true. And it might also give us another way of
> thinking about what happens in Open Space. Coarsely put -- Open Space is a
> huge sucking hole that draws out knowledge. It is not about asking
> provocative questions -- but BEING the essence of question itself.
>
> I apologize to all those on the LIST (Probably the majority) who do not
> have
> English as a primary language. If what you have read above sounds a little
> twisted and strange -- that is not due to your unfamiliarity with English.
> It is pretty damn weird -- but I guess the same could be said for me.
>
> Anyhow, I have been having some fun, and who knows whether I will write
> the
> article. One side of me dearly wants to rise to the challenge. Another
> side
> of me says -- Hold on a minute. We got enough trouble without putting out
> an
> outrageous title -- something like "Open Space is Ignorance."
>
> Harrison
>
> 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
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Brendan
> McKeague
> Sent: Monday, December 20, 2004 2:56 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS
>
> G'day folks
>
> I've been pondering lately on the 'art of provocative questioning'  - or
> curiosity.
> Working recently with couple of 'undecided' clients -  co-designing a
> process for working with staff groups on such themes as 'team-building
> days' or 'planning conferences' - we've discussed the notion of 'different
> purpose, different space, different process'
> They had already decided that they wished to go off-site but seemed
> reluctant to engage in any unconventional or 'way-out/weird' activities...
>
> One of my key questions to them now is:
> Why would you invest so much to take your staff, team, whatever away from
> their normal 'business as usual' space - place of work - and then just
> expose them to the same old 'business-as-usual' processes...where
> predetermined plans, outcomes, bells and whistles dominate the timetable?
>
> During the ensuing conversation, I usually have the opportunity to provide
> an invitation to consider a real alternative - if you are going away, then
> go away in more than just a physical sense - go away in terms of place,
> pace and space...
> a different place - removed from the usual environment, sights, smells,
> sounds, tastes, touches in order to create
> a different space - in which the unknown can be made known, the unusual
> can
> be accessed and the creativity of people can be unleashed at
> a different pace - a slowing down and/or a speeding up, determined by
> those
> who are there, in response to the energies and passion that emerge from
> them as they engage with each other and with the theme...
>
> This basic, simple question and subsequent conversation seems to have
> provoked a couple of welcome 'ah-ha' moments from sponsors struggling to
> accept the 'risks' associated with their 'loss of control' or fear of the
> unknown....
>
> It's so much fun developing 'provocative questions' - much easier than
> trying to provide answers!
>
> Any other favourite 'provocative questions' hanging around?
>
> Cheers
> Brendan
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> ------------------------------
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
> view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> ------------------------------
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
> view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
>

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

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist