givens

Fri Nov 26 07:01:18 PST 2004

If I have a personal agenda with the sponsor in
the pre-event meeting(s) it is to help them to understand that the space
already is open, no matter what they may think or do about it. HO

This is so profoundly important. It is the recognition that the watercooler of serendipity - the informal organization - is where the conversations are always open, and often more creative and honest than those in the formal organization. And that the informal organization is the source of everything that ultimately happens in the formal organization anyway.

Helping leaders and managers understand this is step one, I think, in a way that cultivates their trust with us and our trust with them. The next step is asking them a question like: what would you do if you could tap into a power that you couldn't control but that would make you more effective and happy about yourself in your role as leader/manager? If they express interest in the power, my role is to then to help them discover just that.I become their trusted guide in a new land.

jack

jack ricchiuto
two.one.six/three.seven.three/seven.four.seven.five
www.designinglife.com / www.appreciativeleadership.org

> ------------Original Message------------
> From: Harrison Owen <hhowen at comcast.net>
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Date: Fri, Nov-26-2004 9:00 AM
> Subject: Re: givens
>
> I think I am becoming clearer about my point of discomfort with
> "Givens."
> Real Givens (as opposed to apparent) are truly immutable, or as close
> to it
> as such things go on Planet Earth. And for me that would include
> Gravity and
> the force of Self-organization, and maybe a few others which do not
> spring
> immediately to mind. Everything else is up for grabs, if not now then
> later.
> I absolutely concur with the notion that we must have serious and
> probing
> discussions with sponsors prior to an OS -- but the focus should not
> (probably) be about immutable Givens, but rather about what I might
> call
> "existential conditions as they see them." For me this conversation
> usually
> starts with two questions. 1) Why do you want to do this gathering? And
> 2)
> If it all "worked," what would have happened?
>
> My focus is on a critical issue (for me). How open is the space? If all
> we
> are talking about is "motivating the troops" to implement the new
> marketing
> plan, for example -- it doesn't seem to me that the space is really
> open,
> and doing an open space would probably be counter-productive, if only
> because the troops might just start to take it seriously and change the
> plan, no matter what had been said about The Plan being a sacred Given.
>
> Most of the Givens I have heard people talking about are not truly
> immutable. It may be the case that nobody wants to force the issue, but
> the
> fact remains that all budgets change, all procedures mutate, all
> structures
> evolve, transform, or die. If I have a personal agenda with the sponsor
> in
> the pre-event meeting(s) it is to help them to understand that the
> space
> already is open, no matter what they may think or do about it. Their
> ultimate success will depend upon recognition of that fact, and a
> willingness to involve everybody who cares in the navigation of that
> space.
> If they go for less, they will get less. And for sure I will not have
> done
> anybody a favor if I create the (false) impression that someone has the
> power to keep certain things off the agenda and away from the Wall. Of
> course we all have our foibles and blind spots -- and for some period
> of
> time, maybe even a long time -- we can get away with it. But I believe
> it to
> be true that a clear eyed view of things as they actually are is
> useful.
>
> 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
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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Larry
> Peterson
> Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 5:52 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: givens
>
> Jeff:  I think you are on to something.
>
> "Container" or "Givens" or things that are not intended to be on the
> table by the sponsor of an event are both social constructions and
> acknowledgement of "something" that is there.  If I sit on a chair,
> that
> is gone, I will fall on my ass (or some other part of my anatomy) - I
> take that as given.   If there is a business plan that requires board
> approval for change - that is usually taken as a "given".  It does not
> mean that it cannot be changed, but it is there now - just like Human
> Rights Codes and others thing are likely there.  Of course, in Canada,
> these things may be a little less open for immediate negotiation as
> they
> are in the US.  I don't think George saw anything in Iraq that should
> be
> taken a given, other than his socially constructed vision for its
> future.
>
> I think it also relates to levels of awareness.  At one level there are
> no givens, every moment comes into being with the opportunity for
> novelty.  However, most rocks don't decide to decompose in a few days
> -- granite takes a little longer.  Some of my clients, from their
> perspective, have some real givens that they construct.  I think naming
> and reducing the number of them is helpful as part of planning to open
> space or deciding whether or not to open space in this situation with
> this client.  Helping them consciously reduce the number of givens is
> useful learning, I think.  Will open space work if that is not done -
> yes.
>
> However, I am seeing the consequences over this two week period.  One
> client I'm working with now on a series of 14 OS has had some real
> variability in how she has set the context - how clearly she has told
> people what this part of the government is wanting to do, to engage
> them
> in and the fact that it will not commit resources to the
> self-organization it wants to seed in the community.   The quality and
> energy of the events have been worse when she was not clear or
> passionate (she got a cold).  People were more combatitive when she was
> not honest with them from the beginning about the situation.  The OST
> has worked every time to engage people and energy around the theme.
> The
> issues emerge in the convergence and next steps when the context is not
> clearly and honestly set by the sponsor.
>
> Larry
>
> Larry Peterson
> Associates in Transformation
> Toronto, ON, Canada
> 416.653.4829
>
> larry at spiritedorg.com
> www.spiritedorg.com
>
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>From  Fri Nov 26 11:05:28 2004
Message-Id: <FRI.26.NOV.2004.110528.0500.>
Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2004 11:05:28 -0500
Reply-To: john at theexperiment.info
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: john engle <englejohn at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: Question on OS with a subgroup first
In-Reply-To: <054501c4c7b9$be2269a0$0b6691c6 at Traveler>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed

hi peggy.

i had worked with the director of a school in haiti and teachers and
administrators over the course of a couple of years. they would invite me to
come and do open space meetings from time to time.

i would always propose that we do something with the entire school--include
all the students. they never bit.

then one day one of the teachers called me and explained that she and
another teacher were organizing an open space with all the kids and asked me
if i would be willing to just give a little coaching.

this seemed like a great evolution to me.

here's the story for those interested:

http://www.globalchicago.net/haiti/haiti.cgi?DiscoveringAuthenticHarmony

while i totally buy the notion that ideally, "we're getting everyone who has
a stake, into the room" the power dynamics which often exist especially when
we're dealing in an extremely classist society and/or with children and
adults, and/or with americans and folks in a two-thirds world country,
another principle comes to mind for me: small is beautiful.

once those that customarily have the power, come to discover the potential
of trusting others and inviting input, the space really starts to open. and
maybe sometimes, this can happen more easily for them when they've had
experiences with it among their colleagues, and then they decide
collectively, to open it to others. it might be more sustainable.

i'm sure there's examples where the opposite of what i'm saying has worked
wonderfully.

john

http://JohnEngle.blogspot.com - November 9-16 Haiti Trip Report
http://JohnEngle.info
http://TheExperiment.info

>From: "Peggy S. Holman" <peggy at opencirclecompany.com>
>Reply-To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
>To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>Subject: Question on OS with a subgroup first
>Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:18:45 -0800
>
>I've always been a believer that OS is best done by bringing all
>stakeholders together right away.  The OS with the street kids has given me
>a situation that for the first time makes me wonder if this is always true.
>  I'm referring to the teachers and wondering if we had done an OS with
>just teachers first if it would have made a difference in both their
>experience and the young people's experience.
>
>I'm curious how others see this.  Is there ever a time when you have found
>it useful to do an OS with a subgroup before bringing the whole system
>together?
>
>Peggy
>
>___________________________________
>Peggy Holman
>The Open Circle Company
>15347 SE 49th Place
>Bellevue, WA  98006

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