Good Old Ralph!

Sun Apr 24 17:36:32 PDT 2005

Got one! A while ago, I "did" an Open Space for the US Forest Service" 400
of the senior executives on the future of the Service. And the Chief was one
Dale Robinson. Very nice fellow -- but the CHIEF. Anyhow -- he posted his
session. I think it was on his "6 Management Principles." And nobody came.

I found Dale standing in the middle of the floor (everybody else had left
for their sessions) looking like a 13 year old who had invited all his
friends to his birthday party -- but nobody showed.

I suggested to Dale that he could go out and eat worms (what you do when you
are really depressed). Or he could look at the wall closely -- and if he
failed to find his 6 Management Principles written, albeit in some other
words, I would gladly eat my famous hat. I still have my hat, without a
tooth mark.

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 Seamus
McInerney
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2005 8:06 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Good Old Ralph!

Well and diplomatically put.

Your comments have caused me to consider the visuals of the OS. The group
body language as it were.

Many stories have been posted about the great discussions that have taken
place in OS. The Moose or other animal that gets dragged out from under the
table by whatever brave soul or topic. But there must also be stories of
the bosses or large egos who post in certainty that all and sundry will be
in attendance only to find that no one appears. I'd be interested to hear
some. Maybe they go unnoticed as the crowd gathers elsewhere.

Here on the listserv we are missing the visuals, the body language, the
gravitation of the crowd towards a particular topic before a word is
spoken. We also have no idea of how many Butterflies and Bees there are (I
dislike the term 'Lurkers'), checking a topic out but moving on for
whatever reason. Here you are only visible if you speak. In a "live" OS
there is a vibe, always a vibe that is not delayed by time zones or
bedtimes or full mailboxes. So maybe it's just not the same as "live" OS.

Anyway, any stories about what happens when the big egos meet the big OS
and the feet go elsewhere.
Shay

At 22:48 24/04/2005, you wrote:
>I suppose I could blame all this on good old Ralph, who is without question
>one of my oldest and dearest friends. Or maybe it is the springtime - at
>least here in the Northern Hemisphere. Sap rising -- and all that sort of
>thing.
>Then again, it may just be the re-appearance of one of my favorite roles -
>The Old Curmudgeon. But it really isn't about blame (on Ralph's head or
>anybody's head) - and Springtime Spirits are always to be celebrated, even
>when they are dancing a rather different jig. Which leaves the Old
>Curmudgeon, but you must be the judge.
>
>I guess I just want us all to take a deep breath and pause for a thought.
We
>might just remember that "we" here on OSLIST constitute some 400+ folks
from
>all over the world -- having different cultures, different sensitivities,
>different first languages, different feelings about what is on the edge,
and
>what may be "over" the edge. We are also a very public discussion - Global,
>to put it straightly. And for some folks - this is their first introduction
>to Open Space, and hopefully not be their last.
>
>Now it is quite true that OSLIST is all about Open Space. It is even more
>true that we must walk our talk, and BE an Open Space. But the electronic
>medium that we are using (a listserve - one of the oldest and clunkiest)
has
>certain limitations. IT CAN BE VERY HARD TO USE THE LAW OF TWO FEET. Yes,
we
>all do have the DELETE button. But it is also true that every item on this
>LIST comes up in linear fashion. You have to click on it to see what is
>happening. To be sure you can then consign the item to the great
>cyber-beyond. Unless, of course, you are sufficiently upset that you
consign
>the whole OSLIST to the great cyber-beyond. At which point we - that is all
>the rest of us - lose something very precious - YOU!
>
>So, I rather think of this great electronic confabulation as an on-going
>Talking Stick Ceremony. You all know the rules. If you have the Stick, you
>talk. If you don't (have the stick), you listen. And in either case you
talk
>or listen with respect. Respect for yourself - and so you must speak your
>truth. And respect for your listeners, so that you speak your truth in a
way
>that may be heard.
>
>God forbid that we turn this OSLIST into a boring sea of mush and political
>correctness. And when it comes to edges, and walking on edges, I have done
>no small amount of that myself - and have no intention of reforming.
>However, I also think we share a Trust - to continue our tradition of
>speaking our truth with respect.
>
>The Old Curmudgeon
>
>
>
>Harrison Owen
>7808 River Falls Drive
>Potomac, Maryland   20845
>Phone 301-365-2093
>
>Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://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
>
>
>
>
>*
>*
>==========================================================
>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

Séamus McInerney
50 Carrigdhoun, Waterpark, Carrigaline, Co. Cork
http://homepage.tinet.ie/~xroadsfac/

*
*
==========================================================
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