controlling systems and transformationRe: What increases the likelihood of action?

Fri Nov 11 03:49:52 PST 2005

I have been brewing for many years how to explain to this space's alumni in 
50+ countries, my friends' 21 years exploration into : what controls global 
systems and any potential for innovation transformation, as well as today's 
networking revolution's opposite (sustainable diversity-communion or hell) 
futures for humanity. 

I havent yet found anyone on this listing who'd look likely to be engaged 
by "patterns of truly gravitational maths can be beautiful to map" (indeed 
since nothing is more Orwellian than spreadhseeting numbers, finding any 
mathematicians that would dare tell leaders how ugly this boardroom's 
excellence pursuit is compared with the collaborative (open) computing intents 
of my heros like von Neumann ain't easy)

But when it comes to media, I have always wanted to say : if all we can do is 
open media/space for 3-day intervals, then that's not much share of attention -
let alone voice - for being open through a human's lifetime

Anyways, an accidental happening in Washington DC hosted for 3 days by Traci 
Fenton of http://www.worldblu.com reminded me of another possibility. 3 people 
spoke about deeply human companies that compounded 100 times orignal 
investment for those who stayed with particularly inspired company systems for 
a generation. Of course far greater wealth multuipliers were developed round 
all other stakeholders because you can't fool all of the public (even in 
commercially saturated lands) for a generation even if you resort to billion 
dollar a year media pitches as glpobal brands now often do.  I was reminded 
that my family was intimately connected to one 100-win returns story and that 
it connected the two dark powers of economics and global media. Here is one 
extract from the story - more at http://therebeleconomist.blogspot.com 
http://value100.blogspot.com

My reason for posting this script (poor as my mathematician's wordsmithing may 
be) is to ask whether anyone can see a way of recycling it to challenge 
societies in chnarge of investment to revalue media or numbers or sustainable 
globalisation's both!

sincerely
chris macrae wcbn007 at easynet.co.uk dc region tel 301 881 1655

----------------------------
Large Western organisations ordinarily do not like to hear that breakthrough 
innovations of the sort that develop new industries and enable national 
economies to leap forward cannot be managed, nor siloised functionally. They 
can be founded and culturally stewarded but that is a different system we will 
discuss later or over here.

No media, let alone a globalising one, has been in the position to cover 
innovation’s story with such verve as The Economist did over the generation it 
compounded 100-win growth. It chose a few quirky phrases such as 
telecommuting, entrepreneurial revolution, intrapreneurial now, death of 
distance networking, to identify heros in these stories - memorably and in a 
way that it made nigh on impossible for any outside consultant/professional to 
pretend to speak the language and then manage something directly opposite. 

Another post will map the original compasses of these phrases but here we will 
provide an example of one innovation story after discussing a simple but 
liberating impact this genre had on leadership.  What happened was that people 
started hosting cafes or dinners) where a few large company leaders came to 
explore a catchphases’ stories. Leaders self-selected themselves so in the 
words of the world’s most prolific facilitator of innovation spaces Harrison 
Owen  “the people who came were the right people” to enjoy questioning the 
invitation’s challenge. After hearing a few of The Economist’s stories, the 
leadership conversations would become highly spirited, as well as plain good 
fun. People tapped into the childlike glee of exploring rather than the adult 
at all cost don’t lose scientific face.

These celebrations of innovation grew to be world famous wherever exceptional 
hosts –and their deep futures networks - existed. In America Herman Khan’s 
Hudson Institute think-dinners or exploration trips provided one exceptional 
series over many years. In other countries like Japan, which had already been 
encouraged by a glowing survey of which of their developments were best for 
the world, even government institutions hosted these events. In this way 
ahead, national contributions to world trade could be a noble calling, 
according to the attribution of one kindly world leader.  

People however big their leadership responsibilities did not tend to forget 
experiencing one of these high spirited events including the time when among 
Romano Prodi cheer-led a chorus of the 10 green bottles that must accidentally 
fall for entrepreneurial revolution in one of Venice’s swankiest hotels and 
for Italy’s leading businessmen. In effect, these innovation classes planted 
their own leadership alumni group which tended to reach clusters of industry 
sectors as well as most politicians who became national leaders in the 70s 
through the 90s. Moreover until the mid 1980s when spreadhseets started 
drowning boardrooms in numbers, innovation stories had a fair chance of 
propagating up through the chattering classes.

Insert Pilkington Innovation Story here.

Quoting Peggy Holman <peggy at opencirclecompany.com>:

 And you thought I was done!  Here's the next installment.

 I find myself still mulling what it takes to increase the likelihood of life 
 after an event.  What sparks the energy for action?   In other words, to the 
 extent that process matters, what are the elements of great process?

 I mentioned some of what I believe makes a difference in my last message:

 *  Framing the Law of Two Feet as taking responsibility for what you love

 *  Using silence in the collective during morning announcements and evening 
 news

 *  Taking time and inviting diversity

 As I've continued thinking about this, I'd add a few others, mostly 
 reaffirming "old friends" that seem worth making explicit:

 *  Setting bold intention.  The more ambitious the purpose, the more the 
 potential energy to transform it contains.  It may seem obvious, but I often 
 find myself coaching sponsors to be daring.  Questions that inspire, 
 enliven, wake people up are the ones that bring out creativity and 
 excitement.

 *  Welcoming wildcards.  Think of it as extreme diversity.  Harrison calls 
 it welcoming the stranger.  It is often the people who seem least like they 
 belong who bring the unexpected perspective that causes a breakthrough.  It 
 happens all the time in OS's about youth.  Adults are ALWAYS amazed at what 
 young people bring to the mix.

 *  Welcoming all aspects of participants.  I learned this more deeply from 
 Tova Averbuch earlier this year.  It is an important variation of welcoming 
 the stranger.  To be willing to dive deep, people need to feel welcome.  At 
 the Kaleidoscope Café, this lesson came clear on the second day.  There was 
 a strong leaning in most of the participants towards the role of the heart. 
 Several people, who brought a strong orientation towards collective 
 intelligence, weren't feeling particularly welcome.  In opening the space on 
 this day, Tova Averbuch did an incredible job of making room for the head 
 and the heart.  This created an opening in which those feeling isolated 
 found ways to express what they were experiencing, bringing themselves more 
 fully present and providing the whole gathering with the gift of a more 
 whole sense of itself.  It enabled insights and conversations that took us 
 into places we might not have otherwise been able to go.

 *  Invoking the spirit of the work.  Setting the tone as the space is opened 
 is an art.  Also at the Kaleidoscope Café, I experienced one of the most 
 powerful invocations ever.  On the second day, preparing the stage for Tova 
 to do her magic, a young musician at the gathering turned us all into rhythm 
 instruments, standing up, tapping on our bodies to create a quiet background 
 beat as Maria Scordialos rapped her invocation, daring us to go deeper, to 
 experiment as we did our work that day.  The result was that virtually every 
 session took an approach that went beyond words in some way.  It led to some 
 amazing breakthroughs.

 Sidebar story:  I got a new insight into how ideas move to action discovered 
 because we began the session by toning together!  I never would have used 
 this approach for this topic without the powerful invocation that morning to 
 boldly experiment, to dive deep.  The toning became a breakthrough metaphor 
 for the underlying pattern of idea to action:  it starts with an intention - 
 a call, and a few voices are attracted.   Sometimes there are missteps, 
 wrong notes.  Yet, when there's a conviction to stay with the call, at some 
 point individual voices are attracted and cohere into a whole and action 
 becomes visible.  We experienced this pattern on multiple levels:  the 
 toning, the way the group formed (after posted time, one person came, then 
 another, when the third arrived, it became a session), our exploration of 
 the topic itself.

 Right timing.  One environmental factor that strikes me as important is 
 right timing.  What is the state of the situation?  Has there been time and 
 energy invested already, just no clear answers emerging?  Is it a whole new 
 subject?  I think in many of our most complex issues over the last few 
 years, incredible work has been done, lots of creative answers identified, 
 yet nothing quite taking root.  In these cases, because the ideas are ripe 
 for harvesting, enabling the system to talk to itself could be just the 
 ticket to generate coherence.

 *  Preparing the field.  Being mindful of the "container" we create for the 
 work is perhaps one of the most important and subtle jobs of an OS 
 practitioner.

 My understanding of the nature of "containers" for the work we do has 
 evolved hugely through the years.  I used to think of the container as a 
 bowl, with sides that protect, creating a sense of safety through its form. 
 I think most of the change processes out there do create bowl-like psychic 
 structures (picture two hands cupped, as if to hold water), lots of safety, 
 some room for the unknown and very constrained space.  I think as OS 
 practitioners begin, they often hold on pretty tight, creating bowl-like 
 spaces.  I know I did.  These spaces are serviceable but not nearly as juicy 
 as taking that next step into the "field" (picture two hands together, flat 
 and open).  This is a gift of Open Space, to offer a container open to the 
 air, the mystery.  The theme of the OS bounds the space, trusting 
 participants to care for themselves, each other and the whole.  In every OS 
 in which I've been part, people have collectively lived up to this 
 expectation.

 Here's the edge of my own learning:  I think the work of the OS practitioner 
 who wishes to support action beyond an event learns to release the container 
 into the hands of the participants.  When action continues, it is in part 
 because the container has been internalized, becoming a web of connections 
 among participants.  They now hold their own future.  I think that is why 
 re-opening space for coherent action on the last day of a multiple day open 
 space is so powerful.  It is an explicit invitation to take ownership of 
 what's next.  There's a coherence that comes of the web weaving itself. 
 Clearly, this can happen without the OS practitioner knowing any of this, 
 but I think the more we are mindful of giving away the container itself, 
 helping it morph into a web, the more we increase the potential for follow 
 on.

 Our job is to hold lightly and then let go, releasing the fate of those we've

 been serving into their own hands.

 We talk so much about holding space, I'm particularly interested in thoughts 
 about this idea of releasing space.

 So, that seems a good place to end these reflections and ask what you think.

 ----- Original Message ----- 
 From: "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net>
 To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
 Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 4:28 AM
 Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Deep Democracy..and concious social action

 > Goodness Peggy -- enough good stuff here for several weeks' serious
 > thinking. But did you have to do it all at once? I felt pretty well 
 > stuffed,
 > but the meal is delicious. Thank you!
 >
 > Harrison
 >
 > NEW EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!
 > hhowen at verizon.net
 > Harrison Owen
 > 7808 River Falls Drive
 > Potomac, Maryland 20845
 > Phone 301-365-2093
 > Skype hhowen
 > Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
 > Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
 > Personal website www.ho-image.com
 > OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
 > archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
 >
 >
 > -----Original Message-----
 > From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Peggy
 > Holman
 > Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2005 3:44 AM
 > To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
 > Subject: Re: Deep Democracy..and concious social action
 >
 > Hi all.  I'm plugging back in on this thread after more than a month 
 > away...
 >
 > It caught my eye because I am in the midst of witnessing remarkable 
 > post-OS
 > follow up work from multiple gatherings.
 >
 > It started with the International Practice of Peace conference in
 > 2003...what came out of that?
 > *  Global Citizen Journey, which is in the midst of building a library in
 > the Niger Delta with a delegation of 20 US folks and 20 Nigerians.
 > *  Youth for a New World - a Burundi/US partnership that has launched
 > multiple projects and raised a remarkable about of money in a short period
 > of time
 > *  Practice of Peace in New Mexico
 > *  indirectly, the OS with 2,100 Colombian street kids
 > and I could go on...a group of us interviewed about 25 of the 130
 > participants.  Many had projects that were either inspired or strengthened
 > by being at PoP.   100% of those interviewed said they were changed by the
 > experience.
 >
 > Recently, I've been part of three long (3+ days) OS's -- the Evolutionary
 > Salon, the Kaleidoscope Cafe (this was an intriguing hybrid, with an
 > emergent OS core), and the biggest test -- an OS with 30 no-nonsense
 > journalists.  Each left passionately engaged people and projects in their
 > wake.
 >
 > (An aside on the journalism OS...we convened a conference call 3 weeks 
 > after
 >
 > the gathering.  Of the original 30, three-quarters of them were either on
 > the call or let us know they definitely want to be on future calls.  About
 > 1/3 are actively engaged in preparing for two projects that grew out of 
 > the
 > gathering.  Mind you, these are BUSY people, with full time jobs in a
 > SERIOUS industry!  And still, they're staying involved.)
 >
 > What's going on?  What is sparking all of this energy for action?
 >
 > I think there are several things feeding this.  One is the times -- as 
 > with
 > the journalists, the more things fall apart, the more urgency.  In other
 > words, the context is changing.  I think that's why the journalists are so
 > hungry for the connection to others.  More than any other group I've 
 > worked
 > with, I get the feeling that these folks have no where to turn for a ray 
 > of
 > hope.  Now they have each other and they're committed to maintaining the
 > connections.
 >
 > I also think there is a quality of how more and more of us are using OS 
 > that
 >
 > makes a difference.  Three aspects I think are making a difference for me:
 >
 > 1.  Defining the Law of Two Feet as "taking responsibility for what you
 > love".  I no longer talk about the Law of Two Feet as passion and
 > responsibility.  While basically equivalent, there's something very 
 > powerful
 >
 > about this framing -- it is highly actionable for both individuals and
 > groups.  I have seen it literally change lives as people make it their
 > mantra and follow it well beyond the event.  I had one participant tell me 
 > a
 >
 > story of how it turned her from feeling like a helpless victim nursing her
 > wounded ego in a corner to stepping in with full voice into the place she
 > felt called to be.
 >
 > 2.  Using silence in the plenary.  Morning announcements, evening news, I
 > always begin with silence.  This is really subtle and yet I know it 
 > matters.
 >
 > It seems to connect people with themselves, each other, and the whole.
 > Seeing 2,100 street kids, who were perceived as having virtually no
 > discipline, be silent together was deeply profound.  From this small
 > collective act, they seemed to gather strength.  I could sense them 
 > savoring
 >
 > it.  I know it blew their teachers' minds!
 >
 > 3.  Time and diversity.  These old friends really matter.  Two and a half
 > days or more.  Time to cook is so vital when dealing with complexity. 
 > PLUS
 > bringing together unlikely mixes of people -- the whole system -- prepares
 > the soil for the unexpected.  The more creative the definition of the 
 > system
 >
 > the better!  At the journalism OS, there were the usual suspects -- print,
 > broadcast, new media, editors, writers, bloggers, publishers, media
 > activists, educators. -- and others.  Perhaps the most important
 > participants were the  wild cards -- a college senior majoring in
 > journalism, a wall street analyst. They brought perspectives and ideas 
 > that
 > aren't normally part of the conversation.
 >
 > I think these three aspects bring qualities to the work of creating a
 > fertile field that up the likelihood for good things to happen.  I'd say 
 > the
 >
 > first two create a quality of consciousness that matters. A lot.
 >
 > In my reading 300+ messages tonight, a favorite was this line from Raffi:
 >
 >> ...OS is one of the greatest ways of
 >> tricking somebody into developing a spiritual practice. To do this work
 >> well there is no other way. And sometimes that's scary.
 >>
 >> Grounding. grounding. grounding.
 >>
 >
 > I know that's true for me.  OS as a spiritual practice.  Harrison....did 
 > you
 >
 > know right from the start?
 >
 >
 > As I've been working to understand the underlying patterns at play, my
 > colleague, Tom Atlee, and I have put something together that I find 
 > useful.
 > Good process awakens consciousness -- individually and collectively.  It
 > also activates systems -- affecting both individual and collective 
 > behaviour
 >
 > and structures.  How? What Tom pointed out to me -- there are lots of 
 > people
 >
 > working to awaken consciousness, with some effect.  And there are lots of
 > people working to change systems, also with some impact.  Mostly, these
 > folks don't interact; in fact they often don't get along!  What good 
 > process
 >
 > (think OS) does is address both consciousness and systems -- the inner and
 > outer for individuals and the collective.  By doing this, dramatically
 > better outcomes in both consciousness and systems occur.  OS does it so
 > elegantly that it happens without most of us even knowing that's what is
 > happening.
 >
 > I think the more we as practitioners work with this underlying dynamic --
 > through continually inviting people to take responsibility for what they
 > love, using silence, inviting diversity and making time for the work, we
 > increase the likelihood for radically improved results.  We literally
 > liberate the human spirit!  And the connections people make with each 
 > other
 > and their ideas create a field that sparks amazing energy and action.
 >
 > So, Chris, while 100% won't be changed, with a little mindful practice, we
 > are in the midst of a fomenting revolution.
 >
 > from somewhat overcast (but too dark for it to matter at the moment)
 > Seattle,
 > Peggy
 >
 > ________________________________
 > Peggy Holman
 > The Open Circle Company
 > 15347 SE 49th Place
 > Bellevue, WA  98006
 > (425) 746-6274
 >
 > www.opencirclecompany.com
 >
 >
 >
 > ----- Original Message ----- 
 > From: "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net>
 > To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
 > Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 1:30 PM
 > Subject: [OSLIST] The Sales Person's Holy Grail
 >
 >
 >> Chris wrote: "Nothing de-energises my 16 hour days as an open networker
 >> more
 >> than to spend my time connecting someone who appeared to come out of an
 >> open
 >> space saying the number 1 humanitarian change that matters to them is X
 >> ....only to find later that the open space person is no longer that
 >> interested in the cause."
 >>
 >> Chris my friend -- if you ever manage to find, or better yet invent, the
 >> answer to your prayers -- you will instantaneously become a
 >> multi-billionaire. For you will have unearthed the Holy Grail of every
 >> Salesperson on the planet: identifying and holding dedicated, committed
 >> customers at close to the 100% level. Sure you can raise your chances and
 >> narrow the odds, but as all sales people know, lots of shoe leather on 
 >> the
 >> pavement comes with the territory. Sorry for the 16 hour days!
 >>
 >> Actually, I think OS does quite a bit to advance your interest and narrow
 >> the odds. At the very least you can be reasonably well assured that
 >> anybody
 >> who cares enough to come presumably cares something about the issue at
 >> hand
 >> (whatever that might be). And of that total group, some smaller subset
 >> will
 >> care enough to raise some aspect of the issue at hand -- and if they 
 >> raise
 >> it with passion, focus, logic, and commitment, you may well have your
 >> man/woman. And you haven't done a thing but watch. I'd call that pretty
 >> energy efficient! -- But of course, that person may turn out to be a
 >> fraud.
 >> You just can't tell, but the odds are tilting more in your favor. :-)
 >>
 >> Sorry to go on so -- but the focusing/narrowing that occurs naturally in
 >> any
 >> OS is something I find that many people miss. Amidst all the effusion of
 >> ideas, energy -- to say nothing of chaos -- a rather precise process of
 >> self-selection and identification is going on. For a client interested in
 >> identifying potential leadership, taking note of who steps forward to
 >> claim
 >> their passion with responsibility will produce a short list of likely
 >> candidates. It may not be perfect, but it is surely a good place to 
 >> start.
 >>
 >> Harrison
 >>
 >> NEW EMAIL ADDRESS!!!!
 >> hhowen at verizon.net
 >> Harrison Owen
 >> 7808 River Falls Drive
 >> Potomac, Maryland 20845
 >> Phone 301-365-2093
 >> Skype hhowen
 >> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
 >> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
 >> Personal website www.ho-image.com
 >> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
 >> archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
 >>
 >> -----Original Message-----
 >> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Chris
 >> Macrae
 >> Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 2:00 PM
 >> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
 >> Subject: Re: deep democracy
 >>
 >>  Harrison -regarding missed points love all
 >>
 >> REphrasing my question : what more could be done at the space or while
 >> people
 >> are in its vicinty to work out how deep each person's deepest cause is? 
 >> On
 >> globalsiation causes such as here
 >> http://www.valuetrue.com/home/community.cfm?
 >> startrow=4&intClassID=-1
 >>
 >> I don't ask because I am capable of following up each cause but because I
 >> have
 >> over 12 years logged up many people across world networks who are. 
 >> Nothing
 >> de-
 >> energises my 16 hour days as an open networker more than to spend my time
 >> connecting someone who appeared to come out of an open space saying the
 >> number
 >> 1 humanitarian chnage that matters to them is X with the person amongst
 >> the
 >> 2000 I know from conversastions over a decade to be most committed to 
 >> that
 >> cause only to find later that the open space person is no longer that
 >> interested in the cause. I agree people may good naturedly over-commit to
 >> all
 >> sorts of good stuff when with kindred spirits without fully reckoning how
 >> much
 >> time it will take. But I would like  some way whilst we are all there in
 >> real
 >> time and real space of working out who is most deeply committed. Suppose
 >> there
 >> are 100 activists there, I would rather have left the open space finding
 >> 10
 >> that really had mentioned their number 1 cause for life than 50 great
 >> causes
 >>
 >> but not knowing who will be a cause holder for what. It's like some
 >> gigantic
 >>
 >> game of snap, where OS seems to me to miss a trick!
 >>
 >> ------------
 >> Chris, I think you still are missing the point, at least my point. The
 >> core
 >> issue, as I see it, is not OS as a method, but rather the passion of the
 >> people involved which might lead them to follow through on their
 >> commitments,
 >> or at least apparent commitments. People make choices with their time and
 >> their lives. What may seem critical at the moment will often become a
 >> minor
 >> concern when seen in the larger scheme of things. And maybe more to the
 >> point,
 >> what you may deem to be critical, may not appear in the same light to
 >> others.
 >> And by the same token, your schedule for follow through may not be 
 >> theirs.
 >> Of
 >> course we could, can and do extend the possibility for action
 >> electronically
 >>
 >> and with follow on gatherings. In effect we can and must make every 
 >> effort
 >> to
 >> keep the space open. But at the end of the day, and indeed on every 
 >> day --
 >> it
 >> is the peoples' choice.
 >>

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