innovative organizations

Christy Lee-Engel cdleee at gmail.com
Fri Apr 28 11:37:13 PDT 2006


Mark, thank you for this wonderful description of your living practice of
open space~~I could feel spaces billowing open inside my own imagination as
I read it.

a fragrant and full-of-blossoms day in Seattle,
Christy

--
Christy Lee-Engel, ND, LAc
One Sky Wellness Associates
6300 9th Ave NE, Ste 300
Seattle, WA 98115
voice: 206.363.5555
fax: 206.363.5533
mobile: 206.399.0868
Practice: http://oneskywellness.com
Weblog: http://lifecultivatinglife.blogspot.com
Open Space News: http://www.openspaceworld.org/news

On 4/28/06, Mark R. Jones (AT&T) <mark_r_jones at att.net> wrote:
>
> Hi Glory.
>
> The beauty of the work back then was that I was fully-embedded in
> organizations in senior management roles.  As part of a commitment Anne
> Stadler and I had made to exploring what it meant to "live our lives in Open
> Space", I had decided to experiment with leading and managing my
> organizations "in Open Space".
>
> This meant that along with doing on average bi-weekly OS events for
> various organizations — for-profit and non-profits — I conducted my
> leadership teams, program and project teams, and Lean Kaizens (12 per week
> on average across my "span of control"), staffs, and work groups in Open
> Space.  I carefully and subtly trained my staff and organizations to
> function in Open Space.
>
> Some cool observations from the experiments:
>   *  With teams conversant in trying to "Live in Open Space", I found that
> I and they could convene
>       profound and productive "spaces" as short as fifteen minutes, and as
> long as several months
>       — yes, in corporate settings
>   *  In 1997 I blended "Living in Open Space" with principles from
> Buddhist living to build a
>       team (and set of organizations) that could eliminate a "$3million" a
> day production problem.
>       It took about six weeks for folks to really get it — and when they
> did, they not only solved the
>       production problem but innovated a set of processes and tools that
> are still in use today
>   *  In 2000, I tried the blended approach in the bowels of the US
> Government.  About three
>       to four months into the experiment, a Government manager exclaimed
> that "we" had been
>       doing that "Open Space stuff".  I had never used the term "Open
> Space" in that setting.
>       Apparently folks got curious about what they were experiencing in
> the daily life of the
>       organization and started to research what it might be.  And
> discovered that in fact we had
>       been conducting our work in Open Space.  This came as quite a
> surprise to some of the "OD"
>       folks who had  "made up their minds" about things like OST and AI —
> without ever (knowingly)
>       participating in them.
>   *  Working with the CEO (who was my boss) from my previous company, my
> job was to infuse
>       and embody a ""Living in Open Space" practice into our work force,
> and particularly our
>       executive decision-making processes (think "off-sites").  I watched
> as this contributed
>       to our financial success as an organization, and allowed me the
> financial option to "retire"
>       from the "rat race" and explore living my life in Open Space in the
> service of the transformation
>       of consciousness.  Which is what I do nowadays !
>
> In the seventies I spent five years living in an intentional community
> (7x24 residential community).  We did not "Live in Open Space" -- yet the
> experience profoundly positively shaped my life.  I had an extended family
> that had experimented with convening itself ala OS-like Law and Principles
> for a number of years.  Anne Stadler suggested that the next experiment
> should be an intentional community based on "Living in Open Space".  So she
> founded the "Spirited Work Community" in 1999.  With that, our focus (Anne
> and I) changed from predominantly organization-oriented OS to
> community-oriented OS.  And I drastically reduced the pace and my
> involvement in OST events.  This experiment led us to India in 2001, and
> later again in 2004 with an expanded configuration that included Peggy
> Holman.  The 2001 trip brought about the establishment of the Radiant
> Networking" experiment — which continues to this day, and shapes the work
> and participation of Anne, Peggy, and myself (individually and
> collectively).
>
> In the nineties, the "pace" was exciting and profoundly meaningful to me.
>  And eventually, I felt that I had pretty much "mined the goodies" — I was
> no longer being surprised and growing from the experiments.  The results
> were always positive and always the same — which was good — but I needed to
> find the next learning and growth edge.  I kept notebooks to track and map
> my experiments.
>
> My experimental trajectory regarding Open Space progressed from Item-1 to
> Item-8:
>    (1)  OST for the increased effectiveness of individuals
>    (2)  Living in OS for the evolution and transformation of individual
> consciousness
>    (3)  OST for the increased effectiveness of groups and organizations
>    (4)  Living in OS for the evolution and transformation of
> organizational consciousness
>    (5)  OST for the increased effectiveness of communities
>    (6)  Living in OS for the evolution of collective ("Community")
> consciousness
>    (7)  Living in OS as an integral wellness practice for the
> transformation of (individual and
>          collective ) consciousness — Self | Other | The Whole
>    (8)  Radiant Networking — Practices of Peace — Integral Wellness
>
>
> "Pace" drove both Anne and I to our explorations of what I call
> "efficiency":
>     What is the minimum necessary but sufficient gentle structure upon
> which we can hang things ?
>
> Harrison sometimes frames this as "what is one less thing to do?"
> Peggy sometimes frames this as "what is the basic underlying pattern?"
> Tom Atlee sometimes frames this as discerning "pattern languages"
> Anne has taken this to the simple inquiry of "what is optimal . . . "
>
> Based on conversations that Peggy, Tom, Chris Corrigan and I have had — I
> suspect that the more one mucks — with intention and intensity — with Open
> Space, the more Open Space becomes a "life practice" for everyday living and
> community.  And one becomes even more appreciative of the experience — thus
> the more deeply and pervasively one mucks with it.  Nowadays, I rarely refer
> to Open Space Technology, for me Open Space has simply become a way of
> living.
>
>
> Thanks for the compassionate and inviting asking !
>
>
> *Mark R. Jones
> **Chief Executive Officer
> The Sunyata Group
> The Integral Wellness Group
> *
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> PO Box 58788
> Renton, Washington
> USA 98058-1788
> Phone:      425-413-6000
> e-Mail:      sunyata at att.net <mailto:sunyata at att.net> <sunyata at att.net>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>

*
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