SOS and OST/Craig

[Harrison Owen]

Craig -- "The System" in my conversations, has two possible referents. First is the organic, self-organizing, Complex Adaptive System which arises as a natural phenomenon out of the interaction of the people who care (about whatever) and their environment. No single person or small group "creates" this system. It is in fact emergent from the collective enterprise. This system can always be trusted to be itself and to seek ways of optimizing itself internally with its parts and functions, and externally with the surrounding environment. In the process there will always be some level of chaos, conflict and confusion (come with the territory) but  there is also an ongoing search for effective and peaceful integration within and without. Symbiosis, it turns out is more effective than war -- and usually a lot more pleasant to say nothing of fun. The classical expression of this is "The Search for Fitness." And this, I believe, is the common experience in Open Space. And we have that experience not because OST is so great. but because we are. Put somewhat differently, we have the opportunity to be fully and effectively what we are (essentially) -- self organizing. The Buddhists might call it, "Perceiving our original face." I call it, Coming home.

The second referent for "The System" is always the creation of a single person or a small group, which is sometimes called The Formal System. It is inevitably external and arbitrary. External in the sense that it is "laid on from outside," and arbitrary in the sense that always fails to take full account of the massive complexity and interactions. In many cases, this System is fundamentally irrelevant to the task and needs at hand -- which is one reason why we have constant re-organizations. Folks keep hoping that they will "get it right." And it rarely if ever dawns on them that it is not that they are doing something wrong -- they are doing the wrong thing. In other cases, it seems that The System does quite well, but I would argue that this is a serendipitous situation where the designers happenstantially paralleled the inherent self-organizing system. Not bad -- but why spend all that time and effort to create something that was happening all by itself?

In all to many situations, the Formal System is massively destructive, especially when the designers force it, seeing their fundamental task as being that of Gaining Control. Control in itself is not the problem -- It is the blind assertion of control that throws the spanner in the works (monkey wrench in the machinery.) In a word, organizing a self-organizing system is, at best, a waste of time, and at worst, a disaster. 

The Formal System is never to be fully trusted, if only because it is external and arbitrary. It is a map and not the territory. As a map, it can be very useful, but never to be confused with the real deal. I think. Where we get in real trouble is when we think that The Formal System is the ONLY system. At such a point we would be very well advised NEVER to trust the System.

Harrison



 
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Dr.
Potomac, MD  20854
USA
301-365-2093
207-763-3261 (summer)
website www.openspaceworld.com
Personal Website www.ho-image.com

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Craig Gilliam 
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
  Sent: Saturday, August 12, 2006 7:57 AM
  Subject: Re: Craig


  To clarify--In my soul I have learned not to trust the system.  If I hear 
  Open Space and self-organizing systems, it says trust the system, that it 
  will find its own way, if it can be found.  My request is for your help in 
  my framing or getting a better handle on this issue of trust vs mistrust of 
  the system.  How do I marry, integrate, connect the two.  Thanks again, 
  Craig


  ----Original Message Follows----
  From: Craig Gilliam <wcraiggilliam at hotmail.com>
  Reply-To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Craig
  Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 11:43:17 +0000

  Open Space and Trusting the System--

  A jump ball question for anyone who wants to take a swipe at it--  It 
  suddenly dawned on me that my experience and perspective has always been 
  "never trust the system."  What I think I hear from Open Space and 
  self-organizing systems is that the system will find its own way, and, 
  hopefully, before too much damage is done.  Any thoughts or clarification?

  Thanks,
  Craig

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