innovative organizations--and community
Frank Deitle
commoikos at gmail.com
Sat May 27 11:30:20 PDT 2006
Mark and OS friends,
I was going thru the some unread OSLIST emails today and discovered
this gem in Mark's wonderful post about "living an open space life."
"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."
I'd like to hear more about the Spirited Work Community and open space
intentional communities in general. Ever since I discovered OST (or
did it discover me?) this year from the wonderful Lisa Heft, I have
fantasized about what a large-scale residential intentional
community/ecovillage/sustainable human settlement would be like if it
was visioned, organized, planned, executed, maintained, and governed
in Open Space. What kind of crazy, wonderful creature would that
become? What kind culture would emerge out of that? Are other people
out there thinking about this sort of thing? How do you see it
unfolding/coming about?
I recently started to build a website to explore my own
conceptualizations of such an endeavor. It is very much in its early
stages of development. It very well may be entirely naive. All I know
is that I can't stop thinking about it. The website is:
http://commoikos.googlepages.com.
Peace,
Frank Deitle
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>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
> On 4/27/06 6:41 PM, "Glory Ressler" <on.the.edge at sympatico.ca> wrote:
>
>
>
> Me too, Mark - I'd love to hear a story that reflects your
> experience/learning associated with the intense pace and # of sessions....
>
> Best wishes,
> Glory
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
> From: Tree Fitzpatrick
> <mailto:therese.fitzpatrick at gmail.com>
>
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>
> Sent: Thursday, April 27, 2006 9:21 PM
>
> Subject: Re: innovative organizations
>
>
> Wow, Mark Jones, you did more than two open space events per week one
> year!
>
> I am impressed.
>
> Has anyone else on this list had such a pace?
>
>
>
>
>
> * *
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>From Sat May 27 16:13:04 2006
Message-Id: <SAT.27.MAY.2006.161304.0400.>
Date: Sat, 27 May 2006 16:13:04 -0400
Reply-To: hhowen at verizon.net
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>
Organization: HH Owen and Co.
Subject: Re: open space and synchronicity
In-Reply-To: <27BDA144-7588-4DD3-A8CD-130939163328 at mac.com>
MIME-version: 1.0
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Phelim -- I admit it is pretty remarkable when Bumble Bees and Butterflies
show up in the national press. Or is it? After all it is springtime, even in
the UK, I think. And one might ask how many people passed by those same
papers and immediately thought of Open Space? One, I would guess. You!
I am not trying to rain on your parade, or strip mystery from the majesty of
the Universe. Heaven forbid. But for me the real magic of your experience
(which I think is replicated by the experience of multiple other folks) is
that when our space is really open somehow all of the incidental details of
our complex lives vibrate with meaning. The trivial becomes significant as
part of the warp and woof of a larger experience. Things we never noticed
before stand out and assume a place in the tapestry of life. And all sorts
of other wild, verging on hallucinogenic, things!
A parallel experience for me comes when I shoot (photographs). On those days
when I am "really hot" heightened sensory awareness goes right off the
charts. Every tiny shadow, speck of color, odd reflection seems to dance and
overwhelm. Everything is significant to the point of overload. And my camera
ceases to be a filter or funnel -- Somehow the camera is me, I am the
camera, and collectively we (camera and me) are integral to the world
around.
Pretty weird I guess. Or -- just another day in Open Space :-)
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland 20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Phelim
McDermott
Sent: Saturday, May 27, 2006 10:09 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: open space and synchronicity
Hi Harrison,
I agree about the heightened perception however i think that's a bit
different from a signal appearing on the front page of a national
newspaper! I also have experienced the parallel between the weather
and the emotional weather in the room. (I don't know if you can send
images to the string but thought it was worth trying to put them in!
let me know if they dont come through and i'll post them on a
webpage!) Also it was interesting to tell the group about this in
morning news and even though it is of course a "coincidence" I am
interested in which bit of me says `"Of course" when hearing this as
the group did... the same bit of us that understands Open space to be
a totally natural and ordinary phenomenon perhaps!
*
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