Open Space -- A Quiet Revolution
Harrison Owen
hhowen at verizon.net
Thu Feb 15 12:59:12 PST 2007
It is all a joke – the “science” of Open Space, and “technology.” It is
true, so far as I know, that no serious scientist has ever bothered with
Open Space – which always seemed odd to me if only because it is a wonderful
ongoing natural experiment concerned with (amongst other things) the power
and effect of self-organization in human systems. How the scientific
community could overlook this goldmine of experimentation is a mystery to me
(which may not be all that mysterious). But it really is a wonderful natural
experiment. We have very clear cut “experimental conditions” – a defined
procedure, and a growing body of experimental results. Of course, as a
natural experiment, it didn’t start out that way – meaning that many, or
most, of the normal “experimental controls” are absent, which may produce a
degree of question when it comes to the validity of results. However, as
with all natural experiments, when the number of iterations becomes large –
those large numbers usually serve as adequate controls. Since we are well
over 60,000 iterations in 124 countries, I think we have the numbers. So
when I said that there was not a “shred of scientific evidence.” My tongue
was in my cheek. Cheeky of me I know, but maybe Official Science will catch
up?
As for “technology” – that too was kind of a joke, for the reason you noted.
OS is Simple! In self defense I would point out that OS actually meets the
definition of a technology. And, for whatever it is worth, really good,
elegant technology is simple, or at least as simple as it can be. Bad
technology is complex for the sake of complexity, or even worse, it is
complex because the technologist was too lazy or possibly incompetent to
strip it down to essentials.
harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland 20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Bui K.
Petersen
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 12:32 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Open Space -- A Quiet Revolution
Harrison, I think I was referring to the following quote:
We all know on the strength of our experience that OST is fast, fun,
effective, cheap, and easy to do. Of course we do not have a shred of
scientific data to prove that and certainly not rigorously conducted
research. :-) But I am not sure any of that would change much - we would
doubtless be stuck with our experience. However, the question remains - if
OST is so good, why doesn't EVERYBODY use it? It seems like a total
no-brainer!
I guess you were referring to the fact that we cannot "prove" it
scientifically. As with all social (or is it human) sciences, no experiment
can be identically reproduced. I don't think OST is at any more disadvantage
than anything else to be researched. For most of us it doesn't matter that
much why it works. Where just excited about how well it works. However, it
is always interesting to look at something from different theoretical
perspectives as you often gain new insight from that.
And as with selling anything (cars, fridges, OST, etc.), buyers don't care
about the science behind it. They just want it to work.
P.S. I have always wondered why you decided to call it Open Space
"TECHNOLOGY". I almost makes it sound like a complicated scientific process.
Búi
Harrison Owen wrote:
Bui – I guess I must have misspoke, or something, but the truth of the
matter is that no small amount of thought has been devoted to the
interesting question of why and how OS works. My personal favorite is the
theoretical basis offered by the Chaos/Complexity folks as they deal with
self-organizing systems. (For a quick look at that you might check out
http://openspaceworld.com/emergent_order.htm ) And I am sure that the
conversation could be much deeper and more meaningful when other theoretical
perspectives (points of view) are brought in. Brendan’s Psychology Professor
would be a good one, and your background in Conflict resolution, the same.
By the way, did you ever wander through my book, “The Practice of Peace”?
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland 20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute <http://www.openspaceworld.org/>
www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com
OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Bui K.
Petersen
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 4:13 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Open Space -- A Quiet Revolution
I have heard it mentioned many times (and Harrison mentioned this again
recently) that we don't exactly why OST works. I believe that there are
several theories that can explain why it works so well. Suzanna offers one
explanation (a theory that I did not know before), but I am sure there are
many others.
Coming from a conflict resolution background, I can think of at least a
couple of possible explanations myself. I am not a theorist so I am not
going into detail. One of the most popular conflict theories is based on
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The Hierarchy consists of (the lower ones
being more basic):
-Self Actualization Needs (full potential)
-Ego Needs (self respect, personal worth, autonomy)
-Social Needs (love, friendship, comradeship)
-Security Needs (protection from danger)
-Physiological Needs (warmth, shelter, food)
(Wikipedia has some more information
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs> )
I am myself not convinced that this order applies to everyone, and at all
times, but nevertheless OST is a great vehicle for people to satisfy many of
the "higher" needs.
Another factor that mediators (and facilitators etc.) always have to play
close attention to, is the dynamics of power, and many (if not most) group
decision-making processes have to deal with the challenge of some people
trying to dominate with their power and others trying to compensate for
their lack of power (often through disruptive means).
The amazing thing with OST is that the Law of Two Feet takes care of all
this. You don't have to be dominated by someone else because you can always
leave. You can join whatever group you want. You can also propose your own
topic and take responsibility for it too. Very empowering.
I say all this without having experienced an OS event yet myself, but it all
makes complete sense to me. I am sure there are others that know theory a
lot better than I do, I would imagine that if someone so desired, it would
be very possible to make a detailed theoretical explanation of OST.
I hope this makes sense.
Búi
Suzanna Stephan wrote:
Hello all,
I guess I feel initiated enough to jump in after attending my first os event
- the New England SOS hosted by Frank Deitle and facilitated by Blake Mills
(confirming my suspicions after being an oslist voyeur for quite some time
that you are a wonderful and unique group of people - it was a lovely
experience) so I'm going to jump in and add to the concept of os as
therapeutic...
As a student of The Human Design System I've become quite keen on the
dynamics at play when we are not living in accordance with our design. (The
Human Design System has scientifically documented the authenticity of not
only the impact of the time of birth on human behavior but as importantly
confirmed that we each have a genetic blueprint that impacts our system
energetically, manifesting itself as personality preferences, traits,
challenges and purpose.) Hopefully I haven't lost you yet, please stay with
me...
So much of our experiences in life conditions us away from our nature, our
natural rhythms. We get lost in the have to's, shoulds, etc., that we lose
the sense of these natural tendencies. Our current social indoctrination and
subsequent organizations that we work for/with just reinforce the
enslavement. So an os event may sometimes be the first time in a very long
time that adults get permission to reaccess their inner authority. When I
came across ost and ai last summer, it immediately clicked that these were
opportunities to provide the environment to reaccess our nature without
necessarily having to get into the details of the esoterics which can scare
a lot of mainstream folks. The law of 2 feet to me is people acting on that
inner authority (which may accurately be called the Law of Self
Responsibility) and will not only keep you healthy but at the right place at
the right time...which some might describe as fulfilling your purpose. Who
doesn't feel better when you get to follow your own natural rhythms vs the
dictates of others.
Challenge is, like a caged animal that never leaves once the door is opened,
we have to relearn what we shut down. I saw this in action when people are
first given the opportunity to operate in open space, many looking for
permission that what they want to do is ok. Over time you could see the
loosening of the constraints. So from my view the os process is like
training wheels back to our true self. Quite theraputic indeed.
Thanks for the opportunity to share and for the richness that you all bring
both here and to the world.
Please keep me posted on any events happening or facilitation needed in the
Mid Atlantic Area.
Warmly,
Suzanna Stephan
Virginia Beach, VA
757.621.3560
I know that there are many such stories in the OS chronicles - such
'liberation' is a joy to see and costs nothing in therapeutic fees -
a quiet (and inexpensive) revolution indeed!
Cheers
Brendan
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Búi K. Petersen, Cert. ConRes.
mediator and facilitator
--------------------------------
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Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Phone: 604.724.4954
Web: www.buildconsensus.ca
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--
Búi K. Petersen, Cert. ConRes.
mediator and facilitator
--------------------------------
c.solutions
Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Phone: 604.724.4954
Web: www.buildconsensus.ca
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