Law of Two Feet

[Michael Herman]

...it may be that the sponsors are the ones naming someone as
'difficult' because this person questions authority and structure.  in
open space, nothing is imposed so nobody needs to resist, question or
otherwise be difficult.  when the system stops pushing people, people
stop pushing back.

another thing that happens sometimes is that just the realization that
people could walk away -- "the law of two feet is death to egotists"
as harrison says -- often serves to have would be troublemakers tone
it down.  the last thing *they* want is to lose people and attention.
so they behave according to that purpose.

there were some people in a recent community event that we were warned
about.  they turned out to be very pleasant people, but i did make it
a point to warn people that if they went off on the same old things
they'd been saying for years (37 years, in the case of this issue)
then people were likely to get up and two feet it to someplace else.
seemed to all work fine.

all of which reminds me of when i was a camp counselor.  most popular
counselor in camp was nicknamed 'psycho'.  most notorious kid, who
always requested psycho was nicknamed 'mad dog.'  when he came for two
weeks in a row, i got him the second week and everybody said 'you're
stuck with him.'  i refused to call him mad dog.  his name was eric
and i called him 'the big E'.  worked like a charm.  different name,
different kid.  so we call everyone in the circle learner,
contributor... and seems to make all the difference.

m




On 2/15/07, Brendan McKeague <mckeague at iprimus.com.au> wrote:
>
>  Bui - your questioning is so important - I hear similar concerns voiced
> from many participants in the OS Facilitation co-learning programs I host.
>
>  From where I sit, I can never predict just what behaviours are going to
> occur in any one group - we don't know who is going to be there, how long
> they will stay, the degrees of passion/compassion, honesty, empathy,
> aggression et al - and thus the learning that participants will undergo.
>
>  So my energy really goes into 'holding' all of that and allowing whatever
> happens...
>
>  and if someone chooses to leave a community due to their experience of an
> Open Space - it is not, in my view, the OS process that will cause them to
> leave - although they might well need to blame someone or something to
> enable them to justify their choice - it will be their perception of what
> goes on, or went on, and their response to it....
>
>  Cheers
>  Brendan
>
>
>
>  At 09:06 AM 16/02/2007, you wrote:
>
> Diana,Tania thanks for the additional observations. It is reassuring.
>
>  The reference to a 2x4 came from Harrison.
>
>  Búi
>
>  Diana Larsen wrote:
>
> That's not a 2x4, that's just learning from experience. No conflict
> resolution needed. I've never seen anyone leave a community as a result of
> their experiences in open space, unless they decided it was the best move
> for them. And used their own two feet.
>  --
>
>  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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-- 

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
300 West North Ave #1105
Chicago IL 60610 USA

phone: 312-280-7838
email: michael at michaelherman.com
skype: globalchicago

http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.openspaceworld.org
http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org

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