"rules" and self-organization

Thu May 31 17:55:45 PDT 2007

Interesting. Kaliya, I think you've just articulated the problem I have 
with the way many BarCamps are run. Eventually, they could hit on a 
safe, welcoming way to run them... then again, with revolving leadership 
and volunteer effort, they may not.

For example, the guys in the TorCamp community are puzzling over why the 
women don't show up and when they do, they seldom initiate a session... 
this last time, after two women had specifically invited many other 
women to attend, there were only a handful, and I was still the only one 
to lead a session. When the women talk among themselves (ourselves) 
about what's going on, the term "pissing contest" has come up a couple 
of times, followed by "we're not interested". TorCamp seems to have 
become a group run by male geeks for male geeks... and it's working 
fine. For the make geeks. They perceive the lack of balance, but so far 
don't seem to believe that invitation and facilitation could make a 
difference.

If they want the kind of diversity that made TorCamp so exciting at the 
start, the application of a few time-proven patterns could perhaps help :-)
I'm puzzling over how to introduce these... because it's being organized 
by a clique, it's hard to have influence on the planning.
I can be patient for a while yet, lol, and meanwhile, I'll do OST as 
close to home as I can and hope someone notices :-)

deb

Kaliya Hamlin wrote:
> It is nice you all want to be so 'free form' about things and 
> 'believe' that humans just 'self-organize'.
>  
> My experience has taught me that leaning to far in this direction 
> actually creates a lot of dissonance for people and leads to spaces 
> with negative energy.
>
> Having a person or better a group of people taking responsiblity for 
> holding the space creating a nest if you will... within which people 
> feel safe to 'open up' and explore with each other possibilities.... 
> out of this space this nest is born new action and activity.
>
> At this time on our planet we need to be as intentional and catalytic 
> as possible in creating space for new possibilities of our 
> civilization to emerge....being passive and hoping that people 
> conditioned the way they are in our current culture will some how 
> 'magically' 'awake' and 'self-organize' is to me hopelessly naive. 
>
> Diffusing the simple tools and 'rules'  or principles and practices is 
> one of the things that could make the  most difference at this time on 
> our planet. 
>
> My experience is that professional  communities (that is people coming 
> together to use this methodology in peer-to-peer professional network 
> (outside 'AN' organization) settings) seeking to take action together 
> learn the way OST works and take to it....it becomes the new norm -the 
> shared way of doing things together that they work on.  It lets all 
> the passion talent and energy come forward and the people who are 
> interested find each other because there is enough structure ... just 
> enough that it is functional and effective for them to spend their 
> time in the space together.   THIS IS important. I somethings think 
> people undervalue peoples time and energy by all this 'it just 
> happens' talk....well if you help it happen and you follow some simple 
> steps it is like 10x better.  THAT MATTERS for the state of the world 
> and to respect peoples time and energy for showing up.
>
>  
>
>
>
>
> On May 30, 2007, at 4:19 PM, openspacekorea wrote:
>
>> great! i agree with your point 100%.
>>  
>> thank u...
>>  
>> Love and Peace,
>>  
>> park
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *On Behalf Of 
>> *Ralph Copleman
>> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 30, 2007 10:12 PM
>> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU 
>> <mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
>> *Subject:* "rules" and self-organization
>>
>> One way to test what is essential (what Artur termed "micro") and 
>> what is not would be to open some space without mentioning either the 
>> four principles or the law of two feet.  Or anything else.
>>
>> If self-organization occurs in os, would not the "space" still "open" 
>> without things we have come to believe are essential?  I'm betting it 
>> would, or at least could.  Perhaps all we need is a room and a theme 
>> and a wall.  Maybe some tea and coffee.  How free are we?  
>>
>> Picture it.  You're invited, so you show up because the theme 
>> interests you or you know the inviter.  You get there, see the theme 
>> statement on the wall, and nothing but a circle of chairs.  Nothing. 
>>  Not even a facilitator.  Others arrive.  The only things you share 
>> at this point are your presence and your presumed interest in the theme.
>>
>> If self-organization is real, is not the space already open?  It may 
>> take longer, but might relevant, useful conversations begin?
>>
>> I think the facilitator meets our need for an authority figure (a 
>> perfectly natural, good thing, most of the time), and the ideas about 
>> feet, insects, etc. a minimal unifying structure (think of it perhaps 
>> as curbs to a boulevard?) that steer us into an opening, a place we 
>> have agreed, by showing up, we want to be.  OS in action /resembles/ 
>> self-organization, but it isn't the pure thing.  (Not that it really 
>> matters.  I love it simply because it’s the best way I know to show 
>> people what evolution on Earth is really like.  And it produces great 
>> results for my clients.)
>>
>> One more rumpled notion occurs this morning...  What about the 
>> storytelling role, the thing we do as facilitators to connect people 
>> entering an open space to a greater whole?  I know this is important, 
>> but is not the facilitator simply reminding people of a story they 
>> already know, deep down?  If self-organization/evolution is real, 
>> it’s been working far longer than humans have even  been around. 
>>  Might we not trust this process?  How far can we go?
>>
>>
>> Ralph Copleman
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>
> Kaliya - Identity Woman
>
> AIM:kaliya at mac.com
> skype:identitywoman
> Y!:earthwaters
>
> http://www.identitywoman.net
> http://www.unconference.net
>
> 510 472-9069 (bay area)
> 415 425-1136 (on the road)
>
>
>
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-- 

Deborah Hartmann
Agile Process Coach
deborah AT hartmann DOT net
mobile: fouronesix 996 4337

"Learn the principle, 
abide by the principle, and 
dissolve the principle." 
-- Bruce Lee

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