doing self-organization
Michael Herman
michael at michaelherman.com
Thu May 24 08:57:12 PDT 2007
pat: many thanks. i'll have a look. i have always liked the varela
line about the way to make a living system more healthy is to
reconnect it with more of itself. maybe time to read a bit more.
harrison: <grin> better you than me to write it all up in a book.
and ever the mapper of stories, i had to go see how your eightfold
path lines up with an older version, pulled from wikipedia...
---
As the name indicates, there are eight elements in the Noble Eightfold
Path, and these are divided into three basic categories[1] as follows:
* Wisdom (Sanskrit: prajñā, Pāli: paññā)
1. Right view - do your homework
2. Right intention - issue an invitation
* Ethical conduct (Sanskrit: śīla, Pāli: sīla)
3. Right speech - come to the circle
4. Right action - welcome passion and responsibility
5. Right livelihood - remember the four principles
* Mental discipline (Sanskrit and Pāli: samādhi)
6. Right effort - observe the law
7. Right mindfulness - keep grief working
8. Right concentration - formalize the system
---
i'd say they all line up very well. with the exception of 3 and 4.
i'd switch the order, in line with what i've usually described as
"supporting the invitation" as that time when people who've received
an invite are calling up saying "what's going to happen" and my
counsel to leaders/conveners is always to ask these folks what they
think should happen. what issues should be raised. for me, the space
is opened in those early conversations, when people are still deciding
whether or not to attend. so that is where the "welcoming" happens.
then the "right action" would be "come to the circle".
so this all looks quite wonderful. the word "practice" held up
prominently would really complete this package for me. practice is
all of these things above, conscious, intentional, articulated,
active, principled, real work, forgiving, and above all, must be
sustained. practice seems an easy first and last word in this story.
title page and summary. or at least that's how it goes in my story
<grin>.
many thanks, m
On 5/24/07, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
> Michael wrote: "so self-organization is halfway for me because it *un-do-es*
> habitual control-based view. but then what? powerless? adrift?
> unsupported? i think not."
>
> Ah Michael -- seems you have an ally who wrote: "Are we then simply sit on
> our hands, throw our fate to the winds, and allow the great ocean of
> self-organization to roll on by? That is certainly one option, but it is not
> the only option – nor is it an option I find particularly attractive. I
> believe that there is an infinitely better possibility through which we may
> discover deep ways to realize our full potential as human beings, as well as
> doing something very useful and good in the world, such as enabling our
> organizations to pursue High Performance, and realize it, day in and day
> out. To give that possibility a name – I call it leveraging the power of
> self-organization. Or in more colloquial terms: Riding the Sweet Spot of the
> Wave."
>
> This same writer continues: "Taking our lead from the ongoing experience
> with Open Space Technology it appears that the process of self organization
> can be enabled and sustained by paying careful attention to eight critical
> steps. Perhaps there are more steps or fewer, depending on how one counts,
> but for 20 years these eight essentials have proved their worth. The Eight
> Essentials are: 1) Do your Home work, 2) Issue an Invitation, 3) Come to the
> Circle, 4) Welcome Passion and Responsibility, 5) Remember the Four
> Principles, 6) Observe The Law, 7) Keep Grief Working, and 8) Formalize the
> System."
>
> As you will have guessed, the writer in question is none other than yours
> truly, and all of that verbiage comes from my new book, still in progress.
> Hopefully that progress will turn to print providing that the great gods of
> B-K (Berrett-Koehler) smile. I feel somewhat badly in not making the full
> text available, but it is still churning, so I guess I have to wait. But I
> don't feel all that badly because I strongly suspect that you could have
> written the same thing, and will easily figure out where I am going.
>
> As you will notice, Invitation heads the list (except for "doing your
> homework" which is really about getting ready). What follows should be very
> familiar :-) -- and it all comes from our collective experience with Open
> Space. So there is a lot to be "done" and none of it involves the imposition
> of external, arbitrary control.
>
> I may be missing a point here, but it seems to me that part of the issue
> lies in an understanding of "control." I have no problem with control(s)
> indeed all self-organizing systems are laced with controls and structures of
> all sorts. In fact compared to the fancy systems (structures and controls)
> we design, any self respecting self organizing system puts us to shame. We
> are mere pikers in the controls department! So the problem is not control
> per se, but rather our effort and need to impose OUR version. The truth of
> the matter is that we are not smart enough to fully understand the complex
> interaction of all the bits and pieces of even a very small self-organizing
> system. And when we make the attempt it usually has little to no effect,
> thus wasting our effort. Or in the worse case scenario we effectively throw
> a spanner in the works with our heavy handedness -- just gums things up.
>
> It seems that we keep sending a boy/girl to do a man's/woman's work. In fact
> we don't need to "send" anybody at all. The systems can handle this control
> business all by themselves. However, I think we may (must?) find ways to
> enable self-organizing systems to do what they can do most effectively. I
> believe that is what we have been learning in The Open Space Experiment, and
> now is the time to seek broader application. At least that is what I am
> proposing in the new book.
>
> 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
> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> archivesVisit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael
> Herman
> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 7:51 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: doing self-organization
>
> thanks, harrison. this helps put some things in context for me.
> never thought or meant to say Invitation and Self-Organization in
> opposition. just that self-org was also a 'halfway' story for me.
> necessary but not sufficient, if you will. because it's not really a
> half-way story, but an all-the-way-in-the-other-direction story.
> control on the one hand and self-organization on the other.
>
> control is, as you say, illusion/delusion. maintained to a point, but
> essential not true. self-organization, on the other hand is
> absolutely true. and yet, i've never been able to be clear about what
> to *do* about, or coach other would-be leaders or helpers to do about,
> the truth that self-organization is everywhere already at work.
>
> so self-organization is halfway for me because it *un-do-es* habitual
> control-based view. but then what? powerless? adrift? unsupported?
> i think not. Invitation is the thing i can still *do* with passion,
> power, full energy... without running afoul of the truth of
> non-control. i can *do* invitation, and be full and inviting, without
> in any way imposing control on anyone else. in open space, we invite
> leaders to invite others to invite others. nobody in control of
> anybody else and everyone in control of their own invitations and
> responses to invitations.
>
> so for me, open space and invitation work not because
> self-organization is true, but because we live in between some sense
> of control and some reality of being swept along in a self-organizing
> world (and even more disturbing, a largely self-organizing body, as
> well). the active, conscious practice of Inviting is the only way
> i've been able to explain how open space works, surfing the edge
> between elusive/eroding control and self-organizing chaos.
>
> what matters in open space, i think, is that we invite and practice
> two things at once. i'm told that, as of some years ago, only
> something like 16% of the population (of somewhere, america, world, i
> dunno) could maintain awareness of at least two states of reality
> simultaneously. parent/child, learning/contributing,
> passion/responsibility, giving/receiving, 4 principles/one law,
> control/self-org, order/chaos, me/you. for me, Space really opens
> when I let the two sides of one of these pairs be both true and both
> still distinct. when i let even just one other being be as real to me
> as i am to myself.
>
> so no opposition and more to the story than self-organization. every
> invitation at once a solid piece of practical, even orderly, work and
> also a simple call/prayer to the god(s) of self-organization,
> simultaneous and still distinct.
>
> m
>
>
>
>
> On 5/23/07, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
> > Michael -- Not a doubt about it. Invitation is critical. From the first
> > moment I ever saw and/or thought about OST a key for me was what I called
> > Voluntary Self-Selection. In a word, people are present because they care
> to
> > be present -- and to insure that essential condition, Invitation is the
> only
> > way. Command and control doesn't do it. Assignment won't make it. Only
> when
> > people are there of their own free will do useful things happen. So I
> > totally agree. Invitation is the critical first step towards real open
> > space.
> >
> > But I must confess that I am having a little difficulty in seeing
> Invitation
> > and Self-organization as being in opposition, as some sort of either/or.
> In
> > my experience, truly effective self-organization at the level of human
> > systems always begins with invitation.
> >
> > Now it is quite true that self-organization, (I believe) is a fundamental
> > force in the cosmos, not unlike gravity -- and the last time I checked,
> all
> > human beings were part of the cosmos. So in this sense, you are right, we
> > don't have any choice about self-organization or not-self-organization,
> for
> > exactly the same reason we have no choice about gravity. It simply comes
> > with the territory. We do have, however, and enormous range of choices
> when
> > it comes to how we appreciate self-organization, align ourselves with it,
> > and perhaps even learn to use it to our advantage.
> >
> > It seems that a large number of people choose to ignore it completely, or
> > (what amounts to the same thing) presume that they are in control. I
> suppose
> > this works up to a point (the illusion/delusion can be maintained) but at
> > the end of the day such a choice is self defeating and at the very least
> it
> > leads to very ineffective and possibly destructive behavior. (See George
> > Bush et al)
> >
> > The connection between OST and self-organization originally occurred for
> me
> > for admittedly academic reasons. The fact that Open Space works as it does
> > was frankly inexplicable from any other theoretical base. According to
> > tradition organizational theory, OS simply cannot work! But it does. And
> my
> > curiosity bump got the better of me -- so I guess that makes it academic
> :-)
> >
> >
> > Can I prove the connection? No, but if the connection is not present I
> then
> > need to find some alternative explanation -- and so far I haven't come up
> > with one. Maybe somebody else will??
> >
> > But I guess the real question is -- does the connection between OST and
> > Self-Organization make any real difference other than assuaging my
> academic
> > interests? For me the answer is a resounding, yes. And it has everything
> to
> > do with the personal, the subjective, what has heart and meaning for each
> > one of us.
> >
> > It occurs to me that much of the pain and anxiety present in our selves
> and
> > our world comes from a deep estrangement from our true selves and also
> from
> > the fundamental flow of the natural world. There are many ways to talk
> about
> > this, but a most powerful one, in my view, is to see the point of
> > estrangement occurring when, as, or if, we think we are in charge of
> things.
> > In control! Why we do this is interesting. Perhaps we do this simply
> because
> > we think we can. And lot of times, I think we do it because we don't see
> any
> > alternatives. Somebody must be in charge, and it might as well be us. And
> if
> > nobody is in charge thing would definitely get out of control. Very Bad!
> >
> > In Open Space, we experience reality in a very different way. Nobody is in
> > charge, and wonderful things happen! More than that, it really feels good,
> > and lots of folks have remarked that somehow being in Open Space is like
> > coming home. And I think that is Right On. It is coming home to what we
> > truly are -- self-organizing critters, along with all the rest of the
> > cosmos.
> >
> > And of course if that is true, Open Space is not some strange new state of
> > affairs, it is simply the way things are 24X7. And the great relief we
> > experience (coming home) is simply that we have finally gotten with the
> > program.
> >
> > For a long time I have referred to OST as a "halfway technology" --
> > something we can do until we are ready to do the real thing. Chris
> Corrigan
> > has put this much better, I think, when he talks about OST being training
> > wheels -- something which is very useful for a starter, but also to be
> > removed when we really learn how to ride. I like that.
> >
> > And it all beings with invitation! A real invitation, which we can refuse
> or
> > accept. We can choose to remain in estrangement. We can choose to come
> home.
> > But the invitation is open and it is personal. I think.
> >
> > 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
> > OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> > archivesVisit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Michael
> > Herman
> > Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 6:24 PM
> > To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > Subject: doing self-organization, was unconf strikes again
> >
> > hi all,
> >
> > catching up a bit here and glad to see our work leaking into the
> > mainstream press.
> >
> > i have been thinking about a comment elsewhere, about
> > 'self-organization' being the thing inside of open space as
> > process/method.
> >
> > i've never been a fan of the self-org story. it's always seemed so
> > academic to me, overly scientific, overly objective, and underly
> > subjective and personal. i've read some of the requisite works on the
> > topic, but i've never felt like i could really make that story fly,
> > never make the case.
> >
> > revisiting lately, i notice another thing that's missing for me in the
> > self-org story, as i know it anyway, is any instruction about what one
> > can *do* in the midst of it. i guess this is why i've opted for the
> > 'inviting' story for some years now.
> >
> > i think it's interesting that in the wee small description included in
> > the article here, the two *doings* i noticed were "offering" and
> > "inviting." i think these might be even closer to the heart of ost
> > than self-organization. or maybe the thing that comes before
> > self-organization. after all, nobody can make or do
> > self-organization. we can only invite it. can only offer our
> > invitations, as leaders, sponsors, facilitators, participants.
> >
> > so i'm glad to see that this article does well to get that part of our
> > game quite right.
> >
> > thanks all,
> >
> > michaelh
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On 5/13/07, Tree Fitzpatrick <therese.fitzpatrick at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Harrison. . . . this stream of conversation seems like as good a place
> as
> > > any other for me to tell you that I love you, Harrison Owen, even though
> I
> > > don't really know you, and I am deeply grateful for the gift of open
> space
> > > technology released into the public domain. As Chris said, OS is so far
> > > ahead of the curve, gosh. . . . . I love to think about this
> > curmudgeonly
> > > man out there in the universe doing his best to be a good person and do
> > good
> > > work and he stumbles upon open space technology, much like Frodo
> stumbled
> > > upon the ring . . .
> > >
> > > gosh golly, I am glad you showed up, Harrison.
> > >
> > > And everyone reading: I am glad you showed up too.
> > >
> > > And me. I'm glad I showed up.
> > >
> > >
> > > On 5/13/07, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Kaliya -- having had some extensive contact with the press over the
> > years,
> > > I
> > > > count it a good day when I am NOT quoted. With very few exceptions,
> they
> > > > always seem to get it "WRONG" -- and sometimes disastrously so. And
> then
> > > you
> > > > are left with the interesting task of explaining what you did NOT say.
> > And
> > > > very quickly you find yourself caught in the "When did you stop
> beating
> > > your
> > > > wife" syndrome. Not a good place to be.
> > > >
> > > > But in fairness to my friends in the 4th Estate, there have been some
> > > > marvelous articles on Open Space. The New York Times did a superb
> > feature
> > > > story, as did The Washington Post and a number of others. I am not
> sure
> > > how
> > > > much all of that is worth (outside of "historical interest") but it
> > might
> > > be
> > > > useful at some point in order to help some of the "Unconference" folks
> > > > understand their roots.
> > > >
> > > > It is not about pride of authorship, or even pride of place. I just
> feel
> > > > sorry for these folks not being able to access the 22 year experience
> > that
> > > > we all have shared. There will always be people who want to re-invent
> > the
> > > > wheel, but they could save no small amount of pain and agony if they
> > were
> > > to
> > > > check in on what came before.
> > > >
> > > > 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
> > > > OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> > > > archivesVisit:
> > > www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: Kaliya Hamlin [mailto:kaliya at mac.com]
> > > > Sent: Sunday, May 13, 2007 2:25 PM
> > > > To: hhowen at verizon.net
> > > > Cc: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> > > > Subject: Re: Unconferences strike again.
> > > >
> > > > Yes well.
> > > > they also failed to mention to of the women they interviewed who are
> > > > working closely with the men extensively quoted and referenced.
> > > > Just the business/tech media in action I suppose.
> > > > http://kaliyasblogs.net/unconference/?p=55
> > > > =Kaliya
> > > >
> > > > On Sunday, May 13, 2007, at 09:53AM, "Harrison Owen"
> > <hhowen at verizon.net>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > >Seems like our secret it out! Or maybe the secret is that Open Space
> > has
> > > > >gone under deep cover. See the recent Business Week
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_20/b4034080.htm?chan=search
> > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >Harrison
> > > > >
> > > > >Harrison Owen
> > > > >7808 River Falls Drive
> > > > >Potomac, Maryland 20854
> > > > >Phone 301-365-2093
> > > > >Skype hhowen
> > > > >Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
> > > <http://www.openspaceworld.com/>
> > > > >
> > > > >Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
> > > > >Personal website www.ho-image.com
> > > > >OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> > archives
> > > > >Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
> > > > ><http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html>
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >*
> > > > >*
> > > >
> > > >==========================================================
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> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Love rays,
> > > Tree Fitzpatrick
> > >
> > > http://thecultureoflove.blogspot.com/
> > >
> > > . . . the great and incalculable grace of love, which says, with
> > Augustine,
> > > "I want you to be," without being able to give any particular reason for
> > > such supreme and unsurpassable affirmation. -- Hannah Arendt
> > >
> > > 1335 Montecito Ave Apt. 35
> > > Mountain View, California 94043
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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
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> >
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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
>
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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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