New Year's Resolutions

Harrison Owen hhowen at verizon.net
Tue Jan 1 13:45:50 PST 2008


Happy New Year everybody; what a year it has been! And 2008 and is just
around the corner (literally), and for sure there will be all sorts of
issues and opportunities for us to explore. I for one am definitely looking
forward to our sharing and good conversations 

For me, 2008 will be some sort of record year with two books coming out. One
is sort of "cheater" in as much as it is the 3rd Edition of the User's
Guide. That book will be coming out in the Spring and whether you are just
arrived in Open Space or an old timer I think you will find something of
interest and use. It is hard to believe that we have been at this strange
business called Open Space for 22, soon to be 23, years. And from where I
have been sitting, it only gets richer and deeper. Just about the time we
think we have answered the last question a whole new world of possibilities
opens up. That is what I call fun!

The second book with the current title, "Wave Riders" will make its debut in
the fall.  I confess that it has taken me longer to write this book than any
other previous effort which may have something to do with advancing years
and the fact the old neurons and synapses don't click as quickly as they
used to. And actually it is not done yet as the good folks at
Berrett-Koehler have now started their "review and revise" process. For
whatever it is worth, I can tell you that if you want to get the old ego
fractured, this process will do it. All those lovely words and ideas are
subject to rigorous critique and more than a few don't make it through. :-(
The reviewers say they are doing their job "sympathetically" but I have
always noticed a degree of sadism. But that is just an author talking with
an obvious degree of bias.

Wave Riders is, in many ways a sequel to my last book - The Practice of
Peace. I and many others have noticed that somehow in Open Space, massive
levels of conflict find useful resolution - not by the elimination of
conflict but by creating an environment in which conflicting forces find the
way to a complementary flow. You might call it Peace. The deeper learning,
at least for me, has been that the "magic" is not Open Space Technology, but
rather that which seemingly empowers OST - namely self-organization. It
therefore makes sense to eliminate the middle man (OST) and learn how to
directly apply (work with) that deep power, no longer as an "event" of
several day's duration - but every day and all the days 24X7X365. I believe
we can do that and the result is what I have called, The Practice of Peace.
Needless to say there is an infinite amount to be learned and explored, and
given the current shape of the Planet and it peoples, there are no shortage
of possibilities for application. For the New Year I would hope that we can
go deeper still. Call that a New Year's Resolution!

The new book, Wave Riders, shares much of the logic of The Practice of
Peace, but it starts from a different place. It has been a common experience
in Open Space that work groups achieve levels of performance they can hardly
believe. A hard nosed AT&T executive once called it "magic" when his team
managed to accomplish in 2 days what they knew "must" take at least 10
months. Were this to have happened just once, that would be interesting, but
in my own experience it is almost common place. I suppose something of the
sort happens every time space is opened, but when the folks are engaged in a
project with definite end points, as in designing a building, or creating a
new product, the high level of performance becomes almost overwhelming. It
won't surprise you to learn that I think we can, and should, eliminate the
middle man and go straight to the source. 

Our good friend, Chris Corrigan has referred to Open Space Technology as
"training wheels" - those funny little appendages you attach to a child's
bike. But hopefully the day will come when you can take the training wheels
off and just ride. I believe that day has arrived and it is my hope that
2008 will be the time that we collectively take the leap. There is so much
to learn and even more to do. Call it a Resolution. Can't wait!

Of course, there must always be a place here on good old OSLIST for new
comers who are just edging into Open Space. It is true that we now have a
large body of experience - but it is also true that every time an "old
question" is asked some new space is opened and we are all the richer.

Happy New Year!

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 
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