AW: [OSLIST] Bad OS experiences

Uwe Weissflog uwe.weissflog at t-online.de
Wed Apr 8 08:36:01 PDT 2009


Dear Bui - 
there only one thing I can add: If YOU are convinced that OS is worth doing
- do it. What's a "bad" experience anyway? In the past 10 years I've had the
privilege to organize some 50+ OSs, small (20 people) and large (>100
people) - I encountered managers who told me up front "that this OS is all
BS and will not work" and after all was set and done they loved it. Others
came with expectations and went home disappointed - why? Most often they had
an agenda in mind which they could not force their co-participants to follow
- was this a "bad" OS?

Based on my experience, if you authentically believe in the power of
self-organizing, spirit and human ingenuity you will not fail. You might
stumble once in a while, but that's part of the game. Nothing is 100%
foolproof. What helped me a lot when I struggled was (and still is) the Tao
Te Ching, for example: (from TAO 2, translation by Stephen Mitchell): 

"Therefore the Master 
Acts without doing anything
And teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
Things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess,
Acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it
That is why it lasts forever"

I found this helpful - good luck - Uwe


Uwe Weissflog, GbR
Pathway Guidance - Europe
Rinnengärten 1
De-34516 Vöhl
www.pathwayguidance.eu
uwe.weissflog at pathwayguidance.eu
T.: +49 (0) 5635 99 11 97
F.: +49 (0) 5635 99 39 34
M.: +49 (0) 175 521 7656


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] Im Auftrag von Bui
Petersen
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 8. April 2009 16:11
An: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Betreff: [OSLIST] Bad OS experiences

Hi everyone,

Having almost settled in living in St. John's, Newfoundland, I am 
looking for opportunities to open space. It is a slow process to 
introduce something that people are not familiar with, especially as I 
am new in a town where everyone seems to know each other.

My question is, what do you do in cases where you meet people who HAVE 
been exposed to OST but did not have a good experience. My wife for one 
participated in one OS forum, and she is not at all convinced. Her 
experience was that the usual suspects did all the talking and those 
that usually are quiet, stayed that way. I wasn't there myself, but from 
what I gather there may have been some factors that contributed to this 
such as, the size of the group (only 15), the breakout spaces had tables 
and a couple of other factors. Nevertheless, my wife is not convinced it 
could have been much different.

What do you more experienced think is a play? My own experience is 
limited so I'm not sure what to say about this. Is it the case that some 
OS events just don't have the right energy and don't work out that well? 
If so, what can you do to make people consider doing it again? The best 
I have come up with is that even if OST may not be perfect, it is better 
than most other things I have tried.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Bui Petersen

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