What I love most about OST (was Re: [OSLIST] Origins of "one less thing" and "letting go"

Harrison Owen hhowen at verizon.net
Thu Jul 30 06:29:21 PDT 2009


Michael (Anglican Chaplain) - There is no question that AI and other such
things can do a world of good. And I don't think that Artur is suggesting
that they are bad, wrong or not useful - certainly I wouldn't suggest that.
But I would ask, are they the most efficient, effective, and powerful ways
to achieve those good results? In my experience AI, FS, Dialogue etc have
taught us to value the power of appreciation, the utility of common ground,
and the marvel off good, deep conversation. All good, all true. But it takes
an awful lot of work to get there, which might be totally justified if there
were no other way. But again (in my experience) appreciation, common ground,
and deep conversation all appear in OS as  natural, emergent phenomenon.
Best of all the people believe they did it all by themselves. And they did!
Further more they know at some deep level that they can do the same thing
again - and will. That is true empowerment. It is not the method, the
process, or the facilitator. It is the people. And I can go and take a nap
knowing that they will do an infinitely better job no matter how hard I
might work.

 

Is it all perfect? Well it is perfectly what it (OS) is. But things can
always improve. We can all learn to be better Wave Riders - and every time
we open space we have the opportunity to practice.  Training, as it were.
And then it is Game time. . .

 

Harrison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harrison Owen

189 Beaucaire Ave

Camden, ME 04843

207-763-3261 (Summer)

301-365-2093 (Winter)

Website www.openspaceworld.com 

Personal Website www.ho-image.com 

OSLIST To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options
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http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

 

 

 

  _____  

From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Anglican
Chaplain
Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 2:19 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: What I love most about OST (was Re: [OSLIST] Origins of "one
less thing" and "letting go"

 

I take most of the points Artur raises in his email.

 

I wouldn't be too mutually exclusive about OST and Appreciative Inquiry. I
do think they can be (and have experienced) them being complementary. People
interviewing each other in pairs and in small groups about their
appreciative experiences can be a great way of building trust; revealing
corporate mythology (by listening for recurring themes); and might actually
help shape up, collectively, the really key question for Open Space (rather
than assuming that people 'at the top' know what this question should be).
In this way, the group is empowered rather than dispempowered I think. Of
course, much of the time AI is completely unnecessary - people are already
on the edge of their seat and ready to go.

 

But in some contexts I think AI can be a useful warm up.

 

Michael Wood

 

  _____  

From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Artur
Silva
Sent: Thursday, 30 July 2009 5:22 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: What I love most about OST (was Re: [OSLIST] Origins of "one less
thing" and "letting go"

 


Hi people:

 

It is interesting, but the thing that I most love about OST has much to do
with "one less thing"...

 

OST is, as far as I know, the only methodology where the facilitator has to
create a certain number of previous requisites, do a concise opening, and
then let the people do their own work. This assumes that one believes in the
people in the room to do the job and gives them all the power to
self-organize. And it works every time!

 

When I compare OST with all the other "facilitation" methodologies that I
have studied, what most impresses me is that in all the others the
facilitator (or a lot of facilitators) has (have) the central role.
He/she/them is everywhere, doing all the sorts of things, (unconsciously)
letting people to "understand" that without him/her/them (the facilitator(s)
they would not be able to do the job.

 

That is also the reason I have difficulty in understanding how the some
people that facilitate OST, can also facilitate more formal/control_oriented
methodologies. Ora why must we add other things (like a "warming up" up or
AI session at the beginning) to something that is already perfect. Add one
more thing only disempowers people. Discover one more thing not to do - that
is the real job of the facilitator preparation!

 

And, of course, all this has everything to do with Taoism and very little to
do with normal western thinking that is our biggest enemy when trying to
facilitate OST - to forget and bypass the paradigm in what we have been
educated, I mean, indoctrinated. We must also let go of that!

 

Artur

 

PS: In what concerns your PS, Harrison, "no comments!"

 

----------

 

 

 

 

 --- On Wed, 7/29/09, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:


From: Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Origins of "one less thing" and "letting go"
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 11:34 AM

I love it! "Thinking of one less thing to do" is a throw-away I have used
for years. I've called it the "design principle for OST." If it turns out to
be Taoist that will be superb. Some kind of channeling, I would guess. 

 

Harrison

 

PS - Artur I also wrote the Wiki article, now several times revised by
whomsoever. More channeling?

 

ho

 

 


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