Open Space Magic

Sun Jun 14 12:47:39 PDT 2009

Suzanne - that you found the Open Space for your company useful did not
surprise me, but it certainly is pleasing.:-) And I for one found your
description anything but gushy. Quite the contrary it was moving and
insightful. I particularly liked, "After our own Open Space summit, I now
know without a doubt that Open Space works.  How could it not?  It's all
about self organizing and shared leadership, a living system and the laws of
nature. Yes Harrison, you have been singing the tune for a long time. I get
it!  We get it! And for us, what we want to do now is be Wave Riders by
living Open Space from the inside out in our community of practice." 

You made my day! Thank you!!

It is so simple, so natural - and the "it" is not Open Space. The "it" is
our appreciation of ourselves and our organizations as living, natural,
self-organizing systems. The magic occurs when we fully become what we
already are - intentionally. Open Space may get us there, but the there was
there way before Open Space. It will be there long after Open Space has
(thankfully) been hung out to dry.  Isn't it interesting how we have anxiety
attacks wondering whether it will work? The wonder would be if it didn't
work!

It is probably worth while to consider the source of our anxiety. Why on
earth would we doubt that Open Space (self-organization) would work? Given
what know about the history of the cosmos, the failure of Open Space is
about as likely as the failure of Gravity, and for much the same reason. But
we do doubt - strongly supported by most of our training, many of the books,
and the social pressures which tell us that effective organization (our
lives) can only be achieved courtesy of The Leader who will plan, guide,
direct (control) the proper course of events. We all know that - and so Open
Space not only can't work, it shouldn't. The fact that The Leader is clearly
an emperor without clothes and that the control He (we) seek is nothing but
an illusion doesn't deter us. Such is the power of our history and
tradition. And isn't it sad that sensible human beings are confined to such
constricted space?  Isn't it wonderful when they discover, as you did - that
your bondage is self imposed!

We had some discussion here a while back about what to do with, or for, all
those folks who are nervous about Open Space. One might suggest "other"
approaches that may seem a little less radical for those who are concerned
to preserve the pre-ordained hierarchy and maintain their personal control.
In all honesty I have no small amount of difficulty with that approach. One
might suspect proprietary interest and prejudice -- Open Space or Nothing!
But as one who desperately hopes that we can take off the training wheels,
retire Open Space, and just go for the ride - perhaps I can be absolved. 

My reasons have to do with what in other fields is called "enabling." Those
who deal with various forms of addiction, alcoholism in particular, have
identified individuals in the addict's life, who with the best of
intentions, actually sustain the addiction - by being helpful. With that
"help" the addict is enabled to avoid the harsh facts of his/her existence
and continue in the destructive patterns.  I think we could be accused of
being enablers. In our desire to be helpful we offer approaches that
apparently sustain the (client's) need for control.  I find this troubling.

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 

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From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Suzanne
Daigle
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 9:15 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Open Space Magic

We lived the Open Space magic!

Exhausted, exhilarated, in awe and filled with gratitude.Wow! Wow! Wow!  Our
budding company, which is almost two years young, just completed its third
Partner Summit. As a community of wholistic partners joined by our associate
marketing company colleagues and a handful of close business friends, we
decided to give it our all , invest and immerse ourselves in a full-blown
Open Space.    

It was a time of transformation, of discovery, of intense reflection and
emotions, of intimate sharing of dreams, fears and hopes all under the big
tent of Open Space.  Diane Gibeault, who had trained about a third of us in
Ottawa (English and French sessions), guided us through our two and a half
days of emergence and convergence which culminated in a flurry of
action-packed initiatives that we each feel so passionate about and so
deeply committed to. There are no words to describe the magic of what
happened there.  

There were many funny moments.  Like the night before we started when we
discovered there was no electricity in our chosen Open Space venue. We knew
the place was in construction and had seen the cement floors, exposed
ceilings, bare white walls now adorned with the 4 Principles, Law of 2 feet,
Market place, etc.  Then there was the weather: dark and gloomy every day
except for the final morning which meant that the natural light we had
planned on from all those windows still kept us in the dark.   We connected
cables from the corridor to manage our newsroom equipment. It was all part
of the chaos and confusion, of the birthing and letting go. 

In a frenzy of activity, we helped in the prep creating the posters, the
forms, designing the invitations, creating a banner with the theme of
"Inventing our future". We wanted to learn and experience EVERYTHING as
participants so that one day, we would truly know what our clients would
live and feel when they tasted their first Open Space. 

I got the OS bug at an Art of Hosting event.  Trusted my gut and attended
the Open Space training in Ottawa. Was then totally hooked after helping a
friend facilitate her first Open Space.  From there, it was Wave Rider at
Sleeping Lady. Now next week, I'm taking the big leap by hosting my first
Open Space at the Ions Noetic Science conference in Tucson on Harvest Day. I
will be surrounded by many friends of Open Space and feel confident (though
I will have butterflies in my stomach) that self organizing will work there
too.  

After our own Open Space summit, I now know without a doubt that Open Space
works.  How could it not?  It's all about self organizing and shared
leadership, a living system and the laws of nature. Yes Harrison, you have
been singing the tune for a long time. I get it!  We get it! And for us,
what we want to do now is be Wave Riders by living Open Space from the
inside out in our community of practice. 

So Diane Gibeault,  Barbara Hebert, Sharon Joy Kleitsch, and my Sleeping
Lady friends., Larry, Anne, Roosevelt, Sherry, Anh, Colette, Elaine, Dan,
Jun, Robert, Dale, Tenneson, Brian, Teresa, Ashely, Joan, Elena and so many
others, thank you for inspiring me in Leavenworth. What a precious gift!  

If any of you are in Tucson for the IONS conference next week, come join us
on Sunday afternoon June 21st . The theme of this Open Space Harvest is
Global Shift: Next steps and if you come "Be ready to be surprised!"

Suzanne 

941-359-8877

203-722-2009 (c)

s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
www.nufocusgroup.com

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