How can we foster sustainable outcomes?

Phelim phelim at mac.com
Sun Jun 28 10:02:47 PDT 2009 

Great! Makes me wanna go do that!

Sent from my iPhone

On 28 Jun 2009, at 12:39, Michael M Pannwitz <mmpanne at boscop.org> wrote:

> Dear all,
> reflecting on "sustainable" outcome I discovered that I am not  
> really interested in "fostering sustainable outcome".
>
> When a sponsor or a planning group is interested in it, I tell them  
> that having a 3 day OST event (16 hours, sleeping twice spread over  
> three days with action planning at the end)followed by a "Next  
> Meeting" 2 or 3 months after the event is a pretty sturdy and proven  
> way of getting it.
>
> Even if nothing is recorded in the traditional sense, in other  
> words, if there is no Book of Proceedings. And if there is a Book of  
> Proceedings, I ask the participants before Action Planning commences  
> to put it aside after having studied it..."it is a piece of the past".
>
> The stuff that people come up with in Action Planning to me often  
> seems to have no connection to what they have done before. Of  
> course, there is a connection...but the participants are not busy  
> with that aspect, they just go ahead and gather to promote their  
> projects with lustfull vengeance...and the stuff that they bring to  
> the "Next Meeting(s)" often seems to have even less connection to  
> the "Book" with all the stuff in it they did go get ready to jump.
>
> One of the major impulses I got to work more like this as a  
> facilitator was John Engles report of OST gatherings in Haiti where  
> people often have no paper nor markers and many of them dont read or  
> write. They post their issues by saying them out loud and remaining  
> at the "bulletin board" until lets say there are 6 issue bearers.  
> People then go the the issue bearer they are attracted to, break out  
> into issue groups, come back to the circle, report what they have  
> done (part of their "Book"), listen to further issues, break out  
> again etc. until they are done. When they decide on actions, its  
> also not "recorded".
>
> Greetings from Berlin
> mmp
>
> ...reading Reinhards posts on visual facilitation reminded me of the  
> years in the 70s when Florian Fischer, Konrad Leverenz and I had an  
> enterprise called "GWAT" (Community Organizing Team)...we trained a  
> whole bunch of people in Community Organizing approaches in  
> Germany...with Florian producing simultaneaouly these absolutely  
> amazing huge visual records of the group process and the group's  
> information inputs. At that time OST did not formally exist, the  
> Martini Cocktails had not done their job yet, but we were pretty  
> sure that "selforganization" played a central part in Community  
> Organisation and in the "trainings" we ran in those days...
>
>
>
> Harrison Owen wrote:
>> Lenore - Thanks for the kind words. And your mention of "the rest  
>> of the
>> whole thread" reminded me that I had really intended to link what I  
>> had to
>> say to the theme: "How can we foster sustainable outcomes?" In fact  
>> I think
>> the heart and soul of "sustainable outcomes" is when they (the  
>> outcomes)
>> emerge from the heart and soul of the people. Reminders are always  
>> helpful,
>> whether they be written, graphic, musical, or inscribed on the astral
>> planes. But none of that can ever match the deep commitment of a  
>> people who
>> live from their experience when that experience is one of invention,
>> creation, collaboration. That, I think, is the real substance of
>> sustainability.
>> ho
>> 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
>> <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html>
>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>     _____  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On  
>> Behalf Of Lenore
>> Mewton
>> Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 10:07 AM
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: Re: How can we foster sustainable outcomes?
>> Thank you, Harrison, for speaking the real power in 'em'powerment.  
>> ( I am
>> just jumping in here without reading the rest of the whole thread~)
>> While your comments about process below offer the best practice of  
>> OS, (in
>> my few OS experiences- I have seen this magic at play - genius  
>> emerges when
>> the rest of us 'get out of the way'..) This simple wisdom (prefer  
>> not to see
>> it as lazy or nasty..!) is guidance for living our lives everyday-  
>> OS,
>> family, relationships and in whichever role we play: parent,  
>> facilitator,
>> significant other, child. -And for those of us in "helping  
>> professions'-
>> HELP- ! We go into that work to "help others"- duh, as you say, we  
>> forget -
>> or perhaps never realize- what constitutes true 'helping.  I'll  
>> take a leap
>> and say that without knowing the intracacies of all global  
>> cultures- we are
>> 'masters' of this forgetfulness in the U.S. In education (OS being a
>> form/venue for self- knowledge to emerge), we know that real  
>> learning takes
>> place by 'doing'- vs. being told, shown, memorization.  Yet, as
>> facilitators, because we are providing an "Open" environment we  
>> believe
>> we're making space for 'whatever wants to show up will show up'- .   
>> As a parent who firmly believed in all of the above- the intellect  
>> in me
>> did/does, I recall sitting on the floor with my then toddler son- and
>> forcing myself to put my hands behind my back so that I would not  
>> interfere
>> with his play! And whenever he would cry of being 'bored"- I forced  
>> myself
>> not to give into his pleas for help by reminding him that he would  
>> think of
>> something if he just gave it some time. Never failed - regardless  
>> of his
>> cries- within about 10-20 minutes at the most- he would become  
>> involved in
>> the most creative play that I could have NEVER provided!
>> (Ah, I wish this wise self would visit more often!).
>>    Original Message ----- From: Harrison Owen <mailto:hhowen at verizon.net 
>> >  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009  
>> 8:51 AM
>> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] How can we foster sustainable outcomes?
>> Raffi -- alternative harvesting, if I can call it that, has been  
>> around for
>> a bit. There was a marvelous OS done with a group of Arts Councils  
>> where all
>> the "reports were sung, danced, drawn, whatever. The use of  
>> graphics in OS
>> started, I suppose with the "father of Group Graphics" David  
>> Sibbet, an old
>> friend. I always loved what he did (drew) -- but would chide him  
>> gently by
>> pointing out that it really wasn't "Group Graphics" -- but it was  
>> David's
>> Graphics (which were superb!)  Were we able to make it truly the  
>> Group's
>> graphics that would be a different thing.  My experience has been  
>> that the more you do for people, the less they do for
>> themselves (duh). Obviously things we do for each other can be very  
>> nice,
>> indeed wonderful. And it is also true that things we do for others  
>> are to
>> some extent, disempowering. In small doses this is great, but much  
>> of what
>> passes for facilitation takes this "helpfulness" to an extreme, I  
>> think. At
>> worst, the facilitator takes on the whole burden and is totally  
>> exhausted --
>> and the people are reduced to the level of incompetent children.  
>> This of
>> course makes them quite dependant, and thereby insures the  
>> facilitator's
>> continuing employment.
>> My aim is always to do as little as possible, not because I am lazy  
>> or nasty
>> (although I may well be both:-)) - but because I have complete  
>> confidence
>> that the people can and will take full responsibility for what they  
>> care
>> about. In doing this, they will usually manifest a level of  
>> inventiveness
>> that I never would have thought of - and no matter what, their  
>> invention
>> will be appropriate to their situation. In a word they have that  
>> great
>> sensation of experiencing their own power - that is called  
>> empowerment.
>> Empowerment is not something you can do for another - you must  
>> claim it for
>> yourself. Indeed, if I "empower" you - you remain in my power.
>> Or something
>>    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
>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>   -----Original Message-----
>> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of  
>> Raffi
>> Aftandelian
>> Sent: Sunday, June 28, 2009 3:09 AM
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Subject: AW: How can we foster sustainable outcomes?
>> Reinhard thanks much for this thread.
>> The idea of the participants themselves visually harvesting the  
>> essence of
>> what has emerged sounds really exciting.
>>
>>> From the standpoint of designing such DST (Doodle Space  
>>> Technology) events,
>> where does the ancient wisdom of KISS (Keep it Simple, Senorita)  
>> and "Think
>> of one less thing to do" come into play?
>> And this has me thinking, does the practice of facilitation/ 
>> harvesting with
>> the other senses also exist?
>> Aural facilitation? Harvesting with music, a song? (a poem takes us  
>> part
>> way).
>> Olifactory facilitation?
>> Proprioceptic facilitation- capturing the physical sensations of  
>> the shared
>> body of the group?
>> Facilitation from the other realms? (perhaps integrating a  
>> processwork
>> (Arnold Mindell?) perspective?
>> movement-based harvesting? using dance, drama, aikido (?), and other
>> expressive arts to harvest.
>> Many possibilities here!
>> appreciatively, from this southern suburb of Tehrangeles (aka San  
>> Diego),
>> raffi
>> *
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>
> -- 
> Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
> ++49-30-772 8000
> mmpanne at boscop.org
> www.boscop.org
>
>
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