ODWS - Journey through time; suggestions please !!

Thu May 27 08:45:51 PDT 2010

Thanks for inviting us into the discussion, Gerard and Jeff.

I would add Dick Axelrod's "Historical Approaches to Change (and why  
it no longer works) -  Table 1-1 in the first edition of Terms of  
Engagement (second edition due out soon).  Then Peggy/Tom/Steve's  
Change Handbook offers the examples of what does work.

Warm wishes from an amazingly cool Phoenix morning,

Christine

Christine Whitney Sanchez
Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy
+1.480.759.0262
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On May 26, 2010, at 11:51 PM, Jeff Aitken wrote:

> very nice idea gerard. as i've composed this email, i realize i want  
> to post to the whole list, to see what kind of conversation might  
> ensue.
>
> after my masters in ODT (the T being transformation) i began to  
> sketch a quick history of the OD practice which i sometimes call  
> "the case for open space" -- trying to show how very good mainstream  
> OD leads us to the practice of open space (not to be shy about it or  
> anything...) of course i honor the allied practices as well. and i  
> emphasize this is my case for open space, showing my own biases and  
> blind spots.
>
> i always appreciated marv weisbord's synopsis of the OD profession  
> in the book 'productive workplaces' aided by his background as a  
> journalist. he outlined four stages mainly during the 20th century:  
> 1. experts telling individuals how to improve their work; 2.  
> 'experts' facilitating individuals to improve their own work; 3.  
> experts telling organizations how to improve their work; and 4.  
> 'experts' facilitating organizations to improve their own work.
>
> the final phase became a 'whole systems redesign' phase which was  
> optimized by getting the whole system into the room to facilitate  
> the redesign. weisbord discussed this evolution in his book  
> "discovering common ground" drawing on the work of emery, trist, et  
> al. -- truly we stand on the shoulders of giants.
>
> as peggy holman and tom devane and steven cady document for us in  
> "the change handbook", practices of "whole system in the room"  
> include future search, world cafe, appreciative inquiry, open space,  
> etc. And the case for open space is that it's not only the most  
> empowering process, but also it's capable of becoming the 'operating  
> system' for the ongoing life and continual redesign of the  
> organization, as harrison and birgitt and larry and michael and  
> chris and brian and others have shared with us.
>
> the case for open space also draws on seminal books which help us to  
> bring more fluidity into our mental models of organization,  
> outgrowing the inherited mechanical models, working to set the stage  
> for leaders being willing to let go of control into self- 
> organization: gareth morgan's "image of organization" and  
> "imaginization"; senge's "the fifth discipline"; wheatley's  
> "leadership and the new science" and "a simpler way"; and harrison's  
> every book.
>
> this is not 2-3 things as you asked, but perhaps it is: weisbord's 4  
> phases, the developments within the 4th phase, and important  
> supporting works which help leaders prepare for 4th phase work in  
> the organization.
>
> onward,
>
> jeff aitken
> mount tamalpais
>
> Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 08:16:21 +0200
> From: gm at openspace.dk
> Subject: [OSLIST] ODWS - Journey through time; suggestions please !!
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>
> Dear All,
>
> At the upcoming Organisational Development World Summit (see http://www.odworldsummit.org/ 
> , which is organised in collaboration with several organisations and  
> communities - amongst which several who are on this list , we are  
> organising part of the program as a special journey through the  
> history of our profession, before we move into it’s future.
>
> I would like to ask for your help in identifying what you feel are  
> the 2-3 elements which deserve a place in this journey. This could  
> be either in the history of the profession (a book, a bit of  
> research,  the birth of an method or theory), or in the history of  
> the society around (political, technological, ...).
>
> If you have a specific idea how to represent the elements which come  
> to mind, that would be great.
> In the case of a publication, it could be the book itself, in the  
> case of an event maybe the invitation,
> a poster, pictures. But we’ll also have space for filmclips and music.
>
> Please mail any ideas to my E-mail at gm at openspace.dk, in the course  
> of the coming week.
>
> Thanks for your assistance !!
>
> Greetings from Denmark,
>
>
>
>
> Gerard Muller
>
> Open Space Institute Denmark
> Phone: (+45) 21269621
> Mail: gm at openspace.dk
> Skype: openspace1
> www.openspace.dk
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