Organizational Transformation Conferences (was: Re: [OSLIST] ODWS - Journey through time; suggestions please !!)

Michael M Pannwitz mmpanne at boscop.org
Mon May 31 11:39:05 PDT 2010


Dear Jack,
had to read all the stuff you pulled together around OT.
The one time I attended an OT gathering was in 1997 in Highlands, Ingrid 
Ebeling was there, too. We met in a see-through tent on the lawn of the 
village square of Highlands with children, policeman, other human beings 
and various animals including butterflies meandering in and out of the 
tent. Participants were up to stuff that certainly was not pc. One break 
out session reported of burning money which raised a great huff in the 
evening news upon which a couple of participants went into the center of 
the circle burning more bills which was considered a horrible 
provocation. One evening ho invited us to attend a spirit session with a 
medicine man from the nearby hills of North Carolina in a hotel assembly 
room...I think everyone went, got smouched, settled down on the carpeted 
floor. The medicine man sounded his drums, interrupted to say the only 
thing that he did say during the entire session: "I love you all but I 
do not care for you." (this has become an important part of my 
facilitation stance)...continued drumming, people around me falling 
asleep, snoring, farting, I could not concentrate...what seemed just a 
few minutes later people awoke and spoke in great detail of the 
ancestors that they had just met.
I felt very much an outsider and did never attend another OT gathering. 
A feeling that was voiced much more pointedly by the only black person 
attending, similar to Yaaris question in the closing circle of WOSonOS 
XVIII fifteen years later: is this for white and rich folks? To me, it 
appeared to be a strangely closed "community"...
The concept of OT, I clearly felt and still feel is the new paradigm 
while OD lingers on forcefully imbedded in a multibillion consulting 
industry closely meshed with the industrial/military/political/etc. 
complex (Eisenhower). I see no signs of OD morphing which, as I 
understand it, also is not the mode in which paradigm shifts occur. A 
new paradigm can only exist if the preceeding one is wiped out, 
obsolete, no longer tastes right,ect. The operating mode in OD is still 
"experts improve systems" with little attention to the forces of 
selforganisation. "Everybody improving systems" is at home in the open 
space world...and, if I got this right, always has been, long before 
there were human-made systems. For me, that is the explanation why the 
core apparently needs no splintering. The process, OST, in my short 
acquaintance with it, however, is continually evolving in my practice.
Working on a book on "my open space pratice" for more than three years 
now has shown me that in the last months I had to do some extensive 
editing of earlier drafts because my practice is evolving. The set of 
task cards for setting up an open space of the year 2008 desperately 
needs a  thorough revision for the same reason. These changes in the 
"procedure" (form) are becoming necessary because my practice is 
providing continuously new insights into the "concept" (function).
Have a great day
see you in Sardinia for the next European Learning Exchange (OSonOS) in 
2011 and if we get pissed at whatever, lets go out and have a beer 
(wine?)in the next pub...
mmp


Jack Martin Leith schrieb:
> Thanks for raising this, Artur.
> 
> I've pulled a couple of old web pages about the OT symposia from my very
> dusty digital archives, blown off the cobwebs, and uploaded them to
> www.leithcocreation.com/ot.
> 
> Hope these are useful.
> 
> In 1988, John Adams (www.eartheart-ent.com) wrote:
> 
> *
>> Sometime during the very early years of this decade [the 1980s], probably
>> in 1981 or 1982, a large number of people began to use the term organisation
>> transformation to describe their work. During the Spring of 1982, a few of
>> these people recognized each other at a conference outside of Boston, and
>> began to discuss their common interest in concepts like vision, purpose,
>> spirit in the workplace and global perspective.
> 
> *
> 
> Could it be that the ideas highlighted in red are taken as read (sorry - no
> pun intended) these days, and that OD has - to some extent - morphed into
> OT, as you mention?
> 
> The rest of the John Adams article can be found here:
> www.leithcocreation.com/ot.
> 
> With regard to your earlier email, I agree that PC is rife in the Open Space
> community, and that it is not safe to raise certain issues - not only in
> these posts, but beyond OSList.
> 
> Two years ago, Paul Levy and I announced a discussion session, Open Space
> 2.0: Beyond the Dogma. The announcement triggered some hostility and a heap
> of defensive responses. Paul received an item of what can only be called
> hate mail from a prominent member of the so-called OS community (perhaps
> more like what Scott Peck would call 'pseudo-community').
> 
> 
>> Pseudo-community: Where participants are "nice with each other",
>> playing-safe, and presenting what they feel is the most favourable sides of
>> their personalities.
> 
> Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community
> 
> 
> I've had similar responses to other posts, which is why I rarely post to
> this list these days.
> 
> 25 years down the track, if they survive that long, most organisational
> concepts and tools have splintered and evolved. Open Space hasn't, and I'm
> not sure this is a good thing. It seems to reflect a degree of orthodoxy.
> 
> I await howls of protest.
> 
> Thank you again, Artur. These things need to be said.
> 
>> If some among you fear taking a stand because you are afraid of reprisals
>> from customers, clients, or even government, recognize that you are just
>> feeding the crocodile, hoping he'll eat you last. – Ronald Reagan
>>
> 
> Jack
> 
> Jack Martin Leith
> Leith Co-creation
> London, United Kingdom
> email: jack at leithcocreation.com
> Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)
> Skype: jackmartinleith
> Professional website: www.leithcocreation.com
> Personal website: www.jackmartinleith.com
> Facebook: www.facebook.com/jackmartinleith
> LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jackmartinleith
> Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/jackmartinleith
> Twitter: http://twitter.com/jackmartinleith
> 
> 
> On 29 May 2010 19:19, Artur Silva <arturfsilva at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
>>   Dear all
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for the map, Jack.
>>
>>
>>
>> The map, and some clarifications by Harrison, reminded me of a different
>> thing.
>>
>>
>>
>> OST was born in the "Organization Transformation Conferences".
>>
>>
>>
>> In WOSonOS in Berlin, I met a lady (that I cannot remember the name and
>> later have not seen her again to ask for the contacts) that told me that the
>> last OT Conference was to be held in London, but there were insufficient
>> registrations and it did not took place. Nor any other after that.
>>
>>
>>
>> In ancient mails, in the OSLIST Archives, I can see that OT22 took place in
>> Scotland, in 2004, and OT23 was planned to take place in Milwaukee, in 2005.
>> I also remember to later receive an invitation to London, and I even
>> considered to go there (and profit to see my sister and my English family,
>> in Brighton). But later I could not. But that exchange of mails is lost with
>> a computer that crashed many moons ago.
>>
>>
>>
>> If there is anyone that can complete the story from OT22 to the last one
>> that took (or not) place, I would be grateful.
>>
>>
>>
>> I would also like to understand why the OT Conferences died (without any
>> trace that I could discover in the Internet).
>>
>>
>>
>> And why have the OT Conferences died if the distinction between OD and OT
>> is IMHO more needed now than ever before?
>>
>>
>>
>> Maybe this can be somehow related with my previous post.
>>
>>
>> If there is no longer a clear distinction between OD and OT, than OST and
>> all the other "large group facilitation methods" belong after all to the
>> same stream - OD.
>>
>>
>>
>> Interesting, don't you think?
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>>
>> Artur
>>
>>  ------------------------------
>> *From:* Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>
>> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> *Sent:* Thu, May 27, 2010 10:34:02 PM
>> *Subject:* Re: [OSLIST] ODWS - Journey through time; suggestions please !!
>>
>>  Jack – I have always loved your “map” – if only because it provides me
>> and  (indirectly I presume), and Open Space Technology with an impressive
>> lineage which is at once colorful, although perhaps  undeserved. It is true
>> that my first public foray into the realm of Organization Transformation
>> happened at a regional conference of ODN (Organization Development Network)
>> – I gave a paper. What is also true is that at the time I had no real clue
>> what Organization Development might be, where it came from, or what it might
>> be useful for. My inspiration, training and experience came from a rather
>> different place, including but not limited to a layman’s understanding of
>> the New Physics, a rather deeper understanding of the myth and ritual of the
>> ancient near east, and an appreciation of a variety of (what now would be
>> called) esoteric traditions. Strange things like Tibetan Buddhism, Sufi
>> thought (Rumi), some deep learning at the feet of (West) African Shamans,
>> the work of Joseph Campbell, Ken Wilbur  – and other assorted denizens of
>> the Fringe. I wouldn’t claim academic expertise for most of this, but
>> existential, on the ground experience for sure. Truth to tell, when
>> Organization Transformation first reflected the light of day it was not
>> viewed in a positive fashion by the powers that be (were) in the world of
>> OD. Definitely heretical! Off the Wall! Out of Sight!! Some still feel that
>> way, I am sure – but times change. And a lot of the people who found the
>> idea of Organization Transformation radically abhorrent became friends. I
>> can’t say we have always agreed – but we are friends.
>>
>>
>>
>> And then we come to Open Space Technology. It does not come from, nor is it
>> part of the great tradition (lately created) of Large Scale Interventions.
>> It began as it remains – The product of two Martinis (and before that the
>> Big Bang)!  There was no careful research, no critical analysis of preceding
>> efforts – just a little Gin and (much less) vermouth.  And with all that as
>> ancestors, you got to keep it simple.  – Sit in a circle, create a bulletin
>> board, open a market place – and Go to work. Hasn’t changed a bit ever
>> since. But I am sure that our understanding of what happens has gone a lot
>> deeper – which is not to say that we are getting anywhere near the depths we
>> must achieve. But we are moving in the right direction, I think. And it is
>> fun.
>>
>>
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Harrison Owen
>>
>> 7808 River Falls Dr.
>>
>> Potomac, MD 20854
>>
>> USA
>>
>> Phone 301-365-2093
>>
>> www.openspaceworld.com
>>
>> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
>>
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
>> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
>>
>> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *On Behalf Of *Jack
>> Martin Leith
>> *Sent:* Thursday, May 27, 2010 3:11 PM
>> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> *Subject:* Re: ODWS - Journey through time; suggestions please !!
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks for mentioning the map, Michael.
>>
>>
>>
>> I've just uploaded it to my server in case anyone wants to see it.
>>
>>
>>
>> Here's the URL:
>> www.leithcocreation.com/documents/history-of-large-group-methods.doc
>>
>>
>>
>> It's a big file ... sorry ... I don't have time right now to make it any
>> smaller.
>>
>>
>>
>> Jack
>>
>>
>> Jack Martin Leith
>> Leith Co-creation
>> London, United Kingdom
>> email: jack at leithcocreation.com
>> Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)
>> Skype: jackmartinleith
>> Professional website: www.leithcocreation.com
>> Personal website: www.jackmartinleith.com
>> Facebook: www.facebook.com/jackmartinleith
>> LinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/jackmartinleith
>> Slideshare: www.slideshare.net/jackmartinleith
>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/jackmartinleith
>>
>>  On 27 May 2010 15:05, Michael Herman <michael at michaelherman.com> wrote:
>>
>> i'll second jeff's recommendation of marv weisbord's 'productive
>> workplaces.'  that was the first thing that came to mind here.  another was
>> a map that jack martin leith did some years ago, showing overlapping
>> development paths of various methods and leading practitioners.  jack?
>>
>> m
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>> Michael Herman
>> Michael Herman Associates
>>
>> http://www.michaelherman.com/
>> http://www.ronanparktrail.com/
>> http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org/
>> http://www.openspaceworld.org/
>>
>> 312-280-7838 (mobile)
>>
>>
>>
>>  On Thu, May 27, 2010 at 4:39 AM, VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE <
>> mail at visuelle-protokolle.de> wrote:
>>
>> Dear Gerard,
>>
>> Our friend Jon Jenkins, who sadly died recently, said as the father of the
>> IAF Method Database, that right now the three most important elements in our
>> profession are VISUALIZATION, STORYTELLING and ONLINE METHODS.
>>
>> Greetings from Italy
>>
>> Reinhard Kuchenmüller
>>
>>
>> VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE®
>> www.visuelle-protokolle.de
>> +39-0566-88929
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Am 27/05/10 08:16 schrieb "Gerard Muller" unter <gm at openspace.dk>:
>>
>> 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 <http://www.openspace.dk/>
>>
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> 
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> *
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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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