use of Open Space in Public Utilities

Harrison Owen hhowen at verizon.net
Thu Mar 17 08:02:21 PDT 2011


Judy - Welcome back! And have fun!! But when it comes to cases, I would hope
that you get some, and I am sure they will be interesting. That said, I have
never found case all that helpful as a way of introduction. People look
interested, nod their heads - and then say something like, "Sounds
wonderful, but it can't happen here (for all the usual reasons.) You can
give them all the cases they want, but the refrain is usually the same.
However there is a way in - which you know very well. Do it! Find a target
of opportunity and go for it. That needn't be large. Somewhere in that
environment you find yourself in there will be dozens of situations where
you have a real screaming issue, lots of complexity, diversity,
passion/conflict - and a need for resolution yesterday. When you see
something like that, wait until the folks are desperate and out of options.
At that point get next to them and whisper in their ear - "if you are out of
options you might want to try. After all you have nothing left to lose!"An
amazing number of folks would rather fail badly than try something new and
different - particularly something that challenged their perceived ability
to CONTROL. So don't count on 100% acceptance - but the likelihood is that
somebody will take the bait. And when they do, you have your "case" - right
there in little old downtown Corporate. And all the usual excuses don't work
anymore. To be sure people can choose to go back and be miserable. They can
choose to fail with abandon. But they will always know there is an
alternative.



Harrison



Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

Phone 301-365-2093

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Judy Gast
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 11:11 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: use of Open Space in Public Utilities



Hello all,

I was introduced to Open Space back in 1996 in a small monastery in Guelph,
Ontario.  It was a seminal experience that changed  my understanding of 'how
things work'.



Many years later, I now find myself (recently joined a large utility)
wanting to introduce/use Open Space to help a group of internal clients, who
are responsible for improving the grid reliability (aka 'keeping the lights
on') for this utility.   From my limited tenure (two months), the culture is
deeply embedded in command and control, and very siloed (I liken it to a
highly authoritarian parenting model.)



I searched the archives for examples that I could present. of similar
organizations with similar needs. and didn't come up with anything.  Can
anyone point me to an article/case study of an OS event that I can use to
help promote the concept to my client.



Thanks,

Judy Gast

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