use of Open Space in Public Utilities

Chris Corrigan chris at chriscorrigan.com
Sat Mar 19 23:42:23 PDT 2011


I have experience working with BC Hydro in British Columbia on some internal
stuff that we can talk about.  BC Hydro was one of the very early adopters
of Open Space Technology, along with US West, a telecom that was made famous
in the film that Peggy and Harrison made in the 1990s.  Public utilities
have been using OST from very near the beginning.  The US West video might
be a good one to share with your client.

I have found working with engineers and like minded, analytical types to be
a really fun experience in Open Space.  Once they understand the differences
between control in an electrical system (necessary) and control in a human
system (tricky at best) they usually then want to find out how Open Space
works and then deploy it as a useful tool.  I'm sure other engineers on this
list will concur and weigh in with their own experiences, but other than
giving you some examples of where it has been used, I find, like any group,
that if the process fits the need, there is no need to sell it, just to put
it to work.

It's great to hear your voice again.

Chris

On Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 8:28 PM, Judy Gast <jgast at sympatico.ca> wrote:

> Harrison, I thank you for your words and suggestions. And I am motivated to
> do as you say.. from what I have heard from the engineer client group, they
> are È out of options and  have nothing left to loseè …  and I am certainly
> in a situation where numerous people, in my humble perception, would rather
> fail badly than try something new and different- particularly something that
> challenged their perceived ability to control….  But that said, given the
> engineers that I have engaged, I know they see the value….and, hopefully,
> with or without established Ècase studiesÈ and examples of similar utlitiies
> in similar situations, will help me show the value to the power houses who
> make the decisions for the utilitiy I work for.
> thanks,
> Judy
>
>
>
> *From:* OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] *On Behalf Of *Harrison
> Owen
> *Sent:* March-17-11 11:02 AM
> *To:* OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> *Subject:* Re: [OSLIST] use of Open Space in Public Utilities
>
>
>
> 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)
>
> 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 *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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-- 
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Facilitation - Training - Process Design
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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