[OSList] The 5th Principle / Sardinia

Tue May 24 09:05:07 PDT 2011

what i notice about this, yes there was no facilitator, no bulletin board,
no circle or planning team or evening news or some of the other "things we
do" when we "do" open space.  nobody briefed anyone on the four principles
or the law of two feet.  but there was purpose and invitation, very
distributed, but common and present.  the simplest and most powerful of
invitations, i think:  "come with me, come with us, we're going to do
somethign important..."

what we would normally call invitation list, or logistics, food plan,
documentation... those things can be found in the scenes and stories of this
time in the square, but it seems to me they have to be sort of sifted out,
almost consructed, after the fact.  but invitation and importance must have
been conscious and visible to everyone, even in midst the whole thing.

invitation is personal, importance cultural.  we can't make something
important, it's more of a common recognition, it can only be watched for,
sensed and articulated.  and invitation is only something we can do from
inside of our own prior commitment.  nobody was saying "hey, you should all
go to the square and then i'll see you next week and you can tell me how it
went, or report back to me in the staff meeting next week."  the only
invitation that matters is "i'm going, because it matters.  come with me, we
need you."

m

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
312-280-7838 (mobile)

http://MichaelHerman.com
http://ManorNeighbors.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org

On Tue, May 24, 2011 at 10:38 AM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Bernd – Wonderful! And best of all I have been hoisted on my own petard,
> trapped by my own words. As a fierce advocate of Occam’s Razor and of its
> practical application, “Thinking of one more thing not to do,” how could I
> possibly think of a 5th principle? And I confess that as I engaged Claudia
> in conversation and subsequently wrote about it – I did my very best NOT to
> think about adding such a thing. But my best was not good enough, and the 5
> th Principle snuck in just like the others did – in spite of my better
> judgment.
>
>
>
> My problem was/is that it appeared as a blinding flash of the obvious. It
> had always been there. I had just never noticed. But did I really have to
> say it? Good question. And here is my best shot at an answer. I think my
> failure in perception was due to the fact that I had narrowed my gaze to the
> more particular business of “organizing” Open Space Events. In all those
> events the four Principles are operative and useful to point out for the
> assembled body. The question of “space/place” always seemed more like a
> logistical detail which certainly should be considered, but hardly worthy of
> public attention.
>
>
>
> The ground shifted underneath me as Claudia and I talked when I became
> increasingly aware that our Open Space events were but sideshows to the
> major events, all of which occurred “out there.”  Most importantly they
> could and did occur “anywhere” in places not of our choosing or design.
> Anywhere would do! To the extent that our next step is to see space opening
> as an going, natural phenomenon – we need to reverse our normal order of
> business. So long as we concentrate on “Doing an Event” – it is logical and
> necessary that we should determine the venue prior to start. In other words
> we must find or create the place of meeting before we can get together. What
> else? However, in the world at large this procedure seems to be stood on its
> head. Space opens and THAT defines/creates the venue!
>
>
>
> The 5th Principle could help us to avoid missing all the truly great Open
> Space of the world simply because they don’t have a “proper” venue as we
> might understand “venue.” So if you were to ask was Tahrir Square an Open
> Space I suspect the immediate answer from a lot of people would be No. After
> all the venue was not pre-determined, people did not sit in a circle, and
> for sure you could not find the facilitator. Case Closed.
>
>
>
> Anyhow, the 5th Principle branded my consciousness against my will. It had
> the positive (I think) effect of drawing my attention to the Big Open Space
> of our experience, in addition to the little events that we might convene.
> The prospect is pretty scary, but the possibilities are more than a little
> breathtaking. The new questions are unending – but they might begin with a
> simple musing – (as I said in my previous post). Just suppose you were
> standing in Tahrir Square, what could you do, based upon our prior
> experience, to enhance that occasion for the people involved in that Grand
> Open Space? I really don’t have a clue about the answer, but I can foresee a
> marvelous adventure. Open Space II…
>
>
>
> So do we really need a 5th Principle? I don’t know. And for sure I
> wouldn’t waste time convening a council of the wise to make the
> determination. Personally, I am just stuck with it, as I was with the
> preceding 4.  Blinding Flashes of the obvious that I just couldn’t avoid.
> Will than make sense to anybody else? Who knows?
>
>
>
> 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
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>
>
>
> *From:* oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of *Bernd Weber
> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 24, 2011 8:14 AM
>
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The 5th Principle / Sardinia
>
>
>
> Harrison and all who started commenting on the 5th principle:
>
>
>
>
>
> Yes and No is my opinon:
>
> ----
>
> Yes
>
> ---
>
> in the sense, that your are right, H. of course: wherever it is, is the
> right place.
>
> And when I read what you told about Claudias story, it reminded me of other
> places where similar things happened, maybe not at this scale but still.
> Europeans will still remember Christiania. The free town in Scandinavia.
>
> I still remember the Vienna ARENA 1976 , Hundreds of young people flooding
> an area with historically interesting buildings (old slaughterhouse of
> Vienna), when the town wanted to sell it. They simply did not leave and for
> several months a space was open. People danced, feeled responsible for
> "everything" and "everybody"....ok, I do not want to go into details ( & my
> romantic memory) here.
>
>
>
> For me personally it was one of two events, that influenced my further life
> because they gave (mathematically spoken although not at all an abstract
> thing;-) An experiential PROOF OF EXISTENCE. At that time I said: By
> participating got the proof that FREEDOM does exist and that people can
> self-organize in a way to nurture it and increase it. Nowadays I could also
> say: I got the proof that OPEN SPACE exists and that people can......
>
> All the ingredients had been in place Mainly extreme (1)diversity of
> people, a (2)sense of urgency, a (3)common vision (in that case of a free
> place for the young people to express and continue creating their culture
> (in contract to high-culture) and (4) enough space that this diversity could
> express itself in lots and lots of sub-groups without being forced together
> in an unnatural way.
>
>
>
> (Just to mention the second PROOF OF EXISTENCE that influenced my life:
> That was being part of the first Austrian free school for 10-15 year olds
> (Eltern-Schüler-Lehrer-Kooperative Wien) and so getting the experienced
> proof that free education is feasable and not only a dream. So I then
> survived the praxis shock in the regular school system, to which I then
> transferred the methodology and basic attitude from the free school in my
> role as a highschool and univ. teacher.)
>
>
>
> Since Open Space is everywhere, although not visible when under the weight
> of externally managed communication of people (by rules, laws, manager,
> facilitators, you name it), it seems to be Evident (although not necessarily
> "logical") that this feeling&this way of self-organization of OS comes up.
> People in the Commune of Paris did it the same way, as far as we know. It is
> expression of all MOVEMENTS for Freedom at similar points, because... well,
> I think, no because necessary. Its these moments and periods in
> time/history, when the frozen structures (in the heads) become fluid, when
> ICE becomes WATER. And therefore
>
>
>
> YES of course: WHEREVER IT IS, is the right place
>
>
>
> But here comes my
>
> ----
>
> NO:
>
> ----
>
>
>
> I want to differentiate between implicit and explicit. I can easily accept
> that the RIGHTPLACE thing is or might be an implicit principle.
>
>
>
> But my question is: why do we make the 4 principles explicit and tell the
> people before going to work in OS?
>
>
>
> The answer: (all of you know it, I suppose:) Because this has the function
> to get rid of bad habits from the ICE context, that inhibit
> self-organization when they dominate/hegemonize the heads!
>
>
>
> Principle-telling by a facilitator is an intervention with a function at
> the beginning of an OS event. It is not a set of knowledge in the classical
> sense. If you look at them, they are from one point of view:
> evident/trivial, from another point of view they are absurd.  And their
> truth is deep and completly superficial at the same time.
>
>
>
> And this evidenttriviality & absurdness produces the tension/the
> contradiction that makes them a helpful intervention. They are the ICE
> braker for an OS, although not in the traditional way, ICE brakers are used
> by classical trainers and facilitator (those we do not need at all in OS, of
> course)
>
>
>
> "Whoever Comes is the right People." works against the idea, that people
> need to be homogeneous, that there has to be a set of access criteria, that
> people have to have a certain level, a certain minimum age, be specialists,
> not be blind......etc.
>
>
>
> "Whatever happens is the only thing that could have" facilitates to be
> prepared to be surprised and inhibits the classical: well if this and that
> would have been different, I would have invested my energy here, but so....
> So as a principle it is a tool against not taking responsibility
>
>
>
> "Whenever it starts is the right time" helps to stay free from "time
> scheduled un-spontaneity" helps to wait until the right feeling is in the
> room. Helps to give priority to deal with interfering things that suck your
> energy if you do not care for them (like not going to the toilet, because it
> is 30 seconds before START;-)
>
> "When it is over, it is over" To make this principle explicit helps to
> notice that everything has been done although the time is not yet "up", it
> helps to organize a continuation or an extra session if important things are
> undone, although there is no more scheduled time for it....
>
> (Of course the refined way of expressing these principles in the various
> languages gives some more and some more subtle support for healthy
> communication that the usual habits of communication by the "well-educated"
> in various cultures (nearly in all cultures, it is a rule that you give the
> resource "time for talking" to the powerful even if they abuse this.....but
> fortunately we have one LAW).
>
>
>
> So, of course this 5th "principle" makes us aware, that Open Space does and
> did happen at places, we never would have thought, like Harrisons story
> about Claudias story made clear to me, that there have been many OS events
> in revolutionary movements throughout history, alright.
>
>
>
> But wherever we open space in the sense of OST. There are no other, places.
> There is only a HERE. So whats the use ot make "Wherever it is, is the right
> place" a fifth principle?
>
>
>
> And there is a very nice meta-principle that Harrison repeatedly used, and
> I think it IS important: "Let us think about one less things to do". The
> meta-principle of minimal intervention, the old great idea of Occhams rasor.
>
>
>
> So my conclusion is:
>
>
>
> Yeah, great storytelling. And maybe some more understanding of "underlying
> things" with regard to Open Space, but we do not need to have a 5th
> principle and to bother future participants with such a principle that does
> not help to inhibit bad habits of communication in Open Space.
>
>
>
>
>
> Bernd/Bernard
>
> Colombo/Sri Lanka
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Bernd Weber
>
> Change Facilitation s.r.o., A Global Partner Who Makes Change Happen in
> Complex Environments; www.change-facilitation.com,
> www.change-management-toolbook.com bernd.weber at change-facilitation.org; (iPhone
> Austria: +43 664 135 4828, landline + 431 5968657); Sri Lanka landline +94
> 11 2785859, iPhone Sri Lanka: +94 777740757,
>
>
>
> NEW: Intensive Learning Workshop
>
> "Playing with the Waves of Change"
>
> www.change-facilitation.com/
>
>
>
> You want to have the design  for a "Playing with the Waves (of Change) WS 2
> completely taylor-made according to your individual learning interests &
> needs & limitations? Then have a look to the questionnaire at
>
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>
>
>
>
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>
>
>
>
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> Am 24.05.2011 um 16:29 schrieb fischer florian:
>
>
>
> Dear Harrison,
>
>
>
> »Wherever it is ... and if it´s within the own brain ... is the right
> place«.
>
>
>
> You practiced it actually
>
> by accepting the diappearance of Claudia´s last name
>
> opening space for the next step.
>
>
>
>
>
> A hug
>
> Florian
>
>
>
> Florian Fischer
>
> ff at begleitung-im-wandel.com
>
> www.begleitung-im-wandel.com
>
> Münchener Straße 6
>
> 10779 Berlin
>
> Fon (030) 2116752
>
>
>
>
>
> Am 23.05.2011 um 23:31 schrieb Harrison Owen:
>
> ... A special gift for me was a series of extended conversations with
> Claudia,
>
> whose last name has disappeared in my senile brain. ....
>
>
>
> NOW – the new one. “Wherever it is, is the right place.”
>
>
>
> ..... it will take us to some places we have never been. I’m ready.
>
>
>
> And if Claudia will reveal her last name, I would be deeply appreciative.
>
> Not to say thankful, for she gave me a great gift.
>
>  .....
>
>
>
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