[OSList] OST Foundations again (Was: Re: Dealing with conflicts)

Artur Silva arturfsilva at yahoo.com
Sat Jul 28 02:35:31 PDT 2012


[Now what I intended to say... Artur]

-------------

Harrison, Peggy,
all:
 
Harrison
said: “(...)trust the people to do what they need to do given the
time/space to do it".
 
Peggy
commented: "(...) providing fertile
initial conditions (4 principles, 1 law, and a goodquestion) engages people
(...)"
 
Are these
two equivalent statements? I may be wrong, of course, but I don't think so…

Apart from the preconditions for a successful OST that HO stated many times
(*), I would think that what is needed is: enough diversity, careful
preparation (pre work), adequate theme (not necessarily a question), a circle,
a bulletin board, a market place, the law, adequate time, trust.
 
The
principles are not, IMHO, a precondition (or foundation) but
something thatalways happens given the previous preconditions.
 
What do you
all think now? (Now because this has been already discussed in the past...)
 
Regards
 
Artur
 
(*) For
instance, in the "OST Non Guide", page 7:
1) A real
business issue of great concern.
2) High
levels of complexity in terms of the elements of the issue.
3) High
Levels of diversity in terms of those involved.
4) The
presence of actual or potential conflict.
5) A
decision time of yesterday -- i.e. an urgent need for improvement.   




________________________________
 From: Peggy Holman <peggy at peggyholman.com>
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> 
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 4:17 PM
Subject: Re: [OSList] Dealing with conflicts
 
Harrison,

I think a powerful lesson that you made visible is providing fertile initial conditions (4 principles, 1 law, and a good question) engages people to work through challenges to what matters. 

Peggy
Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 26, 2012, at 6:58 AM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Marie said -- "And Harrison, our own Krishnamurti. No fluff, just open
> space! I admire your trust - which is why you're so bold."
> 
> I am not so sure I was being "bold" -- but I surely trust the people to do
> what they need to do given the time/space to do it. And they have always
> come through. As for my part, I think it has much more to do with my
> profound sense of limitations. There is no way in the world I could possibly
> control the situation if only because I
 completely lack the ability
 to
> figure out the complex interactions, to say nothing of the history of the
> group involved. Only they are fully expert on their lives and living. So
> rather that "bold" -- maybe humble? Maybe cowardice? 
> 
> ho 
> 
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
> Potomac, MD 20854
> USA
> 
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)
> Camden, Maine 20854
> 
> Phone 301-365-2093
> (summer)  207-763-3261
> 
> www.openspaceworld.com 
> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST
> Go to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Marie Ann
> Östlund
> Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 5:08 PM
> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> Subject: Re: [OSList] Dealing with conflicts
> 
> Wow, thank you for all your responses and wonderful stories. Thank you
> Peggy, that's a great example, and Christine - that's an interesting
> process.
> 
> I wanted to do something 'constructive' with everyone open enough to meet,
> as many felt hopeless about the situation. The
 issue now was acute but they
> had a 20-30 year history of
 difficulties and conflicts.
> I only had a few hours so convened a circle and planned a short AI and World
> Café, so that they would have some sort of exchange. The floor was
> 'high-jacked' though by someone that had important new revelations to
> communicate, and I let it be for some time before asking those wanting to
> speak about this to convene somewhere else. Those that stayed convened in a
> circle and I gave them a talking stick. That went well.
> 
> I was pondering over how it would be to open space in this situation.
> As Harrison says, when there is conflict, open space.
> 
> In regards to having an agenda, Brendan, as a mediator I understand that
> it's hard for people to hear each other when they are very angry or upset,
> at the same time it's important for people to be able to express just how
> angry or hurt they are. With OS I'm learning to trust
 people to do what they
> need to do, and that they will manage themselves. I just wasn't sure if
> opening space would really be advisable, even if I thought it might work.
> There's nothing like truth, but still I don't want people to get hurt.
> 
> And Harrison, our own Krishnamurti. No fluff, just open space! I admire your
> trust - which is why you're so bold.
> 
> Michael, yes do send me Practice of Peace (in english!). You're right that
> it's all very much about convincing oneself, and writing to you all is part
> of that process for me.
> 
> Thank you Craig for trying to elicit some failure stories from the OS folks.
> In conflicts people at least care enough to be in conflict, and OS is all
> about what we care about so will have to work.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Marie Ann
> 
> On Wed, Jul 25, 2012 at 3:55 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
>> Good point Craig. We always learn from the exceptions/anomalies. In 27 
>> years of opening space, often in genuinely “hairy” situations, I have 
>> never personally encountered a situation where “it didn’t work.” 
>> “Working” for me is a fairly pragmatic definition. Folks got together, 
>> dealt with their issues, and either found solutions or recognized that 
>> for reasons totally beyond their control, no solution was possible in 
>> the moment. All of this was done with a high degree of civility, respect,
> and economy of effort.
>> More often than not, participants will report that they even “had fun.”
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I have heard of situations that were less than positive. In every
 case 
>> the
 fundamental problem seemed to be that the sponsor/facilitator 
>> tried to “play it safe.” This could mean restricting the time/space 
>> for discussion, limiting the issues to be discussed (placing them off 
>> limits), and/or intervening along the way with some form of mediation. 
>> Some people tried to prepare the way by sharing “Handy Rules for 
>> treating each other nicely.” I don’t suppose that hurt, but I never 
>> saw that it made any difference. Truth is in the heat of discussion 
>> folks don’t seem to pay much attention to rules, except those that are 
>> generated internally and are integral to the conversation – which is what
> I think happens in Open Space.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Harrison
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Harrison
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Harrison
 Owen
>> 
>> 7808 River Falls Dr.
>> 
>> Potomac, MD 20854
>> 
>> USA
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)
>> 
>> Camden, Maine 20854
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Phone 301-365-2093
>> 
>> (summer)  207-763-3261
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> www.openspaceworld.com
>> 
>> www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
>> 
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of 
>> OSLIST Go 
>> to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.or
>> g
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
>> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Craig 
>> Gilliam
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 7:49 AM
>> 
>> 
>> To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
>> Subject: Re: [OSList] Dealing with conflicts
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I do a great deal of conflict work professionally.  I am a 
>> practitioner of OS as well.
>> 
>> Rather than hearing only success (and I know that the definition of 
>> success
>> varies)
 stories of OS and conflict, I am also interested in those 
>> times when
 someone felt OS did not work in a conflict situation, or 
>> did not work as well as he/she thought it would and what did you learn 
>> from those encounters.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Craig
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:13:58 +0200
>>> From: mmpanne at boscop.org
>>> To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
>>> Subject: Re: [OSList] Dealing with conflicts
>>> 
>>> Dear Marie Ann,
>>> the gathering Harrison describes (Israelis and Palestinians in Rome) 
>>> got him to write a book on why os events are so peaceful even in 
>>> highly
 conflicting situations.
>>> If you like, I will send
 you a copy of "The Practice of Peace"... of 
>>> course, you can also get the german version I was involved in: "Raum 
>>> für den Frieden".
>>> In my own experience there have been a number of highly conflicting 
>>> situations for which sponsors chose Open Space Technology. The 
>>> biggest job I had was to convince the sponsors that you need nothing 
>>> but open space and it worked every time (Israelis and Palestinians 
>>> meeting in Switzerland, Parish Board and church workers at issue with 
>>> each other, Board of Directors and Marketing Department of a Food 
>>> Corporation at issue, Welfare Organisation with all subsystems at 
>>> "war", Highschool with opposing factions of teachers...you name it).
>>> Come to think of it, at the beginning of my OSpractice after 35 years 
>>> of OD consulting, I
 actually had to convince mainly myself that 
>>> highly conflicting situations is what os-events run on (one of the 
>>> five preconditions)... unlearning the old approaches (still very much 
>>> in
>>> vogue!!) was the hard part.
>>> Greetings from Berlin
>>> mmp
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On 24.07.2012 22:35, Marie Ann Östlund wrote:
>>>> Dear all,
>>>> 
>>>> I just spent a week in a community in France that is divided by 
>>>> quite a large conflict. Have anyone of you used OS with a group of 
>>>> people where the conflict is at its hight and emotions are still 
>>>> strong? I can see that OS can be used in complex conflictual 
>>>> situations, but wonder whether you would first spend time bringing 
>>>>
 down their emotions to a 'manageable' level before attempting to 
>>>> bring them together into an OS.
>>>> 
>>>> Do you have any experiences in this regard? I'd be very interested 
>>>> in your reflections!
>>>> 
>>>> Thank you,
>>>> 
>>>> Marie Ann
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> OSList mailing list
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 subscription click below:
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>>>> g
>>>> .
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
>>> Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
>>> ++49-30-772 8000
>>> mmpanne at boscop.org www.boscop.org
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 388 resident 
>>> Open Space Workers in 67 countries working in a total of 143 
>>> countries
>>> worldwide: www.openspaceworldmap.org
>>> _______________________________________________
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>> 
>> 
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