[OSList] The Open Agile Adoption story

Michael M Pannwitz mmpannwitz at gmail.com
Tue Aug 20 09:34:16 PDT 2013


Dear Artur,
tell me more about "profound changes"...
A couple of years ago, I had the privilege to facilitate an OST event 
for an agile consulting company. They schemed on how to transform their 
organisational life and process and structure in such a way that nobody 
would have to quit the company again on account of an employee becoming 
parent. Since they managed to invite and have attend partners and 
children (including ex-employees) I knew the whole thing would be a 
grand success. Its always been that way when I saw children attending an 
OST event.
I have no idea what happened to their burning business issue. They never 
told me which is probably a sign for them doing business as usual, 
profoundly.

Wish you all the best in your journey... ever thought of beginning it 
with an OST event?
Cheers
mmp

On 20.08.2013 16:21, Artur Silva wrote:
> Dan:
>
> Congratulations for your fine work promoting OST in the Agile Community
> and enlarging the scope of agile not only to "agile software
> development" but to "Agile (and spirited) companies".
>
> And, yes, Christine, this is a small world.
>
> I can remember some breakout sessions on "Agile and/or Scrum and OST" at
> last WOSonOS's, including one or two convened by Harold Shinsato in
> London-2012, which I have attended. So the terrain was already prepared
> for Dan's initiative.
>
> In what concerns Portugal, in my past life, I presented a paper, in a
> Portuguese Information Systems Conference, in 1980, where I created a
> "recursive life cycle", that was later considered, in Portugal, a
> precursor of agile methodologies.
>
> But the Agile movement is not yet very strong in Portugal even if there
> is a community that met often (http://agilept.org/) and a page at
> Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/agilept), with only 407 members.
> Generally Portuguese Universities only talk about agile marginally in
> the "Software Engineering" subject.
>
> In what concerns the future, I am preparing to stay only part time at
> the University, since the 14th September 2013, and be back to the
> consulting activities where OST will be an important part, but mainly as
> a facilitator for "profound changes" and collaborative learning
> (Communities of Practice, Organizational learning, Innovation,
> Resilience, etc.).
>
> Anyhow I will not probably be able to go to Paris in September, so
> please keep me both posted on the outcomes of the Paris meeting.
> Looking forward to work more closed with both of you (and some others
> out there) in the near future.
>
> Regards
>
> Artur
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* christine koehler <chris.alice.koehler at gmail.com>
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 20, 2013 11:07 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The Open Agile Adoption story
>
> Hi Dan
>
> Congratulations for your lovely buddha grand-daughter !
>
> Thank you for your story. As a French Open Space practitioner who heard
> for so many years that French and Open Space were not made to get
> together, I am always happy to hear exactely opposite stories ;-)
> Today as Michael Pannwitz says, we are the most fast growing community
> in the Open Space World.
>
> Now I can tell you the story of Open Space and Agile in France.. Indeed
> it's an old love story :
>
> In 2004, a small and diverse group of people launched the Open Space
> Institute of France. One of them was an engineer, and had already
> adopted agility : Raphael Pierquin.  So, the first Open Space event in
> the IT community in France  was held for Orange Business Services, a
> subsidiary of our historical telecommunication corporation France
> Telecom, after Raphael  introduced there Agility. This happened in 2005
> I think.
> Since that he organizes each year the Agile Open gathering using Open
> Space and the software company he co-founded is run with Open Space
> principles.
> When in 2009 I co-organized with Luc Bizeul the first European Open
> Space on Open Space, half of the participants were agile folks.
>
> My guess is that this explains why the core members of the French Agile
> community are quite familiar with Open Space and that you got retweeted
> from over here :-).
>
> These days as I personaly  want to understand more about agility, but if
> possible concretely and not from books (and also not from software
> development as I am not a tech lady), I joined a group of a dozen Agile
> people who are wondering why agile principles don't go further and
> transform organizations : they/we form the Stoos movement. One of the
> organizer of your French training on OpenAgileAdoption after the Scrum
> gathering in Paris is Oana Juncu, who belongs to this group. We live in
> a small world.
>
> I'd be happy to connect the Agile/Scrum/OpenSpace communities from
> France and abroad on Sunday, sept 22, just before the Scrum Gathering
> starts.
> Invitation is on its way, and it looks I need to find a bigger place
> already.. Thank you Suzanne for encouraging me to do that.
> I'll post more details soon.
>
> Hope to meet you there
>
> Christine
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 6:38 PM, Daniel Mezick <dan at newtechusa.net
> <mailto:dan at newtechusa.net>> wrote:
>
>     Good morning OST-List!____
>     __ __
>     I am Daniel Mezick, probably someone you never heard of.
>
>     I’m an executive & Agile coach that seeks (and occasionally obtains)
>     work in that section of the USA between NYC and Boston. I live in
>     CT. I have a story to tell you…and an invitation…
>
>     Open and Agile
>     ____
>     __ __
>     …about 4 years ago I start experimenting with Open Space, using it
>     inside public www.AgileBoston.org <http://www.agileboston.org/>
>     conference events. I study OST more. In 2010 we at Agile Boston
>     innovate by getting the 80-page proceeding from a large public OST
>     event rendered to a PDF and shipped to all participants in less than
>     24 hours. (We employ a rapid transcription service to render the
>     per-session outputs to text and images, then create a WORD doc and
>     PDF.)____
>     __ __
>     I actually did not know what the hell I was doing. I just knew it
>     was a generally good idea to socialize Open Space in Boston. ____
>     __ __
>     Little do I know…____
>     __ __
>     In late 2010, by Googling around I discover the free-download PDF of
>     the SPIRIT book by HO. Reading that changes everything for me. I
>     realize that OST is really about development and transformation in
>     organizations, NOT simply for public conferences and general
>     education. (This is how the “Agile community” currently uses Open
>     Space.)____
>     __ __
>     As a consultant to organizations, I realize that the SPIRIT book for
>     some reason is completely overlooked by the Agile community, and
>     that this book had the seeds of success in it. The “secret sauce”. I
>     begin experimenting with bringing Open Space meetings into my Agile
>     coaching engagements. The basic hypothesis is that the introduction
>     of change (Agile in this case) creates alarming levels of anxiety
>     and worry. And, that Open Space might actually help reduce worry and
>     fear.____
>     __ __
>      From late 2010 to the present day, I begin experimenting with using
>     Open Space in service to rapid and lasting Agile adoptions. By
>     diving into this work with willing clients, I begin to realize the
>     power of Open Space… with them. We find that we can reduce the
>     anxiety of change via the power and mystery of “invitation.” I begin
>     to study and build upon work from Ed Seykota (“testing for
>     willingness”), Michael Herman (“invitation”), Harrison Owen (the
>     SPIRIT book), others. ____
>     __ __
>     In 2011 I do a few more experiments and begin pulling ideas from
>     cultural anthropology (Victor Turner), from positive psychology
>     (Tony Hsieh’s application of Martin Seligman’s work) and from the
>     art and science of game design (Jane McGonigal).____
>     __ __
>     In 2012 I write THE CULTURE GAME (www.TheCultureGame.com
>     <http://www.theculturegame.com/>), a book about how to help your
>     organization get smarter. At this point I have worked with OST in
>     more than a few organizations. In that book I write a chapter,
>     chapter 21, and give it the title “Open The Space”. That chapter
>     contains several “easter eggs” which a few astute readers find and
>     begin using. I start to get emails from around the world about that
>     chapter. In that chapter I reference many of Harrison’s works, I
>     disclose some of the Open Agile Adoption technique.In that chapter,
>     I specifically provide the link to the SPIRIT book. ____
>     __ __
>     By late 2012, I have confirmation of several hypotheses. The first
>     is that without engagement, we have nothing. That seems very
>     obvious, yet the current Agile literature has little or nothing to
>     say about the role of engagement in effective Agile adoptions.
>     Second is that there is no engagement without /psychological safety/
>     sufficient /_to_/ engage. Third, safety (and a general sense of
>     well-being) is a largely a function of creating an “inviting
>     structure”. By structure I mean: a clear goal, or purpose…and a
>     clear set of rules…and a great, always-on feedback system and the
>     big one…”opt-in participation”. ____
>     __ __
>     I started ranting on Twitter and on my blog about how “mandated
>     collaboration” in Agile adoptions is at best misguided. How mandated
>     practices may be...harmful. Remember by this point I have my
>     experience and case data. I am speaking from some experience. ____
>     __ __
>     At first, no one seemed to hear me. But after a while, I start
>     getting ReTweets a lot. And people started talking back to me from
>     around the world and there is conversation. Questions. Insights. I
>     start connecting with all kinds of people around this idea. Some of
>     the ReTweets are from people with French names who Tweet in French
>     AND English.
>
>     ____
>     So here I am with this more-than-pretty-good technique that
>     incorporates Open Space. And I am kind of feeding out provocative
>     questions about Agile coaching, and talking a lot about invitation,
>     and about the futility of mandates…I also make some radical
>     assertions. This goes on for a while. ____
>     __ __
>     Then I got this interesting invitation. ____
>     __ __
>     It’s an invite to come and /keynote/ the Global ScrumGathering in
>     Paris France in September of 2013. The invite is from some of those
>     French people who ReTweet my Tweets. They tell me I can talk about
>     absolutely anything I deem important, and ask me to “come and play”
>     with them. ____
>     __ __
>     It takes me about 2 minutes to make up my mind. As soon as this
>     happens, I know it is one of these providential-type events that
>     becomes a defining moment. I gather up all my notes and start
>     crafting the speech. I also immediately contact Harrison Owen, and
>     bring all my work and notes up to his place in Camden to talk, and
>     explain OAA with Open Space to him, and seek his guidance. That was
>     back in early July. ____
>     __ __
>     And so: here we are. I’m going over there to Paris to talk about
>     Open Agile Adoption with Open Space to six hundred Agile and Scrum
>     practitioners. Many of them are coaches. The OAA technique
>     incorporates OST, storytelling, play, and some ancient and proven
>     tribal patterns for managing change, specifically the /rite of
>     passage/ pattern. ____
>     __ __
>     There is a list of links at the bottom of this note, so you can get
>     a sense of what I am presenting. Over July and August I am planning
>     to explain the whole technique to you and everyone else, holding
>     back the case data and the toolkit until 9/24 in Paris, when I
>     deliver the actual speech. On that day, the toolkit and all the
>     tools become free to the world via an open source license and a free
>     download. The intent is to provide a body of work that others can
>     immediately use and more importantly, improve upon. ____
>     __ __
>     We know that people are only 25 or 30 percent engaged at work. (see
>     related link below.) Open Space is a profoundly useful way to double
>     or even triple engagement from there. The hypothesis of Open Agile
>     Adoption is that /a safe space is required for true group learning/
>     to take root. And that Open Space is the primary tool for
>     constructing that kind of place. ____
>     __ __
>     The keynote address is designed to resonate before and after the
>     event. Before the event, INFOQ.com is publishing articles, videos
>     and interviews on Open Agile Adoption. During the event, the speech
>     will be transcribed, videotaped and recorded by the Scrum Alliance.
>     After the event these Scrum Alliance artifacts will be available to
>     anyone in the world via the Scrum Alliance. Also after the event I
>     plan to make the case data and Open Agile Adoption toolkit free to
>     the world, such that anyone with “a good head and a good heart” can
>     do it and do it well. ____
>     __ __
>     I’m taking a page from Harrison’s playbook, and from his ethos,
>     choosing to make the entire body of know-how free to the world. I’m
>     hoping that Open Agile Adoption (and derivatives) become the
>     standard for implementing more rapid and lasting Agile adoptions…____
>     __ __
>     …Not everyone is likely to be happy if this comes true. The Open
>     Space element has the potential to radically reduce the amount of
>     Agile coaching that is actually needed to get a rapid and lasting
>     Agile adoption. That reduces billable hours!____
>     __ __
>     Further (and of far more interest to you) is the idea that skilled
>     OST Facilitators are required to execute well with the Open Agile
>     Adoption technique. This has the potential to open up new demand for
>     those here with deep OST skills and experience. ____
>     __ __
>     There is clear potential for a certain “changing of the guard” in
>     Agile adoptions worldwide. There is potential for disruption...and
>     maybe a little bit of chaos. ____
>     __ __
>     After the Paris Scrum Gathering, I plan to offer short, plain-talk
>     seminars in how to do Open Agile Adoption. I do not plan to teach
>     Open Space facilitation in detail, because others in this community
>     are already doing this very well, and also because there is more to
>     Open Agile Adoption that just Open Space. There are elements of
>     storytelling, elements of a passage rite, elements of gaming, play
>     and more. I plan to teach the overall OAA technique to people who
>     want to learn it. In France in September, I am teaching two ½ day
>     seminars on 9/26 and 9/28 after the Scrum Gathering. When I return I
>     plan to continue teaching in the United States.____
>     __ __
>     I am asking for help. Will you help me socialize the idea that Open
>     Space is essential for creating rapid and lasting Agile adoptions? ____
>     __ __
>     You can help in the following ways:____
>     __ __
>     0/ Be playful, and help me refine and improve Open Agile Adoption
>     with others____
>     __ __
>     1/ Learn more about OAA via the provided links below. Then, ask me
>     questions.____
>     __ __
>     2/ Tell me if you offer Open Space training courses, and send me
>     your info, so I can promote your course to Open Agile Adoption
>     practitioners. If you are a Facilitator for hire, I want to talk to
>     you!____
>     __ __
>     3/ Examine the work, and provide feedback as I disclose it over the
>     next month.____
>     __ __
>     4/ Sign up for the Facebook group Open Agile Adoption via this link:
>     https://www.facebook.com/groups/204037609756665/____
>     __ __
>     __ __
>     5/ Help me get in front of Agile audiences to the extent you can.
>     This year I am speaking on Open Agile Adoption with Open Space at
>     these events (in date order):____
>     8/7/13: session, Agile2013____
>     9/24/13: keynote, Global Scrum Gathering, Paris____
>     11/6/13: keynote, Agile Tour, Quebec City Quebec CA____
>     __ __
>     I hope you like this story, ____
>     and I hope you want it to continue, ____
>     and I hope want to help write it. ____
>     __ __
>     I am inviting you to come and do that. Will you join me with others
>     in writing the next chapter of the Open Agile Adoption story?
>
>     I hope you will consider doing exactly that. ____
>     __ __
>     Kind Regards,____
>     Daniel Mezick____
>     www.DanielMezick.com <http://www.danielmezick.com/>____
>     dan at newtechusa.net <mailto:dan at newtechusa.net>____
>     203 915 7248____
>     __ __
>     Related Links:____
>     __ __
>     GALLUP Link on (dis) engagement____
>     /$350 billion per year in lost productivity.____/
>     http://businessjournal.gallup.com/content/247/the-high-cost-of-disengaged-employees.aspx____
>     __ __
>     SPIRIT Link (Harrison Owen book)____
>     http://www.openspaceworld.com/Spirit.pdf____
>     __ __
>     Open Agile Adoption Link____
>     www.OpenAgileAdoption.com <http://www.openagileadoption.com/>____
>     __ __
>     Mandated Collaboration Link____
>     http://newtechusa.net/agile/the-recipe-for-botched-agile-adoptions/____
>     __ __
>     __ __
>     Scrum Gathering Link (click ‘keynotes’ and then click “right arrow”…____
>     http://www.scrumalliance.org/courses-events/events/global-gatherings/2013/paris-2013____
>     __ __
>     __ __
>     Agile2013 Link____
>     http://www.agilequebec.ca/nouvelles/agile-tour-2013-keynote/____
>     __ __
>     Agile Tour Quebec City keynote Link____
>     http://www.agilequebec.ca/nouvelles/agile-tour-2013-keynote/____
>     __ __
>     Open Agile Adoption Group on Facebook____
>     https://www.facebook.com/groups/204037609756665/
>
>     ____
>     --
>     Daniel Mezick, President
>     New Technology Solutions Inc.
>     (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>     Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
>     <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
>     <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>     Examine my new book:The Culture Game
>     <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
>     Agile Manager.
>     Explore Agile Team Training
>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
>     Explore the Agile Boston
>     <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
>
>     _______________________________________________
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>
>
>
> --
> Christine Koehler, créatrice d'espace de Dialogue et de Coopération
>   Executive Coach, Médiateur
> www.christine-koehler.fr <http://www.christine-koehler.fr/>
>   Tel :  06 13 28 71 38
>    Fax : 09  72  32 36  65
> New ! Formation 20/06/2013 De l’évènement au Processus
> <http://christine-koehler.fr/2013/formation-de-levenement-au-processus-avril-2013/><http://www.youtube.com/embed/4OBVyB5Z9IU?rel=0>
>
>
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-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
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