[OSList] Open Space – 2013 and Beyond

[Jeff Aitken]

Some more of the story to offer: I learned Open Space in 1989, before
it was widely called a 'technology' - and I was (and still am)
reluctant to add the T.

The first uses of the T word were somewhat lighthearted and a little
bit ironic, given how low-tech is the process. Harrison's friend in
India was indeed "playing up" the legitimacy of the process to the
journalists, for whom he added the T to the OS at that fateful
business conference.

But once the T was in published books, it became a case of the "brand"
taking on a life of its own, and then NOT using the T could risk
confusion, in a time when these processes are not easily
distinguishable to folks who are not trained in the distinctions.

I still risk the confusion, call it "open space process" and take the
T very lightly, as useful as the T may be.

onward...

Jeff
San Francisco



On 2/1/13, Skye Hirst <skyeh at autognomics.org> wrote:
> I guess the next question is what does "literal"  mean? Skye
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 11:43 AM, paul levy <paul at cats3000.net> wrote:
>
>> Skye,
>>
>> The first line is ironic, not literal. Forgive my English soul.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> On 01/02/2013, Skye Hirst <skyeh at autognomics.org> wrote:
>> > How fascinating!  You say it's a "thing" then continue to reflect that
>> > is
>> > it a "process."  You might want to explore the different metaphysics of
>> > each.  Quite different i think.  Heraclitus spoke of "becoming"  as
>> > more
>> > alive than things which Plato wanted us to focus on,  the fixed ness of
>> > that which we could touch, see over and over the same way so we could
>> > examine it closely to know that it was "real"
>> >
>> > Yes,  it is a "self" process; self knowing, self referencing and
>> > self-correcting.  This is not a thing in the old metaphysics.  Thanks
>> > for
>> > your thoughtful comments. This is what they used to call "doing
>> philosophy"
>> > Skye
>> >
>> >
>> > On Fri, Feb 1, 2013 at 8:13 AM, paul levy <paul at cats3000.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Well, here's the whole thing...
>> >>
>> >> Open Space – 2013 and Beyond
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Be in no doubt, Open Space Technology is a thing. Harrison Owen
>> >> specifically called (and continues to call) it a “technology”. It was
>> >> a
>> >> new
>> >> technology designed to replace a tired old one. It was also called a
>> >> technology at a time when, in management and organisational circles,
>> >> facilitation methods and approaches were being called “technologies”;
>> >> also
>> >> “tools” and “”techniques” – more so in the United States than in the
>> >> counties and cities of the United Kingdom. This particular technology
>> was
>> >> a
>> >> way of conferencing and getting things done that was way better than
>> >> over-fussy and over- formalised older “technologies”.
>> >>
>> >> It was a neat cultural reaction to a future being painted as robotic,
>> >> with
>> >> society’s problems being solved by things of steel, microchip and
>> >> plastic.
>> >> By embodying “softer” processes as “technologies” we had a viable
>> >> alternative to plugging things into our nerve endings and veins. We
>> could
>> >> deploy alternative ways of doing things, ways of seeing the world,
>> >> ways
>> >> of
>> >> behaving. If these could be presented simply, and if they could have a
>> >> kind
>> >> of enduring repeatability in different situations, then they would be
>> >> viable alternatives to machines and “stuff”-based innovation. A potent
>> >> and
>> >> softer technology to allow us to ride the waves of change. Oh, and of
>> >> course, it was a wonderful and simple alternative to over-structured,
>> >> facilitator-heavy meeting process to boot!
>> >>
>> >> Open Space Technology is, therefore, presented as a fairly simple,
>> >> resilient, and, most importantly, transferable and repeatable THING.
>> >> It
>> >> is
>> >> something you sort of “switch on” and, to quote Harrison, it just
>> >> about
>> >> “always works”.
>> >>
>> >> This particular thing is a “technology” so applicable, timeless and
>> >> repeatable, because it operates according to natural law. It is an
>> >> expression, in process, of self-organisation.
>> >>
>> >> Open Space Technology isn’t self-organisation as much as
>> >> self-organisation
>> >> is Open Space.
>> >>
>> >> Now, there’s been a fair amount of discussion in recent years as to
>> >> what
>> >> self-organisation is, and Harrison Owen himself has dived into that
>> >> exciting pool of thinking and dialogue-ing. I think we are very much
>> >> at
>> >> the
>> >> beginning of understanding what self-organisation is. It certainly
>> >> begs
>> >> the
>> >> question “what is the self in self-organisation?”. There are a range
>> >> of
>> >> different answers to this and, not surprisingly, they sit on that old
>> >> cherry of a line that runs from material science to religion and
>> >> faith.
>> >> Open Space as a field has always attracted people who see it as an
>> >> embodiment of natural science in social action through a practical
>> >> proof
>> >> and expression of the truth of self-organisation as an underlying
>> natural
>> >> law. It has also attracted its fair share of spiritual faithfuls who
>> >> see
>> >> it
>> >> as a magical process for making spiritual potential real in the
>> >> physical
>> >> world. It has given birth to articles about biological
>> >> self-organisation
>> >> in
>> >> human social systems, alongside articles about the power of “holding
>> >> the
>> >> space”, walking anticlockwise, and the gonging of Tibetan Bells. And
>> also
>> >> a
>> >> fair number of people who see Open Space as uniting science and
>> >> spirituality in a meeting process that proves both can sit alongside
>> each
>> >> other without too much conflict.
>> >>
>> >> Harrison Owen himself, when it suits him, expounds thousands of words
>> >> on
>> >> Open Space, how to do it, on self-organization, on wave-riding and so
>> on.
>> >> When others do the same, especially where attempts are made to
>> >> elaborate
>> >> the field, explore it, innovative or develop it, he often suggests
>> >> that
>> >> such thinking is a bit of a pointless exercise, and suggests we just
>> >> go
>> >> and
>> >> “open some space”. It’s a charming, grandfatherly way to be, and I
>> >> don’t
>> >> mind it at all.
>> >>
>> >> As 2013 dawns, I’m convinced that Self-Organisation is Open Space. But
>> >> I
>> >> don’t buy the definition that seems to be emerging that the “self” in
>> >> self-organisation doesn’t refer to individual human selves. It most
>> >> certainly does. When we contemplate the world (or even universal)
>> >> process,
>> >> it is too easy to forget that we are contemplating ourselves as part
>> >> of
>> >> that world process. We don’t sit outside of the universe we are a part
>> >> of.
>> >> When I derive universal laws of nature, I am also deriving those as
>> >> laws
>> >> that flow through me. And yet there is also a process of observation
>> >> by
>> >> my
>> >> self of my self that is then taking place. If I say, “this is true for
>> >> the
>> >> universe”, then I am also saying “this is true for me in the
>> >> universe”.
>> >> But
>> >> I am also saying “My self is observing that this is true for me in the
>> >> universe”. It’s the classic observer part of ourselves that observes
>> >> our
>> >> observing!
>> >>
>> >> There’s me (“I”), there’s the universe – and there’s also me in the
>> >> universe and the universe in me.
>> >>
>> >> When we self-organise, we both organise as a collective self through
>> >> community action (the collective circle) but we also observe into the
>> >> circle from a standpoint that no one else in that circle can occupy.
>> >> No
>> >> one
>> >> can be me. No one can refer to me as ‘I’ except for me! Of course
>> there’s
>> >> a
>> >> danger that such an ego or self-focused view can turn into egotism,
>> where
>> >> the self is self-viewed as more important than any other self-views.
>> >> But
>> >> there’s also an opportunity to live what Rudolf Steiner described as a
>> >> community life where, in the mirror of each human, the community finds
>> >> its
>> >> reflection and where, in the community, the virtues of each one is
>> >> living.
>> >>
>> >> Self-organisation occurs when the self organises. In community it is a
>> >> dual process of the self (the individual) observing into the circle
>> >> from
>> >> their unique standpoint and where, he or she, also imagines and
>> >> reaches
>> >> beyond that singular point, into the circle, a collective space, a
>> >> community endeavour, where individual selves are also cells connecting
>> >> into
>> >> a large self-organising being.
>> >>
>> >> This happens sometimes so brilliantly in an improvisation troupe. We
>> >> see
>> >> moments of individual genius but also a contribution of each self to a
>> >> bigger self – the group, and when this joins up and there is flowing
>> >> collaboration, a synergy arises and the group performance is even
>> >> greater,
>> >> never quite explainable in terms of any individual performances.
>> >>
>> >> Yes, yes! The whole can be greater than the sum of the parts when the
>> >> individual offers their self-part to become part of the community,
>> >> allowing
>> >> it to self-organise, beyond their own individual ego. We freely flow
>> into
>> >> the community, and no one knows or cares who, at that moment is
>> >> blowing
>> >> the
>> >> wind. Equally, we step out of that circle and sing our own tune – the
>> >> community self-organises, and sometimes we individually self-organise.
>> >>
>> >> Situations change, needs in communities and organisations change.
>> >> Sometimes the lone voice is the only voice that needs to be heard.
>> >> Sometimes the lone voice needs to quieten and listen to the circle.
>> >> Sometimes a wonderful mess needs to ensue, a chaos for a while,
>> sometimes
>> >> it all needs to be neat.
>> >>
>> >> Open Space Technology brings lots of individual selves together and –
>> >> in
>> >> a
>> >> way born of natural genius – creates a market place for selves to
>> address
>> >> themselves to a community need, and also for a community need to
>> manifest
>> >> in individual, group and even whole circle endeavour. Open Space is a
>> >> wonderful bridge between individual and collective self. When it is
>> truly
>> >> flowing self-organisation is both individual and whole. The dynamic is
>> >> musical, and often akin to dance – as dance that can been seen both on
>> >> the
>> >> stage and under a microscope, or even out in the starry heavens.
>> >>
>> >> But sometimes the technology needs adapting. For a very good and
>> >> important
>> >> reason that, ironically, lies deep at the heart of self-organisation
>> >> itself. This is because, although nature itself reveals its laws as
>> >> timeless, one little experiment in nature appears to elude that
>> repeating
>> >> consistency. To quote Steiner again, we will only really begin to
>> >> understand the human self when we realise that each human being is a
>> >> unique
>> >> species of one. Each of us is a new universe, a new emergent day,
>> >> every
>> >> single second. There is no technology that can fully hold the space
>> >> for
>> >> our
>> >> emerging selves. Self-organisation then needs to flex, flow and emerge
>> >> with
>> >> our own emerging mystery. For Open Space to embody a warm, loving
>> >> truth,
>> >> it
>> >> has to expose itself to … open space. Open Space cannot sit outside of
>> >> the
>> >> emergent mystery of uniqueness. It may prove itself for a while as
>> fairly
>> >> resilient. But then it becomes dogmatic, rusty, nostalgic and even a
>> >> bit
>> >> sad. Self-organising open space technology has to be able include
>> >> re-organising its-self!
>> >>
>> >> What are you scared of?
>> >>
>> >> Happy New Year,
>> >>
>> >> Paul
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
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>> >
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