[OSList] The Open Agile Adoption story

Fri Jul 26 05:35:12 PDT 2013

Dan – Great to see you here on OSLIST, and the story you tell is marvelous!
And...I can’t resist telling one of my own. Something like 20 years ago, in
a conversation with a techie friend, I said that whoever in the software
community first found and utilized the deep power of Open Space would
totally change the game. Game on! J

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 04843

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

www.openspaceworld.com 

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Daniel Mezick
Sent: Thursday, July 25, 2013 12:38 PM
To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Subject: [OSList] The Open Agile Adoption story

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 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), 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 Scrum  Gathering 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

dan at newtechusa.net

203 915 7248   