[OSList] Power / Be Prepared to be Surprised!

Wed Oct 2 05:10:06 PDT 2013

Maybe the issue here isn't the "circumvention of power", but rather the
redefinition of power? In the ordinary scheme of things we consider that the
CEO has "power" because he has the position. To me this has always been a
very false and misleading sense of power, if only because it is arbitrarily
imposed. There is power there, but in a funny way it is consensual power.
That sort of power remains powerful so long as everybody thinks it does.
Very much like the Emperor and his clothes. Even though he is buck naked, he
is attired resplendently, so long as everybody thinks he is. But should one
small boy...

Power in Open Space is of a very different sort, but no less present. Power
in Open Space manifests whenever and wherever Passion and Responsibility
effectively join, creating what I have called a Circle of Caring - which is
actually a power vortex from which real action, new ideas, change may
emerge. You can also call this Leadership. This vortex can center on anyone
present - Leadership (power) is therefore distributed and specific to the
task, people, and task. In a word it is not arbitrary. Once the Circles of
Caring form, the Open Space is off - POWERFULLY!

Now an interesting question. Which view of power is accurate? Or one might
say correct or effective? I believe it is the second sort. Not because it is
nice, moral, ethical, the politically correct thing to - but because it is a
totally natural situation. I would suggest that the power we experience in
Open Space is the way things really are. Power as imaged by the CEO Model is
pretty much illusory. 

Heretically Yours,

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 Michael Herman
Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2013 11:35 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space Economics? Be Prepared to be Surprised!

I can't ever remember "attempting to circumvent power dynamics," Bui.  While
it's quite common when people talk about sitting in a circle they say things
like, "...the circle makes everyone equal."  I always disagree.  The circle
gives everyone equal access to all the others in the circle, the markers and
paper and microphone at the center, and the bulletin board gives everyone
the same access to all of the info that is generated.  It doesn't make them
equal, the ceo has an entirely different set of skills, resources,
experiences, concerns than the new intern.  But as a facilitator, I give
everyone the same job:  learn and contribute as much as you can, from
wherever you are, with whatever you have at your disposal.  serve the common
purpose.  

none of this attempts or requires any circumventing.  i think ost works in
spite of whatever the power structure might be, once people show up.  maybe
the invitation tweaks the power structure -- but if the invite comes from
the top, then it's the top giving power away -- hardly a circumvention, and
certainly not the facilitator attempting.  if the invite bubbles up from
somewhere below, then it's the lower ranks claiming power for themselves.
so i think any shifting of power arises because invitation exists as an
option, not because anything we do in the process of 'opening space.'  i
think ost is just one way of pointing out that invitation is possible and
the ost story is pretty much the same in all kinds of different "power"
distributions.  

or maybe i just don't understand.  what do you do to notice and recognize
power imbalances?  and how have you seen this improve the ost experience for
people?   

m

--

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

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

On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:06 PM, Bui Petersen <bui.petersen at gmail.com> wrote:

Michael, I guess we'll have to disagree. I see OST's temporal attempt at
circumventing power dynamics (e.g through the the empowered of the the law
of two feet) as one of the beauties of the process. 

One of the reasons that the liberal view of market economics is problematic
is that it doesn't account for power imbalances. While you can't take away
all structural power, I think the OST experience can be enhanced by at least
some awareness and recognition of such powers.

Bui

On 30/09/2013 10:56 PM, Michael Herman wrote:

i don't think ost is trying to "take away structural power," bui -- not even
temporarily.  i think it's more about acknowledging the distribution of
knowledge and choice (power) that already exists.  the law of two feet isn't
something special we enact at the start of an event, it's something we just
notice and point out, for instance.   

m 

--

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

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

On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 10:21 AM, Bui Petersen <bui.petersen at gmail.com>
wrote:

Interesting discussion. When I have described OST, some people have been
skeptical as it to them has has sounded to "neo-liberal" and not taking
power balances enough into consideration. Obviously what the "structure" of
OST is trying to do is to take away structural power temporarily. But some
people are still skeptical about OST's potential to do this. My own take is
that OST does not always fully succeed in this regard. 

Still it is very interesting theoretically. Both there is a lot of other
(than economics) theoretical perspectives that better deal with power.

Bui 

On 26/09/2013 5:33 PM, Michael Herman wrote:

I share your concerns, Jeff, but found this piece to be mostly not about
politics.  And where he comments on current views and policy, I was less
bothered by what he was saying than by my tendency to agree in many cases.
But mostly this is interesting and useful totally separate from his
politics, I think. 

On Thursday, September 26, 2013, Jeff Aitken wrote:

thanks Michael! 

It's unfortunate that I have a lingering dislike for Mr. Gilder, who was
famous for awhile around 1981 when the Reagan administration rolled out its
economic agenda, and his work was considered one of its intellectual
pillars.

Twas a long time ago, and no doubt the man remains a hard thinker and clear
writer, perhaps with more heart than I experienced back then.

With that caveat, I'll dig into this when I have a chance. Thanks for
sharing.

Jeff

San Francisco

On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Michael Herman <michael at michaelherman.com>
wrote:

Here's a long one, friends. But maybe an important one.

What follows is an excerpt from a markets newsletter I've read for maybe 10
years by a financial expert and best-selling author Named John Mauldin.  He
describes and then shares an article by a guy named George Gilder, Who seems
to have been writing "important" books for at least a few decades.  

-- 
Michael Herman
MichaelHerman.com
(312) 280-7838 <tel:%28312%29%20280-7838>  

Sent from my iPhone

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