[OSList] Open Space Economics? Be Prepared to be Surprised!
chris.corrigan at gmail.com
chris.corrigan at gmail.com
Wed Oct 2 11:15:49 PDT 2013
The whole topic of power for me needs more attention than I can give it at the moment…but I want to underline and echo some of Michael's observations from earlier in the thread.
Power is very interesting in Open Space. CEOs are in a really tricky position when they come into an Open Space because they are being asked to let go and trust that the group will come up with great stuff AND they retain their accountabilities for results outside of the meeting. It is very wise in preparing for an Open Space gathering to be very realistic about this dual responsibility because very few people in the world are, in my experience, really good at it.
The sponsors who have absolutely been gems to work with are people who are willing to take the risk and protect the space for the participants to create new things. You need a brave leader to do that, one who uses their power to create and hold space. Not everyone is comfortable with the power they hold and wield…and this is especially true of people that call Open Space meetings on a hunch. I have worked with several sponsors who called OST meetings because they were afraid to make decisions or create possibilities themselves.
As a result I work a lot with sponsors to get everyone in right relationship with power before undertaking important and far reaching OST events. I often talk about this as creating the "architecture of implementation." In other words, becoming strategic about how the results will be hosted in the organization or system and ensuring that the power and accountability up and down the line knows what is happening. Failure to do this ahead of time almost always results in the good harvest of an Open Space meeting falling apart in a back room somewhere.
It is important to remember that space is opened not just in the meeting, but in the moment when the inkling for an OST comes to the sponsor. And it is closed long after the meeting, when the results of the gathering have done their work. During that time, space needs to be held. The facilitator (especially us consultants) may just do the meeting, but leaders need to hold on much longer, to steward the possibilities for change. I think it is a responsibility of us as OST facilitators to understand that "wherever it happens is the right place" means that space needs to be held over time and space, in different locations, including in a meeting. Power, responsibility and multiple accountabilities can create an awful lot of shadow if not dealt with well.
Chris
On 2013-10-02, at 10:58 AM, Michael Herman <michael at michaelherman.com> wrote:
> harrison's post reminds me of a meeting i facilitated some years ago. the chiefs of a 900-person group worked with a colleague of mine for close to a year, studying a book they'd read together, and digging into strategic questions. by the time they called an open space for 120 of the next layer down, they'd produced a dandy mental map of all the issues.
>
> my colleague got sick and sent me to facilitate. i managed to convince them not to drop their map on everyone by ppoint as part of the opening. but once the opening was accomplished, they were standing in pairs and threes at the wall, pointing to things on their map and then pointing to the wall, laughing. everything they'd identified had been raised and posted.
>
> then, on the morning of day two we had a bit of a crisis at morning news. the invitation for this meeting had been quite short. it basically said, come and work on the issues that make your palms sweat, stomach churn, and keep you up at night. the upset on the second morning was that many folks were looking around at what was on the wall and thinking that they'd failed, that all their work and time was being wasted -- because the issues posted on the wall DID NOT normally keep most of them up at nights. it was just the work that had to be done, and they were doing it. once people realized that they had raised and were addressing every issue that anybody could identify, they got right back to working in their breakouts.
>
> turns out, all the big strategic/adaptive sorts of issues were only keeping the leaders up at night. for everybody else, it was just part of the job. so who had the power here?
>
> m
>
>
> --
>
> Michael Herman
> Michael Herman Associates
> 312-280-7838 (mobile)
>
> http://MichaelHerman.com
> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org
>
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 12:40 PM, Brett Barndt <barndtbrett at gmail.com> wrote:
> Very interesting discussion. Meanwhile, in terms of OST economics, the economics profession and all the adherents have so much power since they choose what ideas/explanations, etc. get proffered for the worlds' events. Many people who come into an Open Space event will carry those beliefs, which are themselves a mere subset and selection of possibilities heavily influenced by power preservation inherent in institutions.
>
> Many of the most influential people in the world operate by these beliefs which say justify austerity because of public debts (and despite destruction of social fabric, even rising suicide rates), public debts themselves (which are not a foregone conclusion in the grand scheme of things), or even the very concept of interest-bearing money, which is itself laden with ecological, power, and social hierarchy implications all by itself. And, powerful funding sources ensure new generations get taught these ideas at universities and secondary schools so that they are not even any longer debatable.
>
> There are so many assumptions not even questioned in our current world because of this hegemony.
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 11:40 AM, Diane Gibeault <diane.gibeault at rogers.com> wrote:
> I think the idea is not CEOs giving up power but getting more effective power, differently.
>
> The CEOs are invited to expand their definition of power to include shared leadership, a more open way of working with all elements of the organization...
> Harrison's description of the power that emerges through self-organization captures well this different paradigm of power.
>
> Diane
>
>
> From: Bui Petersen <bui.petersen at gmail.com>
>
> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 2, 2013 10:52:41 AM
>
> Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space Economics? Be Prepared to be Surprised!
>
> Maybe "circumventing" is the wrong word. But for me the issue of power is central. In order for OST to work, the "CEO" has to temporarily give up some of her/his power (both procedural and positional).
>
> I'm quite serious about this, and OST (and other group processes) may become part of my academic research (I just started on an PhD in Management). Maybe my contribution will be to help make the field of Management become more open to self-organization. :)
>
> Maybe you'll all hear back from me in a few years. :)
>
> Bui
>
> On 02/10/2013 1:04 AM, Michael Herman wrote:
>> 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
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> OSList mailing list
>>>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>>>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>>>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> OSList mailing list
>>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> OSList mailing list
>>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OSList mailing list
>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OSList mailing list
>> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
>> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
>> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20131002/b17656ec/attachment-0008.htm>
More information about the OSList
mailing list