[OSList] Open Space Economics? Be Prepared to be Surprised!

Wed Oct 2 12:16:31 PDT 2013

chris and harrison are bringing me back around to one of the things i
thought was interesting in the story told in the article i shared:
 surprise.  accountability, power, control in traditional organization, in
a practical way, is about preventing, managing, limiting, responding to,
etc...  surprises.  of course, that's a real challenge, because as harrison
says, the environment is fast moving, etc.  the challenge that chris
describes is what happens when folks charged with preventing surprise go
out and hire us to come in and invite surprise.  this is the tension.  and
this is one of the nuggets in this article, i think, because this notion of
surprise gives us a more immediate and practical way of thinking about
control, accountability, and power.

at the moment i have this odd image of a massive dam, holding back the
great lake of surprise, with all the knowledge and learning potential it
holds.  and i'm called in to install a little drinking fountain at the
bottom of it, in hopes of draining the lake.  or something like that.
 <grin>  as harrison says, even if it they turn off the fountain after 2.5
days, they always know the pipes are there.  and every little bit that
comes through that way is a little less pressure behind the dam.

--

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

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

On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 1:27 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Bui – I surely hope that we will be seeing you sooner than a few years
> from now! And I have to say that nothing in my experience of multiple Open
> Spaces, including many with lots of CEOs, matches what you seem to be
> saying. To begin  with I have never seen an Open Space that didn’t work at
> all three levels of “work” that I would consider relevant. A) It works at a
> formal level – Folks sit in a circle, create bulletin board, open a market
> place and go to work. B) It works at a practical level – they actually get
> something done which they deem to be significant. C) It works at a
> continuing level – which for me means that at the minimum, even if they
> never do an Open Space again, and even if they immediately revert to their
> hierarchical, bureaucratic ways they always know that it could be better
> and different. I have had CEOs (and other execs) ask me if they should
> participate, fearing that their presence might be intimidating – To which
> my standard response is that they should do whatever they feel comfortable
> doing, but not to worry. I sometimes add that, presuming they have some
> value to add, their participation would be a plus. That usually causes a
> smile, and almost inevitably, active participation.****
>
> ** **
>
> I confess I have heard tales of CEO’s who became so threatened that they
> stood in the middle and essentially told everybody what to do. In a word,
> they just shut off the lights. Perhaps my prejudices have gotten the better
> of me, but that doesn’t sound like a failure of Open Space, but rather a
> case of exceptionally bad manners and probably a severe personality
> disorder.****
>
> ** **
>
> Perhaps one of the reasons I have never encountered a situation such as
> you describe is that I always insist on a conversation with the Senior
> Folks as a condition of contract. My friend Lisa might call this
> “pre-work,” but to me it has always been a relatively short simple
> conversation in which we go over a few essentials. First, the gathering
> will be voluntary (voluntary self selection).  Second, all issues of
> concern to anybody in the gathering will be on the table should they chose
> to put them there. If I detect any problem, that would be pretty much the
> end of the conversation, and my participation in their endeavor. Truth to
> tell in all my years I can only remember a single occasion where we ran
> into a deal breaker. And for whatever it is worth, that organization and
> those execs are now out of business. I wonder why?****
>
> ** **
>
> The whole question of Executive control is a fascinating one, and should
> you pursue all this in your studies, you will have a rich field. From where
> I sit,  the notion that any executive could exercise the sorts of control
> that many think they have, or perhaps hope they do (after all somebody must
> be in charge!) is flawed to say the least. They don’t have it, never did,
> and never will. The reason is simple. Any organization, large or small, is
> so enmeshed with an environment which is so fast moving, interconnected,
> random and chaotic that we can’t even think at that level. And what we
> can’t think, we surely can’t control. Mission Impossible.  Yes I know that
> there is this hope and expectation, fostered by the multiple business
> schools of the world that change can be managed, that the future can be
> predicted, indeed created, that the Plan will triumph. Lots of luck.****
>
> ** **
>
> Harrison****
>
> ** **
>
> ****
>
> ** **
>
>  ****
>
> ** **
>
> Harrison Owen****
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.****
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> www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20> ****
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> ** **
>
> *From:* oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:
> oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of *Bui Petersen
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 02, 2013 11:23 AM
>
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *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****
>
>
>
> ****
>
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