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

[Michael M Pannwitz]

Dear Bui,
good fortune with your studies!

When thinking of Open Space, even Open Space Technology, I have never 
had the association of it being a group process.

In my practice as os-facilitator the assumption that my work needs to 
focus on the expansion of time and space so that the forces of 
selforganisation can do their thing more freely  has influenced my role.

It appears to me that the unique characteristic (in German: 
Alleinstellungsmerkmal) of open space is the focus on selforganisation. 
This I have not seen or experienced in the various "group processes" and 
"organisation development approaches" in my 40 years of practice.

With the force of selforganisation is not meant, however, nor the same 
as lets say "self organizing teams", "self organizing processes", "self 
organized leadership", "self organizing structure and schedule in 
groups", etc.
All these four and more activities can be observed in groups, 
organisations and systems, even in the activities of children 
interacting on a playground (which I enjoy greatly, it being High Play 
and also very effective)... and often in open space gatherings.

But these are just a few of the things that the force of 
selforganisation can bring about. In other words, expanding time and 
space for the force of selforganisation (in groups, organisations or 
systems) does not wind up in "self-organizing" activity. This, that is 
my assumption, of how selforganisation ticks and it is not what I as 
facilitator am attached to. I am attached to the expansion of time and 
space for the force of selforganisation... and then be prepared to be 
surprised. Knowing quite well that I know nothing really where this 
force comes from, how it originated, what role it plays in group 
processes or all processes under the sun.

The force of selforganisation is neither benevolent nor malicious, good 
or bad, nor always at play in a visible way (especially in highly 
controlled situations, where it shrinks)... it is at work on the 
playground, in the flow of daily life in complex systems such as the 
city of Berlin, in the Mafia, at war, in peace initiatives, in the 
competition of political life, in street gangs, in the war on the Hill 
regarding health care....

When I as facilitator work and act under these assumptions, however 
skilled or blundering, elegant or clumsy, humorously or dead dry, 
passionately or matter of fact, much or almost all the stuff of what 
facilitators usually do is of no use. Any guessing, trying to figure 
out, suggesting certain approaches, analysing group dynamics... will and 
does narrow the space that the force or selforganisation needs to do its 
stuff in groups, organisations and systems. Its not easy for me, to 
accept that but I have observed that my work is less than effective and 
that humbly submitting to this assumption (not at all my main style) is 
the preferred alternative.

And, leaving human systems, as is often pointed out its no different, 
all interventions that aim at controlling certain activities fail (dams, 
weather forecasts, flood control, forest fire prevention, genetic 
manipulation of plants and other critters, nuclear power plants....)... 
and if there were no humans on this planet or other agents wanting to 
control, the forces of selforganisation would merrily do their thing... 
maybe winding up with folks like ourselves in a few billion years again.

When I ran into open space pretty late in my professional life at age 
56, I pretty soon and steadily got rid of the grand books and manuals I 
had collected and studied with thousands of "exercises" or 
"interventions" for every possible "group situation" or "OD situation" 
under the sun. And, much of the stuff lingers, my "skilled" eye for 
dynamics and interactions of all sorts keep re-apperaring all the time.

So when I work in the role of os-facilitator (and long before I start a 
particular facilitation) I do find it excruciateling challenging up to 
today, to stay get and stay in my role as characterized by stepping back 
to let the forces of selforganisation play out.

Greetings from Berlin
mmp

On 03.10.2013 19:59, Bui Petersen wrote:
> Thanks Harrison,
>
> I think that perhaps we are not equally gifted as OS facilitators. That
> said, for us more "mortal" facilitators, not noticing some dynamic does
> not necessarily mean that it isn't there. I think it for most of us, it
> is important to know it is (or can be) there, whether we call it power
> or something else. If  I end up doing research on group processes, OST
> will likely be just be one of several to be compared.
>
> Yes, there is an interested common belief that the world can be managed.
> Much of the literature in my field (Organizational Behaviour) is about
> "managing" people and finding the best way to control them (I'm
> generalizing and simplifying here). I find it fascinating that in this
> capitalist world, where the world supposedly is benefiting from an
> "efficient market", management is still dominated by a belief based on
> Taylorist and Fordist views of organization and production, something
> that Stalin was an early adopter of. Why is it that when we don't want
> to overly control society that we still want to overly control
> organizations?
>
> I said a few years because it will take me a while before I get past
> mandatory course work and comprehensive exams. :)
>
> Bui
>
> On 02/10/2013 3:57 PM, Harrison Owen 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.
>>
>> Potomac, MD 20854
>>
>> USA
>>
>> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)
>>
>> Camden, Maine 04843
>>
>> Phone 301-365-2093
>>
>> (summer) 207-763-3261
>>
>> www.openspaceworld.com <www.openspaceworld.com%20>
>>
>> www.ho-image.com <www.ho-image.com%20> (Personal Website)
>>
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
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>> to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>>
>> *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 <mailto: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 <tel: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 <mailto: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
>>             <mailto: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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-- 
Michael M Pannwitz
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++49 - 30-772 8000



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