[OSList] The OST Game
Daniel Mezick
dan at newtechusa.net
Tue Oct 15 07:00:48 PDT 2013
Harrison: thanks for engaging around this question. The last thing I
want to do is use the "g" word around here, for obvious reasons.
Nature is perfectly self-organizing, if left alone. I share this belief
with you.
I notice there is no waste in nature. All value is extracted from
everything all the time in nature, a 100% self-organized system.
Here is a good example of a little beetle that really, really gets it:
http://www.dirtdoctor.com/GUANO-BEETLE_vq3378.htm
The beetle does quite a good job of "...finding ways to enhance the way
they fit with the environment."
What is my point? For the beetle, there is a goal, there are
constraints, there is feedback, nothing is forced. There was some value
to extract. The goal-seeking beetle opts-in, subject to clear
constraints and continuous feedback.
There is no waste in nature.
On 10/15/13 6:59 AM, Harrison Owen wrote:
>
> Dan said: : "what is the goal (if any) of self-organizing behavior?"
> Good question indeed. Stuart Kaufmann (Biologist) says that one of the
> conditions for self organization is what he calls, "The search for
> fitness." I take this to be a modification of Darwin's "Survival of
> the fittest." The idea is that self organizing systems engage in a
> search for ways to enhance the way they fit with the environment and
> fit together internally. Those most fully aligned with the
> environment, with all their parts engaged tend to survive. Works for me.
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
>
> Potomac, MD 20854
>
> USA
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)
>
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> *From:*oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of *Daniel
> Mezick
> *Sent:* Monday, October 14, 2013 5:51 PM
> *To:* oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The OST Game
>
> I'm loving the richness of this conversation. I'm loving it so much!
>
> One question that comes up for me repeatedly, as I read and ponder the
> responses to OST-as-game: what is the goal (if any) of self-organizing
> behavior? Is the question even worth answering? If so, why so? If not,
> why not?
>
> Where do I go, with this line of reasoning? Here:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleology
>
> On 10/14/13 4:53 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
>
> Paul -- Can always count on you. Thanks
>
> ho
>
> 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 OSLIST Go
> to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
> *From:*oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>
> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] *On Behalf Of
> *paul levy
> *Sent:* Monday, October 14, 2013 4:48 PM
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The OST Game
>
> Harrison
>
> Whatever you experienced as OST when it first escaped has largely
> become a game. A game of training. A game of "go back to base and
> read the manual". Even you play a regular game on here as one of
> the elders who keep defending OST against change (oh yes you do).
> It's become a game with a book of instructions with bells,
> anti-clockwise circle walking and "rules". That's a shame and,
> thankfully, fairly pointless as it keeps on escaping in different
> and lovely ways anyway.
>
> Now, opening space, that's something really worth trying...
>
> (Waits as the usual elders line up to deliver their wise
> pronouncements)...
>
> So it goes.
>
> Paul Levy
>
>
>
> On Monday, 14 October 2013, Harrison Owen wrote:
>
> A marvelous conversation... and I have been absent a bit for a
> good cause, I hope. I have been doing my homework, reading all the
> assigned material about broken reality and culture hacking.
> Interesting journey! And along the way I came upon an odd
> realization -- I really just don't like games! Seems it had
> something to do with early childhood trauma... my mother just
> loved games, and she would beat me unmercifully. Oh well.
> Unfortunately that aversion carried on into my adult life,
> particularly as it related to the so called Group Dynamics games
> that we were all supposed to play prior to serious discussion.
> Seems like you just couldn't have an adult interchange without
> some "warm-up" to break the ice. Or so they said. Really bugged
> me. I just couldn't believe that consenting adults could not
> communicate without some elaborate foreplay -- funny tools drawn
> from the omnipresent Facilitator's Tool Box.
>
> So much for my inherent pathology and prejudices, but there may be
> something of a positive outcome. I simply had to believe that
> given reasonable conditions, human beings could sit down and talk
> productively with each other -- all by themselves. As adults. It
> did take two martinis to get me there... but "there" was (guess
> what) Open Space. We have been doing that ever since, and it
> turns out that children do just as well.
>
> What may have started as childish rebellion (against Mother,
> Facilitators, etc) has only gotten worse. With increasing age and
> experience it has become clearer and clearer that the less I do
> the better things work. It is not that I have no agency or
> contribution, but it does turn out that the ambient wisdom and
> capacity of the individuals and groups that I am privileged to
> interact with so vastly exceeds my own that I would do very well
> to fold my hands and shut my mouth. Anything else has me working
> much too hard, and generally messing things up... Such are the eye
> glasses through which I view my world. Distorted perhaps, and
> different for sure, but I'm stuck with it. And it is through those
> glasses that I read my assignments, beginning with "Reality is
> Broken."
>
> Jane McGonigal weaves a fascinating tale of the strange (to me)
> world of Game Makers, Gaming, and Gamers. I can certainly
> understand why she has created a stir, and I applaud her massive
> research and clear prose. That said, my reaction was close to
> horror, and the thought that the world and techniques she
> describes should become a model and a means to fix our world was
> pretty close to terror. Doubtless much of this can be ascribed to
> my aforementioned phobia -- but I suspect that others might share
> such feelings. Two points stand out in my mind---Gaming is
> addictive, a point she develops in infinite detail, and secondly
> that good Game Makers actually capitalize on this phenomenon and
> make every effort to enhance the addictive power. Their success
> is obvious and awesome. It seems that one massive, online game
> attracted 5,000,000 man/years of attention. George Orwell, where
> are you now that we need you?
>
> I joke a bit -- and my concerns run deeper. When Jane says,
> "Reality is Broken," I feel constrained to ask, Who's reality? Not
> mine, for sure. It is not that I experience every day as a walk in
> the park, but there have been precious few moments when I have
> felt bored, without challenge, non-productive and
> unappreciated/respected. And I have many friends and colleagues
> around the world who seemingly have a similar experience.
> Doubtless that makes us odd, perhaps aberrant, but there is a
> certain consolation in numbers. We are not alone.
>
> When I think about the factors that positively contribute to my
> reality they include such things as the indeterminacy of my
> surroundings. The moment I think I know where it is all headed, I
> am confounded by the twists of happenstance. Then there is the
> total lack of clarity when it comes to goals and objectives.
> Certainly I have hopes and desires, but just about every time I
> have locked on some particular outcome, it doesn't turn out that
> way -- usually better. And lastly, if there are clear cut rules, I
> certainly have never found them. Of course there are moments when
> I think it is all a dreadful mistake and I am scared to death. But
> even that has its positive: I know I am alive. So for me, my
> reality is doing just fine. Exciting, challenging, growthful,
> rewarding -- In fact it seems to be working perfectly.
>
> I am truly sorry for those who have a different experience, but if
> reality for them is broken, it is reasonable to ask, Who broke it?
> Or could it be that it isn't really broken, they just think it is,
> if only because it doesn't measure up to their expectations. That
> would certainly be the case if reality was *supposed* to work by
> clear cut rules, heading in a pre-determined direction, always
> under somebody's control. That understanding of reality is
> certainly alternate to anything I know anything about. It just
> never happened, and if it did I believe it would be unendingly
> boring. But that might account for the Game Maker's success -- for
> if I read Jane correctly, that is pretty much the reality they
> create. And if that is the reality you want, no wonder people
> spend 5 million man/years immersed in it!
>
> And on to a related question: Is OST a game? Possibly, but not
> according to Jane's rules/criteria. To be sure, there is a
> correlation with Jane's first criteria: Opt in = Voluntary Self
> Selection, and a second one relating to Good Feedback (we might
> say documentation). But it seems to me it all goes downhill from
> there. If there are any rules in Open Space, I have yet to
> encounter them. To be sure there are 5 principles and a law, but
> none of them are things you have to do. In fact they all seem to
> emerge no matter what you do -- all by themselves. As for a clear
> goal, I think you have precisely the opposite. Everything begins
> with a question, and under the best of circumstances there is no
> attachment to outcomes. As we say, Whatever happens is the only
> thing that could have.
>
> Just to drive a little deeper. If OST is not a game -- what is it?
>
> Drum roll... Cutting edge revelation...
>
> OST... is ... Life.
>
> It does not bring anything new. Represents no mind bending
> revelation. In fact it doesn't DO a thing. Nothing. OST simply and
> quietly invites us to be, fully, what we already are -- ourselves.
> It really is shocking. Just be yourself as you really are. Drawn
> by a question (Quest) -- you are invited to explore what you
> really care about. No foregone conclusions. No prior exclusions
> (givens). No rules prescribed (by somebody else). Just be yourself
> and take it from there. Of course it helps to be honest. What do
> you really care about? And if you care, take responsibility for
> what you care about. Nobody else will. And you don't need an act
> of Congress, Parliament, the Legislature, or the writings of the
> latest Guru. It's just you.
>
> But not just you. Who shares your passion? Who will join you in
> the assumed responsibility? In advance you simply don't know, nor
> can you predict. But when it happens, you know it happens. Life
> not only goes on -- it gets deeper and richer with the shared
> passions and responsibilities that weave the rich tapestry of the
> human odyssey.
>
> I know you have heard this song before, but I think it bears
> re-singing. The temptation to change this simple invitation into
> some complex process, procedure, structure is almost overwhelming,
> driven I am sure by our hope to improve and also perhaps to make
> it something we own or do. Something that requires the
> professional touch, as it were. But the truth of the matter, I
> believe, is that there really isn't anything to improve and still
> less to do. Above all, Don't fix it if it ain't broke, and always
> think of one less thing to do.
>
> So where does all this discussion leave Agile and OST, or more
> exactly the relationship between the two? Closely united, I
> believe -- but perhaps not in the way that Dan and others seem to
> be suggesting, even though that way appears to be eminently
> rational and definitely a good plan.
>
> I understand that Agile (as described in the Agile Manifesto) is
> an elegant set of principles which await implementation (adoption)
> through some method or process, SCRUM for example. The principles
> are magnificent and represent the latest iteration of a longish
> tradition beginning perhaps with Quality Circles, and passing
> through Excellent Organizations (Tom Peters et al), Learning
> Organizations, with possibly a side trip through Process
> Re-Engineering. In every case, elaborate processes, procedures,
> and protocols were designed in order to bring the noble ideas into
> everyday practice. In every case the energy and enthusiasm
> surrounding the several efforts was considerable (aided I suspect
> by the fat consulting fees that could be generated). And in every
> case I believe we learned many useful lessons. However, in terms
> of the desired outcome, which might be described as "enhanced
> organizational function," I think the record is less than
> positive. Only people of a certain age will even remember Quality
> Circles, Excellent Organizations seem evident mostly by their
> absence, The Society of Organizational Learning disbanded last
> year, and Process Engineering has been retired by general
> consensus as an embarrassing failure. Jane McGonigal may just have
> written the epitaph, "Reality is Broken." Whether Agile and its
> several implementation procedures (SCRUM, etc) will meet a similar
> fate remains to be seen.
>
> Reasonable people might well ask, how could we invest so much and
> accomplish so little? Doubtless there are multiple answers, but
> one stands out for me. We've been trying to organize self
> organizing systems. This is a thankless task if only because we
> will never get it right; the systems involved (our businesses,
> countries, organizations) are so complex, inter-related, and fast
> moving that we can't even think at that level -- let alone
> effectively structure and control them. Even worse it seems all
> too often that our best efforts and intentions make the situation
> worse -- our fixes end up with painful unintended consequences.
> But worst of all our efforts are not needed because the system
> itself, all by itself, can do a better job. Frankly our efforts
> are just plain clunky.
>
> It is precisely at the point where I think other efforts have been
> less than successful that OST may enable Agile to succeed -- but
> not by facilitating the adoption Agile as a set of principles, but
> in a much more immediate and direct fashion: by enabling Agility.
> The principles are definitely nice, but what we truly care about
> is real, meaningful, organizational agility, which others might
> call High Performance, and Open Space demonstrably delivers on
> that score. My favorite story, of course is the AT&T design team
> for the '96 Olympic Pavilion. In 2 days they designed a
> $200,000,000 structure which had taken them 10 months on a
> previous effort. That is a 15,000% increase in productivity. Not bad.
>
> If that were the only instance of such a phenomenon it would be
> interesting but not helpful, but there are others, a lot. And how
> does all that work? It is just a well functioning self organizing
> system. And if you ask whether it is all scalable -- the answer is
> it is already scaled to the highest levels. Been around for 13.7
> billion years, and the Cosmos (along with everything else) is the
> product. Don't adopt Agile, BE agile. Honestly, it is a natural
> condition if we stop trying to fix it.
>
> So I think we have some very good news here. Reality ain't broke
> and serious Agility is available any time we want to open the
> space to let it happen. And if you were wondering who all those
> friends and colleagues around the world who know that their
> reality is unbroken (albeit painful sometimes) you can start by
> looking in a mirror. Yes, I am talking about all those folks who
> have wandered into Open Space to discover, many times in spite of
> themselves -- that deep, meaningful, productive, playful,
> respectful encounters with their fellows can and do happen. That
> is just a taste, of course -- but it can happen all the time --
> 24X7. I know.
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr. <x-apple-data-detectors://3>
>
> Potomac, MD 20854 <x-apple-data-detectors://4>
>
> *From:*
>
>
>
>
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> --
>
> Daniel Mezick, President
>
> New Technology Solutions Inc.
>
> (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>
> Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
> <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
> <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>
> Examine my new book:The Culture Game
> <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
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>
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Daniel Mezick, President
New Technology Solutions Inc.
(203) 915 7248 (cell)
Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
Examine my new book:The Culture Game
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the
Agile Manager.
Explore Agile Team Training
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching.
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
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