[OSList] Open Space with Agile: Failure patterns

Wed Sep 25 10:24:02 PDT 2013

Harold said:  "You're clearing going directly against the heart of what Dan
is trying to promote. Maybe I invite disaster for myself by speaking an
alternative view from what you are saying given your founding status of this
community - but perhaps given my 12+ years working in the Agile space - I
have something worthwhile to say."

Yes you do! And Harold - if you are waiting for disaster to strike it may
well come, but not from me! A long time ago I said that Open Space is free
(not franchised, trademarked, limited license, etc), BUT there is a cost -
that we share what we are learning. For 28 years, I think we have done that.
And doing all that sharing is (for me) the heart and soul of the OS
Community. At times the conversations have been hot and heavy, with multiple
points of view represented. GREAT! And that multiplicity of viewpoints has
enabled us to go deeper and deeper into our collective experience. The
simple truth of the matter is that none of us (and that most definitely
includes me) really knows or fully understands the reality of  what we are
in the midst of. It is a great Question - or better - a great Quest. And we
aren't there yet, and I seriously doubt that our time of arrival is anytime
soon. At least I hope not.

Given the enormity of our experience over time and space, on into the deeper
and timeless spaces of the human spirit - multiple view points are not only
expected, but essential. And each view point is valid, at least it is the
valid view of the viewer. But all are partial, and therefore misleading -
one might say false.  Not unlike the blind men describing the elephant, we
can only depict what we experience - but somewhere in our evolving
experiences lies a fuller sense of what it is all about. One might hope for
a final (correct) view, but I more than suspect that we find ourselves in an
infinite regress where certainty becomes questionable... and once again we
are on the edge of The Question. The Quest. I wouldn't have it any other
way.

I understand that many people find this situation uncomfortable, even
frustrating. Questions are fine - but where is the ANSWER? At times this
discomfort seems almost overwhelming: "Forget the Question...Give me the
Answer." I can fully appreciate the reaction, and yet something in me just
can't sit still. The given answers become momentary pauses prior to deeper
and juicier questions.  Answers are a resting point, but there is more...

For me a key word here is "evolving." Our common experience (with OS), like
most serious elements of life, did not (does not) come out fully formed.
What began with two martinis has changed, transmogrified, transformed.
Curiously it is always the same, but somehow deeper and different. And each
step along the way has its own viewpoint, special words, "answers" which are
correct and valid for that moment and context, but always open to further
evolution. A "first timer" in Open Space will have a viewpoint which is
totally appropriate to that time, place, and person. As the experience is
repeated, the viewpoint seemingly expands and deepens.

Many of the sticky points we have experienced over the years ("Givens,"
"Prework," Tools," etc) got gooey because we forgot the evolving nature of
our conversation and mistook the validity of a particular point of view for
a "final answer." I would guess this has been compounded by the fact that
the norms of our conversations here on OSLIST are quite different from the
more usual situation. One might presume, if we conducted our business in the
same manner that other groups do - that when the Founder (that would be me)
or some other "elder" said something online - that saying was The Law, Last
word, or "Truth." We play by different rules, and I personally assume that
any statement I make is just as "questionable" as any other. Truth to tell,
I often feel somehow cheated when there isn't some further and different
discussion. So yes, I say what I experience and think (hopefully
acknowledging the difference), presuming everybody else will do the same...
with charity, politeness, a smile - and a Question. 

So is OST a "tool" - just like every other group work tool? Of course. But
then again, it (OS) doesn't quite seem to fit. Unlike any other Group
Process, you don't have to do very much, if anything. Indeed the less you
do, the better it seems to work. Somehow it seems that "everybody already
knows..." Weird.

Is Pre-Work essential? Definitely! But strangely some of the best (deepest,
effective, most moving) OS's in my experience happened without a speck of
Pre-Work, except for basic logistics. And some of them didn't even have
basic logistics. Definitely odd.

Do we need to identify and consider The Givens? Certainly. If nothing else,
doing so keeps some folks out of trouble and makes managers (sponsors) more
relaxed. Still and all I've always found that when something is "placed off
the table," you can always find it under the table, or out in the hall.
Scratch my head.

And Dan - Have I struck a blow to the heart of your endeavor? I hope not...
'cause I think it is GREAT, and I've told you that. Indeed a basic mantra of
my life is, "Open Space anywhere, about anything, with anybody, as often as
you can." That goes for the Agile folks, along with everybody else. But when
it comes to outcomes and expectations maybe the real "Golden Ring" is not so
much the Adoption of Agile with all those great principles, practices, and
approaches, good as they are. Rather the Pot of Gold is genuine High
Performance, real agility - done totally as a natural act. Kind of like what
seems to happen in just about every Open Space. Possible?

Thank You Harold!

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)

To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST
Go to:
<http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org>
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 Lisa Heft
Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 12:57 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space with Agile: Failure patterns

Harold - you teach me so much - in every way you see, reflect upon and
thoughtfully articulate your observation and experiences.

Tool, process, way of live, value system.

Open Space Technology, which also means not 'technology' in the commonly
used sense of that word but instead a way of being (both existing in us and
when invited by us and our clients). Which was always there, which maybe
some people have not experienced or felt (yet), which maybe some people have
to breathe into and experience to remember how they, their organization,
their issue, individuals, the whole, is a living system.

Dan I know that a single 'intervention' or experience does not in itself
usually change organizational or individual behavior. Nor does a single
acupuncture treatment immediately shift-forever-suddenly-well a health
situation. In your community as in others, I know that Agile folks will
benefit from ongoing, regular 'body work'. So in one of your earlier
messages about maintaining 'wellness' (my work) afterwards - to me, it is
all about the before (pre-work, relationships, thoughtful preparation), the
during (a lovely and productive Open Space), and the afterwards (continuing
interconnections, continuing relationships, highlighting information, ideas
and relationships that were generated at the event - and doing so between
events, Open Space and otherwise).

A living system that is benefiting so much from all you Agile / Open Space
'body workers'..

Lisa

On Sep 23, 2013, at 7:53 AM, Harold Shinsato <harold at shinsato.com> wrote:

Harrison,

About your statement "Open Space is a terrible way to introduce some new
process, and especially to assure 'buy in'".

You're clearing going directly against the heart of what Dan is trying to
promote. Maybe I invite disaster for myself by speaking an alternative view
from what you are saying given your founding status of this community - but
perhaps given my 12+ years working in the Agile space - I have something
worthwhile to say.

Harrison, you've been opposed to calling "Open Space" a tool. And I hear
Lisa Heft (the best Open Space trainer) talking about it being a tool all
the time.

I agree with both of you. Open Space is most emphatically *not* a tool at
it's heart. It's a set of values and principles. But it is also definitely a
tool. Or as Dan says, a 'game'. A beautifully designed game.

Agile is most DEFINITELY not a process. It's a set of values and principles.
You can see this in the Agile Manifesto <http://agilemanifesto.org/>  -
especially the first item, we value Individuals and Interactions *over*
Processes and Tools. Yes, the Agile community applies many very specific
tools and processes. And very heated debates happen around the application
(or misapplication) of those tools and processes, such as Scrum.

But oddly - even Scrum isn't *Really* a tool or a process. At the heart of
Scrum is also a set of principles and values. If you want to get a sense of
this - go to the end of the first book on Scrum, by Schwaber & Beedle "Agile
Software Development with Scrum" - where it lists the 5 values of Scrum -
Commitment, Focus, Openness, Respect & Courage. Or read Tobias Meyer's "The
People's Scrum". Very powerful assertion and meditation on the core values
and how to apply the processes to get 

Open Space has already been used with great success to introduce, promote
and sustain Agile in the world through many uses of Open Space in
conferences such as the AgileOpen, Coaching Camps, and Open Agile Adoption
such as what Dan Mezick is explaining. From my vantage point, Open Space is
critical for helping the values and principles to be successfully absorbed.

>From my vantage point - Open Space Technology's values and principles are
eternal and aren't going away. The Universe won't suddenly stop
self-organizing. If anything, we'll only get better at understanding and
dancing with Order and Chaos. This dance, with the help of Open Space
Technology the Game (or Tool) has changed my life and infused it with
spirit. I'm eternally grateful to you, Harrison, to Lisa Heft, and to and
this community. And maybe Open Space Technology the game or tool will pass
away. The same goes for Agile values and principles. They're eternal.
They're not going away. The Process will never be more important than the
Individuals. The People are always more important than the Game.

BUT - there are powerful forces behind trying to adopt agile as merely a
tool or a process, because it's easier to understand. And that invites
failure - and it's the exact kind of failure you're writing about, Harrison,
about how our creations are "inevitably clunky." To succeed, any
implementation of Agile or Scrum needs to be able to self-organize -
"Inspect and Adapt" is one of the anthems of the agile and scrum
communities. I hope that the Open Space community will step up and help the
Agile community to do that.

    Thanks,
    Harold

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20130925/44a97356/attachment-0008.htm>