[OSList] Open Space with Agile: Failure patterns

Thu Sep 26 01:40:18 PDT 2013

Harold,

Yes beautiful indeed.  And I know Harold that I am in the right place –that
we are in the right place, part of this amazing community.  I am loving
this discussion!

I feel as if I have lived a lifetime this past week and what’s written in
this post gives me serious pause about Open Space and what it has meant for
me.  Now I live my life more fully and deeply within myself and with
others. Greater compassion, more peace, a quiet serenity, humor and such
deep gratitude! Almost seems like a religious experience, yet it’s not what
I feel it to be. How can I ever describe the internal stirrings that Open
Space awakened or reawakened in me, the confidence, the sense of purpose,
the courage, the joy!  I know it is the same for many others.

A tool? A process? A way of being? High performance?  These words seem so
inadequate. All I know is that I am not the same person that I used to be.

Ten days ago in New York City, I completed my Scrum Master training with
Devon Morris. Then I facilitated the Agile conference (350 technology
folks) and right after, went to Paris to the Scrum Alliance conference
(close to 400 attendees).   I was a participant this time.

Reading Harrison’s post, thinking about what Dan Mezick is igniting,
reflecting on the Open Spaces I experienced, I wonder:  “Am I still chasing
the bucket of gold at the end of the rainbow?” The solutions, the answers.

About three years ago, I determined that Scrum, Agile, Kanban, seemed like
a good fit with Open Space… from emergence to convergence with execution
and action using Agile processes and tools.  Harrison had facilitated a
large group at a Scrum Alliance conference in Orlando in 2010; I helped at
the newsroom.  I felt drawn to all the wonderful geeks I met; I saw the
passion they had for their work; their devotion to continuous improvement,
their commitment to shared leadership and their great spirit of play.  I
felt this to be sadly lacking in many corporate functional silos as
evidenced by the high employee disengagement.

I surmised that by combining the Agile/Scrum tools and processes with Open
Space (both seeped with similar values and principles), maybe we could make
a dent in that ole industrial hierarchical model of work.  Perhaps we could
ignite a Workplace Revolution with Millennials, Baby Boomers and others –
by collaborating our two communities together.

Guilty as charged. I realize that I’m still chasing the answers and perhaps
missing the point. Imagining an outcome and planning strategies around it.  Not
to say that this is bad, cause in the end, I want to tackle those big
urgent and complex issues in the world of work with others. But somehow,
the magic is not in that busy journey, it’s in the quietness like the
feeling we get where we're opening and holding space.

Three conversations related to this moved me this past week… in New York,
someone mentions being at the Orlando Scrum Conference that Harrison
facilitated and how deeply it changed her...3 years later. In Paris, I meet
someone for the first time. She is a facilitator who admits to being a
lurker on the OS list, not comfortable in posting.   I urge her to post
expressing how we are missing her wonderful points of view. We talk about
it a bit more; I admit my unease feeling I am posting too much.  She reacts
as I did: please continue to post.

Then later at the Scrum conference, a seasoned Scrum coach admits feeling
stressed writing and announcing a topic at the opening circle. He felt that
way at the conference in London and again in Paris.  He created a topic and
many came to his great surprise and delight.

What does all this mean? Why do we hold back? How similar we all are! What
would life be life if we lived by the law of 2 feet? Will more information,
more tools, more busy…ness, more precision bring more joy, happiness and
high performance. And where does love fit in, in all of this. How is it
that I can feel such love now for so many?  And when that feeling happens,
it seems that trust emerges and that we have all that we need: to do that
which needs to be done, perfectly imperfect in emergence, like riding a
wave.

Oh gosh… “one less thing to do” is easier said than done!

Suzanne

On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 2:21 AM, Harold Shinsato <harold at shinsato.com>wrote:

>  Beautiful. I think I'm in the right place.
>
>     Harold
>
>
> On 9/25/13 11:24 AM, Harrison Owen wrote:
>
>  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 <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20> ****
>
> www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com%20> (Personal Website)****
>
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-- 
Suzanne Daigle
NuFocus Strategic Group
7159 Victoria Circle
University Park, FL 34201
FL 941-359-8877;
CT 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
twitter @suzannedaigle
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