[OSList] Open Space by the book?

Mon Nov 17 16:31:00 PST 2014

Chris, any chance you will publish your book in a paper version at some
point?
Consider me old-fashioned, but I very much enjoy holding a book in my
hands...

with all best wishes,

Rosa

*Rosa Zubizarreta*

*Diapraxis: Facilitating Creative Collaborationhttp://www.diapraxis.com
<http://www.diapraxis.com/>*

On Mon, Nov 17, 2014 at 5:03 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList <
oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

> I have opened space many many times without ever mentioning the four
> principles, the law or any other assorted wisdom associated with WHY the
> process works.
>
> My basic practice is to explain HOW we will organize ourselves, pointing
> out the tools we have to do so: paper, markers, bulletin board.
>
> I talk about passion and responsibility “Please only post a topic you will
> personally show up for…” and I mention the freedom of choosing and moving.
>
> That is all that people need to get into Open Space.  I’m not sure the
> principles or the law or anything else are necessary pre-conditions for the
> appearance and deployment of Open Space in a meeting.  I think they help
> explain what is happening, and I think they help people let go of control a
> little.
>
> All of us as facilitators would do well to remember that people are not
> coming to a meeting to be wowed by a process that you personally love.
> They are coming to get work done.  And so it behooves us to put a lid on
> our passions for the mechanics of the process and simply open space so that
> work can get done.  Later on you can reflect on WHY it happened like that.
>
> As for the idea that OST is mainstream, well perhaps not yet.  But within
> the world of people who think a lot about this sort of thing it is widely
> known.  I feel like these days people call and ask about OST having
> experienced it whereas in the 1990s and early 200s people were calling
> because it seemed like a good idea, but they had never experienced it.  So
> not mainstream per se, but widely accepted and known in a small part of the
> world.
>
> At any rate it has been a long time since I have asked the question at the
> start of a meeting and seen zero hands go up.  There seems to be at least
> one person who knows Open Space.
>
> Whether we use the original instructions or modifications or innovations,
> whatever you do, do it very very well.  Be very conscious, model good
> leadership and never stop embodying invitation.  Lots of people have
> witnessed poorly planned Open Spaces run by facilitators who are too
> nervous to let go of their control of it.  We all owe it to our clients and
> participants to meet their needs well with a process that helps them get
> unlocked from the stuck places they get into.
>
> Here’s my book again for you to download.  I hope it inspires your
> practice.
>
> The Tao of Holding Space
> <http://www.archive.org/details/TheTaoOfHoldingSpace>
>
> Chris
>
>
> On Nov 14, 2014, at 11:09 PM, John Baxter via OSList <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
> Nice reflection Harrison.
>
> You've unfortunately created too many loose ends to inspire a neat reply.
> So here is a messy one.
>
> Regards the simplest recipe for Open Space, to what degree have the Law
> and N Principles (and the animals) been critically tested?  To be honest,
> these have never really resonated for me and I've always used a different
> variation each time searching for something that feels right (and no longer
> than it needs to be).
>
> I think it's a long bow to describe Open Space as mainstream, or anywhere
> near it.  It has spread to all corners of the globe perhaps, but it is
> still the System A alternative, islands within a System B world.  I would
> hazard 90% of those who have been to conferences and meetings and like
> gatherings have not heard of it... (speaking at a conference on cocreation
> and placemaking recently, I requested a hands-up and had a whole TWO of
> hundreds confess to acquaintance)
> and even if 90% had, I'm sure less than 1% of the gatherings they attend
> are consciously designed to unlock self organisation.
>
> What you describe of the permutations of the practice matches what I see
> (though I'm too new to know differently), but I can't see how this could be
> because of a tipping point as the practice is mainstreamed.
>
> Maybe that's just where I participate.
>
> Regards the permutations and combinations... bring them on!  This thread
> could quickly follow all sorts of rabbit holes on this one, so I might save
> those thoughts for another day.
>
> Cheers
>
>
> *John Baxter*
> *Cocreation Consultant & CoCreate Adelaide Facilitator*
> jsbaxter.com.au <http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/> | CoCreateADL.com
> <http://cocreateadl.com/>
> 0405 447 829
>  | 
> @jsbaxter_ <http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_>
>
> *Thank you to everyone who came, helped or spread the good word about City
> Grill!*
> *Summary and links: cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary/
> <http://cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary/>*
>
>
> On Fri, Nov 14, 2014 at 5:37 AM, paul levy via OSList <
> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>
>> The problem with sticking with things is you might just end up stuck.
>>
>> Ho hum.
>>
>> Paul Levy
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 13 Nov 2014, at 18:14, Harrison Owen via OSList <
>> oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
>>
>> Open Space, in its “original” form is sparse simplicity to say the least.
>> Ten to fifteen minutes introduction, and it is off the races, or in my
>> case, off to take a nap. The evolution of this format followed a simple
>> dictum: “Think of one more thing NOT to do.” Over time in my practice I
>> simply removed one more element. The first to go were so called, “warm up
>> exercises.” But it went down from there. My surprise was that the less I
>> did, the better it got... which seemed to be the exact opposite of many of
>> my colleagues’ experience with the methods and approaches they had created.
>> Their simple guide books gave way to 400 page Manuals with additions and
>> extensions. Of course, there were times when people remarked to me that OS
>> was so simple it couldn’t possibly work. But it did. Simply sit in a
>> circle, create a bulletin board, acknowledge the 5 principles and the Law –
>> and Go to Work! That’s it. That’s all.
>>
>>
>> I confess that I do love elegant simplicity, and so there is a large part
>> of me that would stick with the “original” for that reason alone. To this
>> may be added the fact that this “elegant simplicity” apparently violated
>> essentially all the principles and practices of management that I knew
>> about. To some extent this was a source of no small amount of
>> embarrassment, for after all when what you see, do, and think is at odds
>> with the Received Wisdom there are obvious questions about your grasp of
>> reality. But, the disparity between what I was witnessing and what  (I was
>> told) I should be experiencing has led to a marvelous quest into the
>> strange new world of self organizing systems. Rich and rewarding indeed.
>>
>>
>> Now it seems that the world is changing (or at least our perception of
>> that world) such that the strange environment of self organization is no
>> longer so strange. What appeared odd, counter-intuitive, impossible is now
>> almost mainstream. Not quite but getting there. And if so, perhaps it is
>> now time to let go of that old “elegant simplicity” in all of its appealing
>> purity... and plunge into the marvelous world of combinations and
>> permutations. And why not? It could be a lot of fun.
>>
>>
>> I can see the possibilities, but I doubt seriously I would change. Senile
>> sentimentality for sure, AND I actually have another concern which I think
>> may be determinative. I suspect that OST (simple version) may be the best
>> Training Program going when it comes to the introduction of folks to the
>> High Arts of navigating a self organizing world. And best of all it is
>> Experiential Learning from the start. Training and Doing are absolutely
>> united. It is not talking about self organization it is being intentionally
>> in that mode. And any added complexity/parallel program will tend to
>> obscure the central mind bending fact – It’s happening all by itself.
>>
>>
>> We have talked about this “ training” function before, usually under the
>> heading of Chris Corrigan’s notion of Training Wheels. That is definitely
>> good start, but only a start. We can do more, and it could be a real kick.
>>
>>
>> So I plan to stick with the original – with the hope and intent that lots
>> of new people will drop by to experience the incredible, productive freedom
>> of losing control, and then come to understand that it is actually their
>> birthright. They only have to claim it.
>>
>>
>> Harrison
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Winter Address
>>
>> 7808 River Falls Drive
>>
>> Potomac, MD 20854
>>
>> 301-365-2093
>>
>>
>> Summer Address
>>
>> 189 Beaucaire Ave.
>>
>> Camden, ME 04843
>>
>> 207-763-3261
>>
>>
>> Websites
>>
>> www.openspaceworld.com <http://%20www.openspaceworld.com/>
>>
>> www.ho-image.com
>>
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