[OSList] Amazing poem for Harrison posted on Facebook!

[Harrison Owen via OSList]

Those of you who came to one of the Open-Space-By-the-Sea, in Camden Maine will remember Rodney as the marvelous gentleman who opened up the Yacht Club on both occasions for a small party. Rodney and I went to camp together, so we have known each other for a very long time. 

 

Ho

 

Winter Address

7808 River Falls Drive

Potomac, MD 20854

301-365-2093

 

Summer Address

189 Beaucaire Ave.

Camden, ME 04843

207-763-3261

 

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From: OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Chris Corrigan via OSList
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2015 2:16 PM
To: Jeff Aitken; World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Amazing poem for Harrison posted on Facebook!

 

This is pretty funny, clever and tender hearted.

 

Much like its subject. 

 

Chris

 

 

On Dec 8, 2015, at 9:47 AM, Jeff Aitken via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

 

This fun and touching poem for Harrison was just put on Facebook by Rodney B. Plimpton. Enjoy.

"A few old time friends gathered in DC to celebrate Harrison's 80th last week, and toasted him with this:

To Harrison H. Owen on his 80th Birthday

On December Second, Nineteen Thirty Five,
Harrison Owen did arrive.
No way that his parents could have known,
The fruits of the seeds that they had sown.
Early on he seemed a normal boy,
Though he preferred catching skunks to playing with toys.
But then Seminary, a stint as a biblical scholar?
Clearly not chasing the Almighty Dollar!
Community Organizer, way down in Dixie;
Peace Corps in Liberia, where things were quite tricxy.
Then back to DC, NIH, and VA;
A strange game indeed,that he chose to play.
Biblical Studies and Bureaucracy in the heart of the Nation
Combined in his head as Organizational Transformation!
After hosting some conferences that were way too much work,
He woke up one day, and said “I’m such a jerk!;
While agendas and details all keep me awake
The things people come for are good coffee breaks!”
>From that realization, however belated,
His famed Open Space soon was created
>From a simple experiment, thirty years ago,
The phenomenon has continued to grow
Now, thirty years, and nine books later,
It’s world-wide success could not be greater.
Self-Organization is at its’ core,
But Harrison’s message says so much more:
We’ve all been taught that Management’s Role
Is to Plan, Organize, Direct, and Control –
That’s all wrong, said this radical boy
Envision, Engage, Empower, Enjoy!
The paradox is -- by controlling the least
You get both High Performance and a true sense of Peace.
Results speak for themselves, and by any measure,
Harrison’s thinking has become a World Treasure.
But what of the man whom we know as our neighbor;
Modest, laid back, full of stories to savor?
On high seas he commands the Ethelyn Rose,
But on land who commands nobody knows!
One thing is for certain, we love and adore
This world-famous guru -- our good friend next door.

Congratulations, Harrison, on your 80th; you done good."

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