[OSList] Orgs that Failed to Implement Self-Organization?

[Harrison Owen]

Jake, I  think you may be asking the question from perhaps the wrong way around. My experience is that everything is self organizing. Including all organizations. Respected, and left to its own devices, Self organization does a marvelous job. Some wins, some loses, but basically things have worked quite well since the Big Bang. That would be 13.7 billion years. The fact that we are here to complain about how bad things are -- is, I think, a testimony to that success. So all organizations are inherently self organizing. Problems, however, do arise when one attempts to organize a self organizing organization (system). That is not only an oxymoron – but stupid. But that seems to be largely what we have done. Of course it does provide the beneficial result of creating and paying that group of people called “managers” whose job it is to organize things – along with professors and consultants, who supposedly tell them how to do it. So my bottom line would be that all organizations are self organizing from the start. Then, sadly, things begin to go downhill.

 

Could I prove all this? Probably not – in part because I am not quite clear about how that (proof) might be done, but mostly because I am not sure it would be worth the effort. And there is a useful alternative, I think: that wonderful 34 year natural experiment we have all been a part of. Every time we invite the space to be opened in a non or poorly functioning organization we really aren’t doing anything except offering the people/participants the opportunity to remember what they already know, and be what they already are. Self organizing. Amazingly it seems to work just about every time in spite of the fact that it violates every single practice and principle of Modern Management. At least I can’t think of any that escape. Might be something here?

 

Of course all this could just be another one of my stories – and you know about storytellers! On the other hand, you might enjoy a fuller version which you will find in my last book: WaveRider: Leadership for High Performance in a Self Organizing world. Berrett-Koehler published and Amazon ( amongst others) will deliver. Or you can forget all that and just open some space… and allow you own experience to shape your conclusions. Have fun!

 

Harrison

 

 

From: OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Jake Yeager via OSList
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2019 7:32 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Cc: Jake Yeager
Subject: [OSList] Orgs that Failed to Implement Self-Organization?

 

Hey everyone,

 

Does anyone know of organizations that attempted to implement self-organization but failed? If so, do you know some of the factors that contributed to the failure? We hear about the successes, like Semco and AES, but rarely about the failures. I'd like to understand better what the pitfalls are and also what the success rate is.

 

Thanks!

 

All the best,

Jake


________________

 

When the mind is quiet, the sun of your heart will shine once again, and you will be free of problems.

 - Robert Adams <http://www.robert-adams.info/> 

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