[OSList] Where angels fear to tread
Thomas Herrmann
thomas at openspaceconsulting.com
Fri Nov 19 00:14:45 PST 2021
I love this way of clarifying how you can look for inviting the whole system, Peggy! Thanks for sharing! I will make sure I incorporate it in my practice as I think it helps the thinking about how to spread “the irresistible invitation”. And I also agree its great to involve as many of these stakeholders early in the process, especially as there is often a low level of trust between them.
Usually I invite my sponsors quite clearly to not jump up and raise their topics but wait and see what happens, I assure them that I will be very clear to give space for everyone and not closing the agenda creation without very clear last opportunities – so they can rest assured that all of their important topics can be posted. So if they miss anything at the end, they can add. I agree with others, they are mostly surprised by the richness of the agenda created by participants.
One piece I have included in my designs the last years is to have a “sync-meeting” some time the last week before the OST, to give them an opportunity to share their hopes and fears for the upcoming OST and clarify any practicalities they may be wondering about. This is much appreciated and givs them more of a feeling of safety and it increases their curiosity, openness and peace 😊.
With appreciation for all of the wisdom in this circle
Thomas Herrmann
Från: OSList <oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org> För Peggy Holman via OSList
Skickat: den 18 november 2021 23:08
Till: Open Space Listserv <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
Kopia: Peggy Holman <peggy at peggyholman.com>
Ämne: Re: [OSList] Where angels fear to tread
Like Michael, I have had the experience of leaders making a list behind the scenes and being surprised that participants not only posted everything on their list but also things that they hadn’t thought of that turned out to matter to them. And, of course, the experience of witnessing the passion, interest, and creativity of people often surprises everyone who is in an Open Space meeting for the first time.
Jeff, to your question about requisite variety of topics in an Open Space, I see that as a matter of being mindful about invitation. The biggest investment of preparation time for the Open Spaces I’m involved with are inviting, as Harrison would say, “the people who care.” Whomever I’m working with, I encourage them to do the work of thinking through, given their purpose, who makes up the system — who are the people who care? In many cases, that may include involving a microcosm in shaping the organizing question and invitation so that it resonates with the people of the system.
I take my cue on how to think about who makes up the system from Marv Weisbord and Sandra Janoff’s rubric of inviting the people who “ARE IN” — with Authority, Resources, Expertise, Information, and Need. I also suggest an overlay for considering demographic diversity. For thinking about that, I draw from the Maynard Institute’s “Fault lines” - race, class, gender, geography, and generation and two “fissures” - politics and religion. Not all dimensions apply to every situation but bringing them up enables the people planning the Open Space to make a conscious choice about whom they invite and how.
This is a long-winded way of saying that my experience is that by doing the work to invite a requisite variety of people, a requisite variety of topics will show up. And then, to the principle of whoever comes is the right people, I let go of worrying about it.
Birgitt — to words and embodied experience, yes you are saying what I meant: it is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied experience. For example, describing the experience of Open Space and what it produces can be enough for some. For most of us, hearing a description or even seeing a video doesn’t come close to being there. It is a multi-dimensional experience that involves, head, heart, body, spirit. Rarely does this come across in a description. A story might communicate more of it. But I’m guessing most people discover some aspect they hadn’t expected from just reading, hearing, or watching a video about it.
Appreciatively,
Peggy
________________________________
Peggy Holman
Co-founder
Journalism That Matters
15347 SE 49th Place
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Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity<http://www.engagingemergence.com>
On Nov 17, 2021, at 1:52 PM, Michael M Pannwitz via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
Dear Birgitt,
your two sentences:
"My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than abundance of possibilities."
had some memories come up.
In at least three of the ost events I was involved in it turned out that the sponsors prepared a set of "issuse" they felt should be part of the event before the event... in case nobody would post them.
To the surprises of the sponsors all their issues were posted by the participants.
In addition, they themselves experienced that other issues entered their mind during the process that they then posted.
In many other ost events sponors were very surprised about the broad passion, interest, creativity, etc. and most of all selforganisation that manifested...
For what actually happens when ost is part of the everyday life of an organisation over a number of years with a special focus on the vast system of that enterprise have a look here
https://www.westkreuz-verlag.de/de/Practicing-Open-Space-Our-First-Ten-Years-E-Book
in English, French, Polish, Spanish and Chinese ... translated from the German Original by ost-colleagues all of you know
Cheers from Berlin
mmp
Am 17.11.2021 um 21:32 schrieb Birgitt Williams via OSList:
Jeff...thanks for sharing the article and for the discussion that emanated from the question you posed to the OS list. I have enjoyed the responses and look forward to more conversation showing up. You have added more great questions.
You asked:Do we assume that the passion and responsibility of a gathered group will create the requisite variety of topics/contexts to generate excellent Warm Data from a theme question, and foster these unseen transcontextual sources of systems changing creativity?
Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying topics/contexts to invite that fruitful variety?
What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate post and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get posted, and does that limit the potential and health of the system?
My perspective: following the principles of OST, spirit shows up in the moment, inspiring people to post exactly the topics that need to be posted at that moment in time. This dynamic is altered when relying on anyone to pre-post topics, or to set meta-topics, catering to limitation rather than abundance of possibilities.
Peggy...I am intrigued by your sentences "Sometimes more and different words can help. More often, it takes an embodied experience." I would like to understand more. My current understanding is that it is not the words used that are most likely to help, rather the embodied experience. Is this what you mean?
in genuine contact,
Birgitt
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On Wed, Nov 17, 2021 at 7:31 AM Jeff Aitken via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
Now I am considering whether there is a (hopefully) funny joke
lurking here somewhere.
The facilitator asked the sponsor, "do you want a book of
proceedings created from your event?" And the sponsor said "no, I'm
going for the aphanipoesis, but thanks."
But seriously folks, do we assume that the passion and
responsibility of a gathered group will create the requisite variety
of topics/contexts to generate excellent Warm Data from a theme
question, and foster these unseen transcontextual sources of systems
changing creativity?
Or does the sponsor need to think up and post the outlying
topics/contexts to invite that fruitful variety?
What are the upsides and downsides of having a passionate advocate
post and host each topic of conversation? What topics don't get
posted, and does that limit the potential and health of the system?
What can the OST methodology teach the WDL methodology, and vice versa?
Early morning questions,
Jeff
On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 5:45 PM Peggy Holman via OSList
<oslist at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
From what I can glean in Bateson’s article and what I have
heard about Warm Data, what happens does sound parallel to what
occurs when people meet in Open Space.
I find her writing frustrating. But when one is attempting to
give language to new ideas, it’s rough. The effort falls into a
pattern she discusses: our tendency to want to relate to the
ideas through habitual lenses. Sometimes more and different
words can help. More often, it takes an embodied experience.
Perhaps a Warm Data Lab?
I find her insight that we need a word for life coalescing
towards vitality in unseen ways intriguing. By naming it, I hope
it will become more seen. Sounds like something we want to
notice and grow.
Thanks for sending the article Jeff.
________________________________
Peggy Holman
Co-founder
Journalism That Matters
Bellevue, WA 98006
206-948-0432
www.journalismthatmatters.org<http://www.journalismthatmatters.org> <http://www.journalismthatmatters.org>
www.peggyholman.com<http://www.peggyholman.com> <http://www.peggyholman.com>
Twitter: @peggyholman
JTM Twitter: @JTMStream
Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval
into Opportunity <http://www.engagingemergence.com>
On Nov 16, 2021, at 2:48 PM, Chris Corrigan via OSList
<oslist at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
Thanks for sharing this Jeff. I have known about Nora's work
for sometime and although I don't fully understand it yet I
think what I do know of it, it's great.).
WHy does she choose the words she chooses? I think because
this is how she has come to an understanding about the simple
truths that Warm Data works with. God know we have some pretty
funny language amongst us all to explain things like "let
people look after things they care about." But, Jeff, the
first piece you posted of hers makes a lot of sense to me and
is a concise description of Warm Data process, and is very
helpful to me having an "aha" about it.
Chris
On Tue, Nov 16, 2021 at 1:37 PM Jeff Aitken via OSList
<oslist at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
Also I note that Nora is still very early in the practice
of a methodology that she invented (I think.)
Maybe it's like the first five-ten years of OST as folks
were figuring out what the hell this is all about... : )
And from the lens of an artist and family therapy
researcher whose father was Gregory Bateson. That makes
sense to me...
Warmly
Jeff
On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:21 PM Jeff Aitken
<r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com<mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com> <mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>>
wrote:
Hi Birgitt. My first guess is that it serves
practitioners to be simple, while it serves systems
scientists to be complicated or complex.
They are writing about living systems at all scales
and making very subtle distinctions.
It may serve us practitioners to have some
appreciation for the latter. "Your mileage may vary"
tho, as a friend says!
Warmly
Jeff
On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 1:10 PM Birgitt Williams
<birgittwilliams at gmail.com<mailto:birgittwilliams at gmail.com>
<mailto:birgittwilliams at gmail.com>> wrote:
Jeff..I don't understand why it serves to be so
complicated? Why not simply refer to seen and unseen?
Birgitt
On Tue, Nov 16, 2021, 3:57 PM Jeff Aitken via
OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>
<mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
One more email - I was amiss to mention this
new theory by Nora, without defining the word
she is introducing, and she finds occurring in
Warm Data Lab and I think is true in OST too.
It is "a way to describe a life giving
process, by which vitality, healing, and
creativity come into being by the coalescence
of multiple unseen factors."
"Aphanipoiesis combines two words from ancient
Greek to describe this way in which life
coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways.
(Aphanis comes from a Greek root meaning
obscured, unseen, unnoticed; poiesis is from
one meaning to bring forth, to make.)"
Yes it's an academic term, and is presented at
a systems science conference and in a journal
article.
Useful for practitioners to think about and to
notice in our work? That's my question for the
oslist.
It reminds me of Harrison's definition of
"peace" in The Practice of Peace. With an
emphasis on the unseen, internal, very subtle
shifts that take place that are NOT reflected
in proceedings and action plans.
Warmly, Jeff.
Reference:
Bateson, N.,(2021). Aphanipoiesis. In Journal
of the International Society for the Systems
Sciences, Proceedings of the 64th Annual
Meeting of the ISSS, Virtual (Vol. 1, №1) —
under review.
This work was presented at the Annual
Biosemiotics Conference June 2021, the Annual
Conference of the International Society of
Systems Sciences July 2021, and the Annual
conference of the Institute of General
Semantics September 2021.
On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 11:16 PM Jeff Aitken
<r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com<mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>
<mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>> wrote:
As a refresher or quick intro to the
process, Warm Data Lab starts with a group
of folks and a theme question. But the
topics of conversation are chosen in
advance by sponsor and facilitator. Each
breakout table (or area) gets a topic
written on a sign: which names a context
from which to address the theme question.
So if the theme is drug abuse, the chosen
wide variety of contexts might be:
education, prisons, public health,
initiation, addiction, pharmaceuticals,
parenting, ceremony, etc. People go to the
breakouts of their choice and stay or move
as they wish. The law of mobility is used.
A closing circle might end the event after
some number of hours.
It has some qualities of OST and World
Cafe while being different.
I've only been in one WDL so other folks
might improve my description.
Jeff
On Mon, Nov 15, 2021, 7:22 PM Jeff Aitken
<r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com<mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>
<mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>> wrote:
Where does systemic change take place?
I am reflecting on earlier posts about
the Warm Data Lab and comparing -
contrasting this work with other
hosted conversation processes like OST.
What seems different - please correct
this if it's wrong - is the level of
attention paid to the complex ways in
which WDL might help bring about
change. Looking well beyond action
plans and carefully harvested
proceedings etc.
This may be a fruitful area of inquiry
for OST folks. (The subject line here
is from a reference in a book by Nora
Bateson's late father Gregory.)
Nora Bateson just shared a video and
long essay, coming out prior to her
essay being published soon in a
journal. She is introducing a new term
"aphanipoiesis" to the conversation of
systemic transformation.
The essay is here:
https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc
<https://norabateson.medium.com/aphanipoiesis-96d8aed927bc>
Some teaser paragraphs for us. Can
this also be said about OST, but we
just don't??
"Rewilding the Interior
In the words of the Warm Data hosting
theory, we tend the “about” so that
what is re-configured is in the
“within.” It does not really matter
what people talk “about” in a Warm
Data Lab. There is nothing to capture
at that level. What matters is the way
the participants are internally sewing
together the different conversations
and contexts. On a transcript this
information is inaccessible.
"In the Warm Data processes,
communication in explicit form is not
held to be the communication of
interest. That level of conversation
is there as a skeleton, onto which the
stories not told reshape the person
who did not tell them, the alterations
in tone, the re-tilted perception is
given free rein to rub memories and
stories against each other. One
comment that comes up repeatedly is,
“Your story changed my story.” Through
this “side-by-side-ing,” stories told
change stories almost told, and their
bearers are able to reshape their
impressions in ways that are untamed.
By careful tending of the “about” and
“within,” the rich world of memory and
story re-wilds.
"The gaps are where the hope of
systemic transformation is waiting. In
the Warm Data processes, participants
are given a structure to re-stitch, to
re-wild, to begin a new abductive
process into these gaps. Again, by
placing the contexts of life
side-by-side in new configurations,
the aphanipoietic processes are given
room, without conscious purpose or
goals or defined outcomes, without
scripts or roles or trends — to allow
the tender new beginnings of another
abductive description to form mutually.
"Through this work, I have found I
needed this term to embark on a deeper
study of the importance of
aphanipoiesis. The changes I witness
occurring in the Warm Data processes
are completely unpredictable and
profound. They suggest ever more
vividly that there is a real, if
unseen, mingling of the body, culture,
education, family — and a whole batch
of transcontextual experience that is
guiding all other actions. It is to
this change that I have devoted my
efforts toward systemic transformation."
Warmly,
Jeff
Yelamu / San Francisco
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