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<div>>Someone asked me yesterday why Open Space alwasy seems to work,
and I</div>
<div>>replied with the short answer: "I dunno." I
sometimes feel that, in</div>
<div>>learning and practicing OST, it's as if I have been given a gift
from a</div>
<div>>genie.</div>
<div>******************************</div>
<div>It may in fact be a genie -- and I am not at all sure that Open
Space would work any better if we did know why it works. But I do think
that we can work better with Open Space if, as, or when we know why
it works. Or at least a reasonable approximation. My best guess is that
it is all about self-organizing systems. </div>
<br>
<div>The importance of this "guess" (and I think it is more
than a guess) is that should Open Space in fact be an example of the
power and presence of self-organizing systems in the human domain it is
not a strange phenomenon, albeit it may seem very counter-intuitive. But
the problem lies with our intuition. We have assumed, (I think wrongly)
that human systems are created by bright folks we call systems designers,
otherwise known as managers and executives. In actual fact, I rather
suspect they happen all by themselves. And the best we can do is to
enhance their performance. </div>
<br>
<div>Heresy I know, and if true, then it will turn out that an awful lot
of us are wasting an awful lot of time doing something that will pretty
much take care of itself. A bummer.</div>
<br>
<div>But there is a lot of good news. Should complex human systems emerge
as a function of self-organization -- all by themselves -- we might learn
to leverage all that in order to realize enhanced productivity, greater
pleasure at work, reduction of stress and Soul Pollution -- just for
starters. Instead of just talking about self-organizing systems, or God
forbid, "designing self-organizing systems" -- we could simply
be what we already are. I mention "designing self-organizing
systems" because there was actually a presentation at the most
recent ODN gathering which purported to tell folks how to do just that.
Something very wrong with that picture. </div>
<br>
<div>As for Open Space -- it becomes a marvelous natural laboratory in
which to experience and to experiment with life as a self-organizing
system. Anyhow, if you want more on all this, you might want to check out
my website (see below) in the section "Papers." Look for one
called "Emergent Order" -- which appeared originally in the ODN
Practitioner. And of course, if you are really interested, wander through
my new book entitled "The Power of Spirit: How Organizations
Transform" (Berrett-Koehler July 2000)</div>
<br>
<div>Harrison</div>
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<br>
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<div align="center">
Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854<br>
USA<br>
phone 301-469-9269<br>
fax 301-983-9314<br>
website <br>
<a href="http://www.mindspring.com/~owenhh" eudora="autourl">www.mindspring.com/~owenhh</a><br>
Open Space Institute websites<br>
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
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