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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>Dear Open Space Comrades!<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>The discussion on self-organization has been most
interesting. You have stimulated my thinking, and I would like to share it with
you in the hope that you will criticize and improve my thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>All organizations are necessarily
self-organizing, even those that are tyrannically organized by a single person
exercising control over others. This is because any organizer becomes part of
the organization by the act of organizing. It appears that “self-organization”
as we use the term in our Open Space discussions, refers to democratically
self-organized systems that do not have a layer of tyrannical organization
imposed along side of the democratic self-organization. On the other end of the
continuum from democratically self-organized systems are tyrannically organized
systems. In these, one, or a few, individuals create and maintain the
organization for their own ends. (I do not imply that this is morally evil,
though it may be.) The problem for tyrannically organized systems (or the
saving grace for them, depending on your point of view) is that their people
tend towards democratically self-organized systems, and away from the
tyrannical system.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>Example 1: The army supply sergeant who swaps
parts outside of official requisition channels because that is the most
efficient way to provide for his company of soldiers. Example 2: Those of us
who take orders or advice, and then solve the problem our own way anyhow.
Example 3: The mid-level employee in a large government bureaucracy who happily
works outside of channels to do great good deeds, knowing that he may be
protected by the sheer size of the organization, and his own audacious success.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>So, I’m proposing that we have a continuum. On
one end is the nearly pure democratically self-organized system.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>On the other end of the continuum is the
tyrannically organized system, which must always contend with the natural
inclination of people to self-organize in order to meet their own needs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>One thing that seems to make Open Space work is
that it goes with the flow. It takes advantage of people’s natural inclination
to self-organize, to have input into their own destiny, to be free. <o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>I believe the other thing that makes Open Space
work is its reliance on “Word” to create the self-organizing system. The words
that are shared in Open Space create order out of the initial chaos. The words
that are shared in Open Space also prevent the continuing chaos of people
acting individually without words, without communication, without coordination,
without care for another’s ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'>Thinking is a social process. There are many ways
to think (theologically as a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim, for example), or
statistically, or economically, or … Even though this is so, there is a common
process underlying all of these modes that makes communication and cooperation
possible. Although our words may not perfectly communicate, they do well enough
for us to touch each other’s souls. This is the power of Open Space.<o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span class=EmailStyle22><font size=2 color=navy
face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoAutoSig><!--[if supportFields]><span class=EmailStyle22><font
size=2 color=navy face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"'><span style='mso-element:
field-begin'></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>AUTOTEXTLIST
\s "E-mail Signature" <span style='mso-element:field-separator'></span></span></font></span><![endif]--><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Jim Metcalf</span></font><font size=2
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial;color:navy;mso-color-alt:windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><!--[if supportFields]><span class=EmailStyle22><font
size=2 color=navy face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"'><span style='mso-element:
field-end'></span></span></font></span><![endif]--><span class=EmailStyle22><font
size=2 color=navy face="Century Gothic"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Gothic"'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 color=black
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black'>-----Original
Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Harrison Owen<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, November 16, 2001
11:04 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b>
Self-Organization...More...</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>What started
as a small "chat" now seems to be developing into a full blown
conversation. Wonderful! And as it proceeds, I think it is most important to
recognize that all of us (and certainly myself) are venturing into uncharted
territory. We are not alone on this expedition, and there are some useful road
maps created by the likes of Kauffman, Wilber, Prigogene, Dawkins, Kelly,
Coveney, Wheatley and many more. But it remains true that the map is not the
territory, the menu is not the meal, and for sure the book is not the
experience. Having said all that it is clear to me that the global conversation
on the subject of self-organization has progressed well beyond the level of
purely hypothetical statements. There is some genuine experience here, and the
beginnings of what be called a practice (something to be done). <br>
<br>
Under the heading of <i><span style='font-style:italic'>experience and practice</span></i>,
I believe that we, in what might be called the Open Space community, have a
special, and possibly privileged position -- our 15 year encounter with what I
like to think of as the Open Space experiment. Nobody, and certainly not myself
"designed" this experiment. And for sure the "creation" of
Open Space Technology out of my martini enhanced brain had nothing to do with
the conscious design of an advanced human technology based upon the emerging
scientific understanding of self-organization. It just happened. To be
truthful, I had been fascinated with the work of Ilya Prigogene in the 70's -- but
I never put 2 +2 together, until much later. But Open Space did happen, and it
does happen. And we have the opportunity, and I think responsibility, to
ask Why? How? and Where do we go next? And so to the conversation...<br>
<br>
Tim Wrote:<br>
<br>
<i><span style='font-style:italic'> Again until we consider the radical
differences between <br>
organisms and their eco-environments and social organizations and the <br>
meta-systems that constitute their environment, we will not have truly <br>
powerful understanding for organizational change and transformation. I <br>
suggest that because humans have the capacity for self-reflexive <br>
communication, and because social organizations exhibit that same capacity, <br>
reflexivity is an emergent property of social organizations, which manifests <br>
as the tendency for radical transformation. <br>
<br>
</span></i>Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Rocks and human beings are
different, but both share a common substrata of existence. Thus if I drop a
rock and a human, both will fall (thanks to gravity), but the human will
typically <i><span style='font-style:italic'>know</span></i> that he or she is
falling, and have certain <i><span style='font-style:italic'>feelings</span></i>
about the situation. The addition of <i><span style='font-style:italic'>knowledge</span></i>
and <i><span style='font-style:italic'>feelings</span></i> which collectively
we might call awareness, certainly makes a richer stew. And then when folks
talk about it all (<i><span style='font-style:italic'>self-reflexive
communication) -- </span></i>things do get complicated. Thus when we consider
the process of self-organization, or its more radical and painful form --
Transformation -- in human beings (groups or individuals), we would expect
certain additional processes to handle the added complexity. I think this is
where Griefwork comes in. When Chaos strikes a rock it keeps on being a rock or
some transformed version of it. When Chaos strikes us we commence to grieve the
loss of what was -- leading (hopefully) to the emergence of what might
be. Shock, Anger, Denial... Just think of 911. <br>
<br>
I think we see all this going on in our "natural experiment" every
time we open space. Things begin in Chaos -- there's confusion, lack of
answers, anxiety -- and if that weren't true -- why bother to do Open Space?
And if we keep our eyes open, we can observe the Griefwork process commencing.
Stories are told of how it used to be. Pain is shared. Bitches expressed -- and
over time as the group self-organizes in a new form -- all of that leads to
some form of vision, resolution, moving on. At least it certainly can. And
should you ask -- is that the whole story? Probably not -- but at least it
gives us a starting point towards understanding the process of
self-organization in the human dimension. But it is just a starting point. </span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'>Larry Peterson</span></font><font
color=black><span style='color:black'> has a useful caveat...<br>
<br>
</span></font><i><font color=navy><span style='color:navy;font-style:italic'>The
scientific phrase, self-organizing is still flat land, it does not
acknowledge the other quadrants. From a spiritual perspective, at other levels
of awareness the self that self-organizes and the Self (and my self) are one.<br>
<br>
</span></font><b><font color=black><span style='color:black;font-weight:bold'>And
>From Nino Novak<br>
<br>
</span></font></b><font color=black><span style='color:black'>So - when I try
hard to achieve a certain result, am I then hindering <br>
self-organisation? (I don't think so, I rather think that my
"directed" activities are part of <br>
the process of self-organisation of the system I live in).<br>
<br>
</span></font></i><font color=black><span style='color:black'>What I am
suggesting is that the principles (Law?) of self-organization are analogous to
the Law of Gravity. All critters, including us, are subject to the same laws,
but that is not the end of the story. We can build and fly airplanes, and
presumably rocks can't. However we would be very ill-advised to dis-regard the
law of gravity. It could be painful. By analogy, I suspect that all
organizations are essentially self-organizing systems, and that they (we, us,
me) along with all the rest of the cosmos do not escape. But just as we can
learn to use the laws of gravity for our benefit (planes for example) so also
we can learn to use the Laws of Self-Organization. But we must <i><span
style='font-style:italic'>start</span></i> with a recognition of the laws --
which for me are the primal "givens," and everything else is pretty
much negotiable. <br>
<br>
This insight or recognition cuts right to the core of much of the current
understanding of how organizations work, and how we work with organizations.
Many managers and executives at least say that their job is to create and
organize the system. I think it would be more accurate (efficient and
profitable) if they were to understand that their job was to create and sustain
the conditions under which self-organization may occur and continue. There is a
needed change of metaphors here -- from <i><span style='font-style:italic'>auto
mechanics</span></i> who build machines to <i><span style='font-style:italic'>gardeners</span></i>
who understand that at the end of the day, the flowers will grow all by
themselves, or not. Water and fertilizer help -- but the flowers do their own
thing. <br>
<br>
We have learned from Open Space that the one way to mess it up is to try and
control it. And a close second is to have a fixed attachment to specific
outcomes. Either or both of these things can bring the whole process to a
shuddering halt. This is not to say that we can't have "intentions"
-- or that we should not have hopes for a positive outcome -- but when it comes
to the details of the outcomes or how we get there -- I believe the experience
has been -- You have to Let Go. <br>
<br>
Having said all of that, I definitely take your point -- "<i><span
style='font-style:italic'>I rather think that my "directed"
activities are part of <br>
the process of self-organisation of the system I live in." True,
true, true -- </span></i>and I might suggest that the impact of your
"directed activities" will be vastly enhanced to the extent that you
understand (as you obviously do) the context in which those activities all take
place -- in the midst of a self-organizing system. The bottom line is, you are
not in control. None of us are -- although maybe all of us are. <br>
<br>
Harrison<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'>
<![endif]></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black;mso-color-alt:
windowtext'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<x-sigsep>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:
0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in;text-align:center'></x-sigsep><font
size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:black'>Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-469-9269<br>
Open Space Training <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/" eudora=autourl>www.openspaceworld.com</a>
<br>
Open Space Institute <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora=autourl>www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
Personal website <a href="http://www.mindspring.com/~owenhh" eudora=autourl>www.mindspring.com/~owenhh</a><br>
<br>
</span></font><u><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
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