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At 09:38 AM 12/28/2001 +1000, Robert.Chaffe wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Harrison,<br>
Thanks for the copy of your long proposal. It does seem rather
complex and I<br>
wonder if we need to follow this path to win the job? A self
organising system,<br>
learning organisations, etc. are all constructs that we use to
describe the<br>
reality in an organisation that works and is sustainable. Somehow
we need to<br>
find a way of allowing the client to discover their own words to describe
their<br>
organisation and keep the Jargon for our own use.</blockquote><br>
Absolutely correct, in my view. Simple is best. And when dealing with a
client it is essential to start with the language, thought forms,
mythology and ideology of the client. Further, it has been my experience
that all clients (read all people that I have met) are "already
there." Some while back, there was a lot of conversation about
bringing Spirit to Business. My response what that was sort of Carrying
Coals to Newcastle. A waste of time. What was not a waste of time,
however, was enabling the client (person, people) to recognize and
enhance what they already had/were. Call it Helping them to grow their
Now. Every time we open space with a client, I think we make a start at
that process, but I don't think that is the end of the process. To the
extent that people perceive their Open Space experiences as
"only" a better, more productive meeting (which it certainly
is) they are only skimming the surface to their disadvantage. However, at
the end of the day, they must see their own depths in their own terms. To
help them do this -- if they want the help -- I find it useful to have
critically considered what those depths might look like -- which means
for me going to my own depths and engaging in a process of critical
thought and reflection, which almost inevitably generates some language
(aka "jargon"). Insisting that they use my jargon, however, is
not helpful.<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Every time I start to give long
responses to what Open Space is or can do I am<br>
reminded of the words from South Pacific "Fools give you
reasons, wise men<br>
never try!"<br><br>
For the business we could ask.<br>
"Do you want to make the best of the current opportunities to grow
your<br>
business?"<br>
" Do you want to make the best use of the resources of your
business?"<br>
"Do you want your staff totally committed new business plans
and actions?"<br>
"Are you prepared to work with your staff to create a new
business that is<br>
better than what any of you thought possible?"</blockquote><br>
My experience exactly. I suppose if I have a mantra it is <i>Don't sell
(explain) Open Space -- Do it! </i>Don't talk about the method, theory,
esoterica of Open Space, talk about results. All true. And then there is
more... Leadership appears in new ways. Acknowledge that and go deeper.
Community appears in new ways. Recognize that and go deeper. Compensation
(pay checks) must come in some new packages. Think about that and go
deeper. Accounting systems serve a closed system way of being in
organization. A self organizing system, which manifests in Open Space,
has a different metric. What is that???? <br><br>
To be sure, things get a little complicated, and we certainly could get
buried in arcane esoterica, to say nothing of mind-boggling jargon, but
we have a secret weapon. Just open some more space, and let the fresh air
in. But I don't think we can do our job and also avoid the complexities.
Sort of comes with the territory.<br><br>
Harrison<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>Harrison Owen</blockquote>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA<br>
phone 301-365-2093<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>
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