<html>
At 07:42 PM 9/27/2002 -0400, <font face="arial" size=2>Meg Salter</font>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>In truth,
now that Iook back, I was feeling a bit snarly, so I should perhaps
recant any unintended slights on other communities/ practices/ approaches
etc. I guess what really struck me - and still does - is how people are
talking complexity/ self-organizing systems theory (and yes - this is
conference talk, not client talk!) and then still trying to
organize systems. Or be experts. And how fundamental that is to our
conception of the world - for so many. And how profound is the shift from
that world view.</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>As Martin said , many people "get"
self-organizing as a cognitive concept, but then implicitly treat it as
another tool. Which puts us right back into/ speaks from the "world
as machine" worldview. It is fundamentally not about doing, but
about being (which is maybe why OST is so 'easy' to do). It is much
easier to pick up a new, sexy doing tool, it is much harder to
re-configure your mentality to "get" that life/ self-organizing
is all about being. (and yet, once done - so much easier - graciously
spacious!).</font><br>
<br>
<font face="arial" size=2>...........the pebbles continue to drop in the
pools of my
mind.........!</font><font face="arial"></font></blockquote><br>
Meg -- you do have a way with words! <font face="arial">...........the
pebbles continue to drop in the pools of my mind......... and I love your
blatant honesty -- "In truth, now that I Iook back, I was feeling a
bit snarly, so I should perhaps recant any unintended slights on other
communities/ practices/ approaches etc." <br><br>
It is quite clear to me that the central issue has nothing to do with
"OD vs OS." As Chris Kloth well points out -- OD is a lot of
folks, all quite different, and making any sort of a blanket statement is
irrelevant. But what is not irrelevant -- indeed becomes a very core
issue for me -- is the whole notion of "being in charge /
control" -- at least the way we have typically talked about it. The
recent lessons have been painful for all of us who thought we were in
charge (or hoped to be) -- and I am pretty sure that includes everybody,
certainly includes me. I was trained in a day when Control was definitely
the "supreme good." We had endless discussions about the
"span of control," and about all the means for achieving
greater control. We went to school to learn how to do it all better, and
some of us got those wonderful initials after our name - MBA. It
was a whole way of life, and for many -- it was life. And for sure if you
were out of control, you were out of a job. Chaos, of course, was
the enemy.<br><br>
</font>Then we got hit with a double whammy. First off, those damned
Chaos/Complexity Theorists tried to tell us that our beautiful, clockwork
world was an illusion. What did they know? Just Theory!!! Supported by
such gossamer wisps as flapping butterfly wings. Then theory became
pretty much our reality.The more we learned about the complex
inter-relationships of our world -- the less possible it became to think
it -- let alone control it. And the damn thing would not hold still! Just
about the time we thought we had it right -- things went off in a totally
new direction. Talk about control.<br><br>
The illusion of control, as least control as I learned about it,
obviously persists -- despite the lessons delivered every day in the
morning papers. But it now takes on a pathetic quality. George (The
Shrub) stamping his feet, for example. Or some CEO, MD, or whatever,
hiding behind his/her supposed authority, as if that would be sufficient
to turn the market around. Out of control, for sure! For many this seems
good and sufficient reason for massive despair. And there is reason for
this despair -- for a whole way of life, and an understanding of life, is
up for grabs. If this happens to be your life, the impact is scarcely
pleasant. And for all those other folks who have made a living and a
profession of teaching others how to be in control -- it hasn't been a
nice day either.<br><br>
In this particular moment, I think those of us who have been privileged
to have experienced the freedom and productivity of being out of control
in open space have something to bring to the table. Our offering cannot
come from a place of condescension, nor be delivered by argument,
although both are very tempting. I think it is a matter of "being
there" doing what we do-- a witness, so to speak.
<br><br>
Harrison<br><br>
<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<div align="center">Harrison Owen<br>
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>
<font color="#0000FF"><u>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
</u></font>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,<br>
view the archives of <font color="#0000FF"><u>oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu<br>
</u></font>Visit: <a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl"><font color="#0000FF"><u>http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br><br>
<br><br>
</font></u></div>
</html>