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<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I was being a little bit too curmudgeonly, for sure. And
Chris is precisely right (is he ever wrong?). Having some useful maps of the
territory is extraordinarily helpful under any circumstance and
particularly when you find yourself in the strange waters of OS. Just
a matter of historical record I personally began with the maps, and only
later discovered how useful they could be. Odd way of saying things, but my
earlier work (30 years ago) centered on the levels of consciousness and the way
in which the stories we tell (our mythology) reflects those levels -- and the
whole concern was the process of transformation in organizations. And here is
the three martini story -- a friend, David Bell Isle and myself were sitting on
the lawn of a wonderful conference center contemplating the state of the world
(with help from our spirited friends -- we each had one and a half) and our
limited ability to assist our clients in the turbulent environment in which
they found themselves. David and I were both deeply committed to what was known
then and now as Organization Development, but it seems that just about the time
we had figured out a nice, linear, rational process, and actually gotten our
clients started along the road -- all hell would break loose. One more wave of
transformation! It seemed to us that we needed a different and maybe deeper way
of looking at things and doing our work. For lack of better words we chose to
call it Organization Transformation. It turned out that some other folks had
been drinking the same martinis, or equivalent, and had come up with similar
thoughts. It was a pretty motley crew including John Adams, Frank Burns, Linda
Ackerman, Peter Vaill, Lisa Carlson and a few more. The end result was the
convening of The First International Symposium on Organization Transformation
with me playing the titular role of host or something. We had little idea where
it would all end up, but I particularly liked the root meaning of "symposium."
Turns out it comes from two Greek words meaning "with drinking." Anyhow,
Organization Transformation was born and seems to be a continuing phenomenon
even today. I think we are now up to OT 23 or 24. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>But back to the maps. If we were going to make any sense
out of the process of transformation, which in the moment is always terribly
confusing, to say nothing of chaotic -- we desperately needed some good maps.
For my self, I found the work of Ken Wilber to be particularly helpful (Spiral
Dynamics hadn't put in an appearance at that point) -- but the problem was that
Ken was largely focused on the transformational process with individuals, and I
was concerned with organizations. Definitely related, but somehow different. I
found myself pondering the question, "What are the organizational analogues to
the individual levels of consciousness?" Ken's work was (and is) a mass of
scholarly detail, totally fascinating, but more than I needed, I thought. It
seemed to me that what might be called the "original version" which is known as
the Great Chain of Being might be sufficient for my needs. Very roughly, the
Great Chain describes 7 levels of consciousness -- Nothing, Body, Mind,
Intellect, Soul, Spirit, and finally -- Nothing. Since it is rather difficult to
talk intelligently about "nothing" you are effectively left with 5 levels (Body,
Mind, Intellect, Soul and Spirit). These converted in my fertile (and
febrile) mind to organizational equivalents which I termed Reactive, Responsive,
Proactive, Interactive, and Inspired. If you are interested in the details, I
have spilled a lot on ink on them in several books -- but the point at
issue is that when Open Space came along, I found much to my surprise that folks
would enter at one level and many would then seemingly manifest a higher level
-- Transformation before your eyes, if you could believe your eyes. For
individuals who seemingly epitomized the level of Intellect -- Soul would break
out. And for organizations that were solidly and proudly Proactive, suddenly
they began to behave as an Interactive organization! Now for sure, lots of folks
didn't make the trip, and of those who did, the vast majority returned
to their old ways when the event concluded. But there were always a few who
found their life permanently changed. Most remarkable. It seemed that the simple
act of opening space enabled, in many cases, a transformative shift. Why all of
this should be occurring is the perplexing opportunity of the moment, I think.
but that it occurs is a matter of ongoing experience, at least my
experience. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>But to notice what is happening, you do need a map -- else
you are left with massive shifts and no sense of reference. Maps can be
exceedingly helpful. And -- I think we all learn painfully -- maps are very
limited and never to be confused with the territory. They are simply
approximations, our best guess as every sailor knows when they encounter that
odd rock or current that was not supposed to be there. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Wow -- I did go on! But I do love maps and a martini or
two isn't bad.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Harrison</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial> </FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Harrison Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Dr.<BR>Potomac, MD
20854<BR>USA<BR>301-365-2093<BR>207-763-3261 (summer)<BR>website <A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com">www.openspaceworld.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=chris.corrigan@gmail.com href="mailto:chris.corrigan@gmail.com">Chris
Corrigan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 30, 2005 1:49
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: An OS "critique" and
response</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Tracy, my own take on this stuff is that OST has actually led
me to things like Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory and not the other way
around. I think OST facilitation is fundamentally a practice first, and
the theory comes later once you see what is going on and get curious about how
it all happens. <BR><BR>For me maps like this always help me to help a
client to understand the deeper implications of what is going on, why OST
seems to be (and is) so transformational. But it's important to use
language that works for you and for the sponsor.<BR><BR>Ken Wilber is one
person whose thinking has helped a lot. Michael Herman's work has really
been most useful in adopting this stuff to OST for me. And there are
many others, including Stuart Kauffman, Meg Wheatley, Angeles Arrien, David
Bohm, Steven Johnson, Peggy Holman and Anne Stadler, Alan Stewart, Christina
Baldwin, Fritjof Capra. Pema Chodron, Otto Scharmer, Adam Kahane, William
Issacs and Peter Senge who have all been influential in helping to map the
territory I find myself on as a result of using OST.
<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR><BR>Chris<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 8/30/05, <B class=gmail_sendername>Envision
Halifax</B> <<A
href="mailto:info@envisionhalifax.ca">info@envisionhalifax.ca</A>>
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(204,204,204) 1px solid">
<DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I am now kicking myself a bit
for missing the session in Halifax on Spiral Dynamics but at the time, the
topic sounded strange for someone new on the scene. In reading this very
interesting discussion I have collected a few pieces from people that
brought me to a question. As someone new, trying to learn and navigate the
sea of information:</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><B><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Is there real
value in learning about Spiral Dynamics as it relates to opening space and
for those of you who are familiar with SD, how has it helped you with
opening space?</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> (I think Funda was starting to get close to
connecting this with her post)</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Pieces of posts on this topic
that made me consider why I would take time to learn more about
SD…</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN class=q>I
don't have a clue who said what to whom -- but what I do know is that
when you open some space -- folks get to work. <BR></SPAN>The rest of
it is kind of immaterial. (T-1, T-17 --). Harrison Owen</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Geneva">…Anyway, I think
systems that create hierarchies are inherently faulty, no help for it.
That includes programs that 'certify' somebody to do something they are
already perfectly capable of doing all by themselves or by just following
instructions with a lot of heart.<BR>Paul Everett</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Geneva color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Geneva"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: navy">...all human beings move in and out of
levels of development, levels of consciousness and levels of
understanding. I might be green about social issues, orange about art
(orange is second tier, above green) and red about homophobia in the same
moment. Few human beings live frozen, stuck in just one way of being
for all issues in life. As a workplace meeting takes place, for
example, participants might move in and out of memes like shifting
sands.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Trebuchet MS" color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; COLOR: navy">Tree Fitzpatrick</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Courier New" size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I really respect all of the
thoughtfulness and work that people have put into posts on this topic and
others. I will visit the links, thank you for the
resources.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Tracy</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Tracy Boyer</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Volunteer Coordinator
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN lang=FR
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Envision
Halifax</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN lang=FR
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">PO Box 941</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN lang=FR
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Halifax CRO, NS</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN lang=SV
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">B3J 2V9</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN lang=SV
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">902.425.5741</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=1><SPAN lang=SV
style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Fx.
902.425.6904</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="http://www.envisionhalifax.ca/" target=_blank><B><FONT face=Arial
color=#762a75 size=1><SPAN lang=SV
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; COLOR: rgb(118,42,117); FONT-FAMILY: Arial">www.envisionhalifax.ca</SPAN></FONT></B></A></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN lang=SV
style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P></DIV>*
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</BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><BR clear=all><BR>-- <BR><BR>CHRIS
CORRIGAN<BR>Consultation - Facilitation<BR>Open Space
Technology<BR><BR>Weblog: <A
href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot">http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
</A><BR>Site: <A
href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com">http://www.chriscorrigan.com</A>
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