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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Chris My, Friend -- Bass Note. I like
it! And to me it is more of a thrummm. . . those deep, practically inaudible,
complex vibrations that hold everything together. The double basses and cellos
in a symphony orchestra playing in their lowest registers, while flutes and
violins do their thing. But take away those basses and it all falls apart.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>If you have to name it in an organization maybe
something like: Spirit, Organizational Consciousness, the informal organization
– or self-organization at work. I suspect that real organizational break
through (and wisdom) will arrive when it is clearly understood that the “thrummm,”
by whatever name, is NOT an incidental, but rather the essential core without
which everything else in the organization lacks substance.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Getting to this point may not be easy, if
only because there is a massive amount of tradition which says that The
Organization is what we organize. That is what it says in all the management
books, what they (generally) teach in business schools, and of course –
the message of the conventional wisdom. We all KNOW that The Organization is
what the </span></font><font color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:
Arial;color:red'>CEO</span></font><font color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:red'> runs. It was designed by somebody, or
several somebodies, it is described by the organization chart, and managed by
The Plan/Budget. Acknowledging the “thrummm” turns all of that on
its head. What we have assumed to be primary (the formal organization) is in
fact (I believe) just a little piece of flotsam and jetsam floating on the
great </span></font><font color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:red'>ocean</span></font><font color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:red'> of </span></font><font color=red
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>Thrummm</span></font><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>. Well if you
are going to be a heretic, you might as well be a little poetic – or at
least try.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>When the formal organization is in
accord/aligned with the Thrummm (informal/self-organizing system), everything
works out pretty good. When there is a disconnect, the formal organization
becomes trivial, ineffective, and essentially powerless. And I think you are
absolutely right – Open Space gives us the opportunity to listen to the
thrummm – and thereby reconnect to our deep rhythms. So Chris –
your </span></font><font color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;
color:red'>CEO</span></font><font color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:
Arial;color:red'> may think what he is doing (allowing for some open space) is
sort of an add-on, a little something extra that would be nice to do. I don’t
think so. I think it is the most important thing he/she will ever do. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Harrison</span></font><font color=red
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<div>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Harrison Owen</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>7808 River Falls Drive</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Potomac,
Maryland 20854</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Phone </span></font><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:red'>301-365-2093</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Skype hhowen</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Open Space Training</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.openspaceworld.com</span></font></a>
</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Open Space Institute</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.openspaceworld.org</span></font></a></span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Personal website</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.ho-image.com/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.ho-image.com</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>OSLIST</span></font><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>: To subscribe,
unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: </span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'><a
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----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>Chris Corrigan<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Sunday, April 22, 2007 2:26
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> Tuning the bass note: a
story from an organization using Open Space in an ongoing way.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hi friends:<br>
<br>
It's been awhile since I posted a story about a group I was working with, but I
thought this one might be interesting.<br>
<br>
I spent the last week shuttered away in a lovely retreat setting on northern
Vancouver Island amongst eagles, sea lions and killer whales working with a
national organization who is helping indigenous communities to create effective
governance that advances their rights and land title. The leadership of
the organization are old hands with Open Space; the President and I worked
together for many years using Open Space in communities to galvanize
leadership, and the interim CEO is a close friend and OST confidante.
These two gentlemen have been wanting the organization to adopt Open Space as
their basic operating system for a year now, and they have hosted a couple of
OST meetings within. Last week we did two OST meetings and some training
to get things grounded even deeper. <br>
<br>
The organization's interest in OST is both as its operational system and to use
in communities to help leadership and community members do the work of
governance. The community work is interesting, but what I learned this
week was more about how OST is used in a long term way within an organization. <br>
<br>
For the last couple of years the organization has been in a developmental mode
and it has focussed much on its structure, roles and responsibilities.
Everything that is done is - technically - supposed to be in a workplan and
supposed to be budgeted and accounted for. However, the staff of the
organization were finding that there was much work that needed to be done
outside the plans and budgets that would make their formal work more effective
- no surprise really but they discovered how critical this work is.. In
an Open Space last year, the staff got quite turned on to the potential of the
process to identify the "out of the budget" work that needed to be
done. A number of important projects were proposed and started but they
had thin support from leadership and other pressing issues took over their time
and attention. Action waned and pessimism crept in. <br>
<br>
Last week marked the initiation for a new CEO who is very interested in making
sure there is time and space for staff to work on issues that support the
culture and the relationships within the organization. This group is
spread wide and thin across Canada and so finding ways to work together
virtually is important, especially to support action planning and follow up
coming from what are becoming regular Open Space events. So on Tuesday in
a full day OST meeting about the operations of the organization, there were
some excellent conversations on working as a network and supporting an
organizational culture that is both responsible to the plan and budgets, but
agile enough to be able to deal with unexpected opportunities. Wednesday
and Thursday we did some in house training and then Friday, hosted by three
staff members, we opened space again for action planning on the sessions that
were held on Tuesday. People got right down to action plans, some of them
creating gant charts and budget allocations. All the action groups made
commitments for what I call "next first steps" and the new CEO,
recognizing the importance of what was unfolding in front of him invited the
staff to make sure that everyone prioritized the work that came from the OST
even over the other pressing issues they had waiting for them back at their
offices. He wanted to be sure that the results of the OST had the best
possible chance for success even though they seemed not to be in the already approved
workplans. <br>
<br>
I wondered why this was, and we had a conversation along the following lines: <br>
<br>
This group is using Open Space on a regular basis to take care of the work that
is not in the workplans, not in the budget and not necessarily even directly a
part of what their organization seems to be about. But what we learned this
week is that Open Space, used in this way, takes care of the "bass
notes" within an organization. There is a kind of deeper hum within every
organization - call it the culture if you like, but it's more like a field -
that supports the work, generates the working environment and connects to the
purpose of each person. People who are highly satisfied with their jobs and
organization will often feel connected to this deeper field. They resonate with
the bass note, the fundamental note of the chord. When this note isn't present,
it feels like work is not connected into a deeper pattern. Understand here that
I am talking not about organizational purpose - it runs below that. It is more
like organizational inspiration, operating at the level of the spirit of the
place. Making Open Space part of the operating system of an organization
results in tuning this bass note, or perhaps sounding it again. We have a
chance to open space to breathe a little, get some distance from the mundane
tasks of our job and ask some of the bigger questions about who we are and
where the organization is going. </span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>The folks in this organization are lucky that the
upper leadership wants to see things working this way and has provided them
with the time and resources both to meet in Open Space and to carry out the
small projects starting next week that keep the bass note humming. And of
course, we tuned up relationships as well, brought familiarity and warmth to an
organization that is spread thinly across the whole country so that people can
remember how we were when we were together, something that helps them continue
to work virtually.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Thought you'd like to know. I'll post
updates here as they progress.<br>
<br>
Chris<br clear=all>
<br>
-- <br>
CHRIS CORRIGAN<br>
Facilitation - Training<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><br>
<br>
Principal, Harvest Moon Consultants, Ltd.<br>
<a href="http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.com">http://www.harvestmoonconsultants.com</a>
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