<div>Hiya Tree.</div>
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<div>Thanks for your thoughts on my <Open Space 2.0 - Beyond the Dogma> post.</div>
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<div>Has OS become arthritic? And are certain Open Space practitioners becoming dogmatic?</div>
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<div>Here in the UK the answer is "yes".</div>
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<div>I've been to two gatherings of OS practitioners, both held in London (I was the co-creator of the first one) and anyone wandering in from the street would probably have thought they were witnessing a meeting of a religious group or a cult.</div>
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<div>At the second of these gatherings, structured along "Open Space on Open Space" lines, Paul Levy led a session that challenged the four principles of Open Space, and was shot down in flames by a number of people.</div>
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<div>And a year ago he advertised, on this very email list, a workshop with a similar theme to the one he and I are running in Brighton next week, and received from a prominent OS practitioner what ca bes be described as hate mail.</div>
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<div>Thanks for your invitation to share more of my thoughts. You can find plenty of them here <a href="http://www.jackmartinleith.com/?p=191">www.jackmartinleith.com/?p=191</a> and here <a href="http://www.jackmartinleith.com/?p=192">www.jackmartinleith.com/?p=192</a>, along with some thoughts expressed by people beyond this list. The purpose of the 14 May workshop is to discover what other people think.</div>
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<div>My aim (I can't speak for Paul) is not for 'better' space at meetings, but for a process which is most likely to deliver the desired results. Which results? Those that will generate as much value as possible for as many parts of the stakeholder system as possible. I don't see myself as a process facilitator, but rather as a results facilitator. As in midwifery, a healthy mother and baby are the first priority. The process has to serve the results. My personal preference is for natural methods, but I keep forceps in my back pocket and a scalpel in a glass box, for emergency use only.</div>
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<div>If you'd like to take part in the discussion through Skype, the user name is <rationalmadness> and the timing is 1400 to 1600 British Summer Time, which is one hour ahead of GMT.</div>
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<div>Best wishes,</div>
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<div>Jack</div>
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<div>Jack Martin Leith<br>Bristol, United Kingdom<br>Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)<br>Skype: jackmartinleith<br>Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725422325">www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725422325</a><br>
Facebook group on Open Space Technology: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7189220743">www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7189220743</a><br>LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackmartinleith">www.linkedin.com/in/jackmartinleith</a><br>
email: <a href="mailto:jack@jackmartinleith.com">jack@jackmartinleith.com</a><br><a href="http://www.jackmartinleith.com">www.jackmartinleith.com</a> </div>
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<div class="gmail_quote">2008/5/4 Tree Fitzpatrick <<a href="mailto:therese.fitzpatrick@gmail.com">therese.fitzpatrick@gmail.com</a>>:<br>
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<div class="Ih2E3d">On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 6:01 AM, Jack Martin Leith <<a href="mailto:jack@jackmartinleith.com" target="_blank">jack@jackmartinleith.com</a>> wrote:<br>
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<div>Hiya Harrison.</div>
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<div>Happy that you're not offended by our undertaking!</div>
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<div>Maybe it's different on your side of the pond, but Paul and I have both, separately, noticed the worrying extent to which OS certainly has become a dogma over here, sometimes along with the words "Harrison Owen" says. (I must put my hand up to having done that many times.) We both feel that OS has become somewhat arthritic, and overdue for a rethink.</div>
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<div><br>Open Space Technology is what it is. Right? How can it become arthritic? I am challenged by your suggestion but I hope you don't perceive that I am challenging you. I am genuinely puzzled. I would welcome more of you thoughts, perhaps some examples of how OS is changing?<br>
<br>How can OS 'become' anything? It is what it is.<br><br>I am wondering if, when you suggest that it is due for a 'rethink', perhaps you are seeing something else, or striving to see something else. Perhaps you have a (inchoate?) yearning for, please forgive me, 'better' space at meetings.<br>
<br>I don't have Harrison's depth of experience opening sepace, but I wholeheartedly agree with what he says about 'second generation open space'. When in doubt, open more space and if opening more space brings me to a place of doing nothing, well, for me, then I know I'm doing it right.<br>
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<div>What you say is perfectly true, and I agree wholeheartedly ... although I'm personaly keen on conversation that precipitates action ... but all too often it's very different on the ground.</div>
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<div>Big thanks for your support and encouragement. We'll keep you posted. Steve the Doc has already signed up for the Skype option.</div>
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<div>Very best,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Jack</div>
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<div>Jack Martin Leith<br>Bristol, United Kingdom<br>Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)<br>Skype: jackmartinleith<br>Facebook: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725422325" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=725422325</a><br>
Facebook group on Open Space Technology: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7189220743" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7189220743</a><br>LinkedIn: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/jackmartinleith" target="_blank">www.linkedin.com/in/jackmartinleith</a><br>
email: <a href="mailto:jack@jackmartinleith.com" target="_blank">jack@jackmartinleith.com</a><br><a href="http://www.jackmartinleith.com/" target="_blank">www.jackmartinleith.com</a> <br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">2008/4/30 Harrison Owen <<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net" target="_blank">hhowen@verizon.net</a>>:
<div><br>
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<p><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Sounds like a marvelous under taking, but I am not sure about all this "Dogma" business. Dogma in my lexicon is a whole bunch of stuff that you have to do/believe. My experience with OST is that it is all about thinking of one more thing NOT to do – or believe. The end of the line, or indeed the next iteration, would involve doing nothing at all, and where "belief" translated into pure experience. You were just "there" in that present moment being fully what you (we) already were – full, conscious, passionate, responsible human beings. My experience with most of the 2<sup>nd</sup> Generation Open Spaces is that they seem to involve more and different doing and believing. To my eyes this seems to be going in the wrong direction. But what do I know? Have fun!!</span></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </span></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Harrison</span></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"> </span></font></p>
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<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Harrison Owen</span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">7808 River Falls Drive</span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Potomac, Maryland 20854</span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Phone </span></font><font face="Arial" color="red" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">301-365-2093</span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="2"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Skype hhowen</span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Open Space Training</span></font><font color="red"><span style="COLOR: red"> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/" target="_blank"><font face="Arial"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">www.openspaceworld.com</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Open Space Institute</span></font><font color="red"><span style="COLOR: red"> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" target="_blank"><font face="Arial"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">www.openspaceworld.org</span></font></a></span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Personal website</span></font><font color="red"><span style="COLOR: red"> <a href="http://www.ho-image.com/" target="_blank"><font face="Arial"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">www.ho-image.com</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><font face="Arial" color="red" size="3"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">OSLIST</span></font><font face="Arial" color="red"><span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: </span></font><font color="red"><span style="COLOR: red"><a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank"><font face="Arial"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial">www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</span></font></a></span></font></p>
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