I have experience working with BC Hydro in British Columbia on some internal stuff that we can talk about. BC Hydro was one of the very early adopters of Open Space Technology, along with US West, a telecom that was made famous in the film that Peggy and Harrison made in the 1990s. Public utilities have been using OST from very near the beginning. The US West video might be a good one to share with your client.<div>
<br></div><div>I have found working with engineers and like minded, analytical types to be a really fun experience in Open Space. Once they understand the differences between control in an electrical system (necessary) and control in a human system (tricky at best) they usually then want to find out how Open Space works and then deploy it as a useful tool. I'm sure other engineers on this list will concur and weigh in with their own experiences, but other than giving you some examples of where it has been used, I find, like any group, that if the process fits the need, there is no need to sell it, just to put it to work.</div>
<div><br></div><div>It's great to hear your voice again. </div><div>
<br></div><div>Chris<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Mar 17, 2011 at 8:28 PM, Judy Gast <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jgast@sympatico.ca">jgast@sympatico.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div lang="EN-CA" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Harrison, I thank you for your words and suggestions. And I am motivated to do as you say.. from what I have heard from the engineer client group, they are Č out of options and have nothing left to loseč … and I am certainly in a situation where numerous people, in my humble perception, would rather fail badly than try something new and different- particularly something that challenged their perceived ability to control…. But that said, given the engineers that I have engaged, I know they see the value….and, hopefully, with or without established Čcase studiesČ and examples of similar utlitiies in similar situations, will help me show the value to the power houses who make the decisions for the utilitiy I work for.<br>
thanks,<br>Judy</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt"> OSLIST [mailto:<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Harrison Owen<br>
<b>Sent:</b> March-17-11 11:02 AM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [OSLIST] use of Open Space in Public Utilities</span></p>
</div></div><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">Judy – Welcome back! And have fun!! But when it comes to cases, I would hope that you get some, and I am sure they will be interesting. That said, I have never found case all that helpful as a way of introduction. People look interested, nod their heads – and then say something like, “Sounds wonderful, but it can’t happen here (for all the usual reasons.) You can give them all the cases they want, but the refrain is usually the same. However there is a way in – which you know very well. Do it! Find a target of opportunity and go for it. That needn’t be large. Somewhere in that environment you find yourself in there will be dozens of situations where you have a real screaming issue, lots of complexity, diversity, passion/conflict – and a need for resolution yesterday. When you see something like that, wait until the folks are desperate and out of options. At that point get next to them and whisper in their ear – “if you are out of options you might want to try… After all you have nothing left to lose!”An amazing number of folks would rather fail badly than try something new and different – particularly something that challenged their perceived ability to CONTROL. So don’t count on 100% acceptance – but the likelihood is that somebody will take the bait. And when they do, you have your “case” – right there in little old downtown Corporate. And all the usual excuses don’t work anymore. To be sure people can choose to go back and be miserable. They can choose to fail with abandon. But they will always know there is an alternative.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">Harrison </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p>
<div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">Harrison Owen</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">7808 River Falls Dr.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">Potomac, MD 20854</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">USA</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D">Phone <a href="tel:301-365-2093" target="_blank">301-365-2093</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D"><a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D"><a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a> (Personal Website)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;color:#1F497D">To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of <a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu" target="_blank">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D"><a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color:#1F497D"> </span></p><div><div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm"><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt"> OSLIST [mailto:<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Judy Gast<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, March 16, 2011 11:11 PM<br><b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br><b>Subject:</b> use of Open Space in Public Utilities</span></p>
</div></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Hello all,</p><p class="MsoNormal">I was introduced to Open Space back in 1996 in a small monastery in Guelph, Ontario. It was a seminal experience that changed my understanding of ‘how things work’. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Many years later, I now find myself (recently joined a large utility) wanting to introduce/use Open Space to help a group of internal clients, who are responsible for improving the grid reliability (aka ‘keeping the lights on’) for this utility. From my limited tenure (two months), the culture is deeply embedded in command and control, and very siloed (I liken it to a highly authoritarian parenting model.) </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I searched the archives for examples that I could present… of similar organizations with similar needs… and didn’t come up with anything. Can anyone point me to an article/case study of an OS event that I can use to help promote the concept to my client.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Thanks,</p><p class="MsoNormal">Judy Gast</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">* * ========================================================== <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a> ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of <a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu" target="_blank">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>: <a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist" target="_blank">http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a></span></p>
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<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist" target="_blank">http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>CHRIS CORRIGAN<br>Facilitation - Training - Process Design<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><br>
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