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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Reading Suzanne’s words (well spoken as usual) caused me to think of a conversation I had been having with a colleague about all the “stuff” (meteorological, political, social, and geological) that seems to be coming down at the moment – and how despite everything I found myself being quite (perhaps perversely) optimistic. Somehow that conversation seemed to fit with the one Suzanne has initiated. But you can judge…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>**********************<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I totally agree that going the way we are going, we are headed down the tubes. And doing more and better of the same old thing will assure that result. But from where I sit, the present moment is both critical and positive. Indeed it is predictable and necessary. Using a short hand I am sure you will understand, we have become addicted to the necessity for control, which we can never achieve – hence the exhausting sense of failure and pessimism. Even worse, the very attempt to achieve control is the source of most, if not all of the personal and organizational pathologies that bedevil us. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I think we have learned that when dealing with addictive behavior (control in this instance), the only way up – more often than not – is down. To hit bottom, which has the positive effect of introducing some radical honesty. To switch metaphors: We come to understand that the light at the end of the tunnel IS the train. I think this moment of radical honesty is close upon us, and while it is definitely scary, painful and destructive it is also the first critical step towards a transformational journey. Short take is that we have to lose our lives in order to save them, as Christians might say. Or for the contemporary biologist, chaos is the fertile field of new life. No chaos, No life. Definitely awesome, but the good news is that finally (or soon) we have reached the end and before us lie some wonderful possibilities, should we choose to accept them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This story is as old as the cosmos, and has been told and retold in many ways. Four thousand years ago it was The Dance of Shiva, the Yin and the Yang, Marduk and Tiamat – today the story is retold in modern scientific terms: Emergence, self organization, Complexity Theory. But it is the same story, I think. Admittedly it can be pretty grim, both in the telling and (worse) in the experience. All that said, I find it useful to remember, especially on dark days – just how amazing it is that after all the catastrophes, actual and potential -- we humans are still here to complain about how badly things are going. And oddly, or perversely, I am actually quite optimistic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>A major source of my optimism comes from what has become a marvelous 27 year natural experiment with self organization in Human Systems. The findings to date, at least my findings, go something like this. First: All human systems are self organizing. Not just a little bit, only on the edges – but through and through, top to bottom. Second: When allowed (permitted, invited, encouraged) to operate in their naturally intended fashion, the results can be truly mind-blowing, including massive increases in productivity, harmonious interaction of previously conflicted parties, and as a final benefit, people actually have fun, in the best and deepest sense of the word, fun. Third: Any attempt to organize such self organizing systems (an oxymoron at best) almost inevitably results in the radical decline of productivity, combined with all the pathologies we love to hate, including low morale, broken communication, frenetic lifestyles, burned out, broken, sad people. Forth: Since self organization is a naturally occurring phenomenon, not unlike Gravity, the “fix” has nothing to do with creating new processes, teaching new tricks – and everything to do remembering who and what we are: Self organizing. My Buddhist friends might say, “Finding our original face.” It is really very simple, but it does require no small amount of un-learning and not doing. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>You will not be surprised to learn that the “Natural Experiment” is Open Space Technology. As with all natural experiments, it wasn’t designed as such (controls, reporting procedures, etc.) in fact it wasn’t designed at all. On occasion people will say that I created it, which is rather a laugh. As I have come to understand OST it is simply self organization at work. And to say that I created self organization is a bit of a stretch. Truthfully I really just stumbled upon it courtesy of two martinis (True!). But over the years and around the world we have seen multiple examples of the sorts of things I described as my second finding (above). Single instances would have been interesting, but over time the numbers have become overwhelming. Nobody really knows, least of all me, but a fair guess would be 200-300,000 iterations in 136 countries over 27 years. Not every instance is massively dramatic, but there is a pattern, and in a curious way it (OST) always seems to work given the necessary preconditions and following a very simple procedure: Sit in a circle, create a bulletin board, open a market place of ideas, and go to work. Fifteen minutes for an introduction, 20-30 minutes of issue identification, a little more time to straighten out the details and have cup of coffee – and groups up to 3000+ will go to work. Every time and productively so. Would that I could have designed such a thing. It would be a wonder and so would I! But knowing what you know about the power of self organization, the results we have experienced should come as no surprise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Harrison<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Harrison Owen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>7808 River Falls Dr.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Potomac, MD 20854<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>USA<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Camden, Maine 20854<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Phone 301-365-2093<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>(summer) 207-763-3261<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="www.openspaceworld.com%20"><span style='color:blue'>www.openspaceworld.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="www.ho-image.com%20"><span style='color:blue'>www.ho-image.com</span></a> (Personal Website)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;color:#1F497D'>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST Go to:<a href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org"><span style='color:blue'>http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Suzanne Daigle<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, October 28, 2012 8:55 AM<br><b>To:</b> OSLIST<br><b>Subject:</b> [OSList] A story of leadership that connects to Open Space<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Greetings<br><br>Today... Sunday and the forces of nature are upon us. Earthquake in Hawaii, fortunately the Tsunami warning is now lifted; Hurricane Sandy, a super storm heading up the North Atlantic coast; and Typhoon Son-Tinh lashing Asia with winds and flooding. Add to this the political fire storms in the US with an upcoming election and a world that is in the midst of great change on so many fronts, well we've got ourselves an amazing brew with the type of chaos that Wave Rider and Open Space Technology are ready-made for. Yes indeed it seems that the world is waiting for an unleashing of leadership on many fronts. What a precious gift we have, those of us who have been introduced to the beautiful technology of Open Space! A gift that invites one and all to roll up their sleeves and pitch in on the stuff that needs to be done, that we can all do together, using the law of 2 feet and 5 life-honoring principles in a spirit of shared joy, purpose and support. <br><br>If I was inspired this morning it's because of an article I read in the New York Times, a story of a great hero woman who lived in Maine, not far from Camden where Harrison lives in the summer. She wrote a book called Silent Spring -- a book that changed the world. It is a story of courage, of conviction and caring passionately about something, taking responsibility, making a difference and unleashing one's own leadership. It's a story about "coming home to oneself" the same coming home that people often describe that happens to them after being introduced to Open Space.<br><br>So wherever you are whether it be Sunday morning, afternoon or the next day, I offer you this link thinking that you will also see the wonderful story behind the story. <br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/business/rachel-carsons-lessons-50-years-after-silent-spring.html?_r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/business/rachel-carsons-lessons-50-years-after-silent-spring.html?_r=0</a><br><br>It's the life tale of a great woman, Rachel Carson who researched and wrote a seminal book Silent Spring that became the genesis for the environmental movement. It's also a story about the unleashing of personal and collective leadership that reminds us of the potential that lives inside each of us, regardless of age, background, socio-economic level, status, education, gender or race. <br><br><b>A beautiful article to inspire us as we plan into our WOSonOS 2013 event in Florida. In the end, what we are planning is a simple affair. What is not simple however are the beautiful emergent conversations and possible actions that will ensue as we invite our OS community to imagine what's possible that would inspire which goes beyond a single event or just a few days. </b><br><br>In the end, the dream is to imagine more and more people being introduced to Open Space. Sharon Joy Kleitsch, a community connector and a member of our planning team, has already started igniting the buzz in the Greater Tampa Bay area and St. Petersburg Florida where our event will be held, talking about us, this wonderful gang of Open Space folks from all over the world who are doing amazing things through this work. <br><br>Just as Phelim and the team inspired many to the importance of Theatre in Britain in a Road Show series of Open Space events, I imagine in our own way that more people will have the opportunity "to experience" Open Space because of our upcoming event.The dream is that mainstream folks from all walks of life use Open Space to open spaces everywhere to make their world, our world a better place.<br><br><br>Feeling the gratitude of something much bigger than a Sunday morning cup of coffee,<br><br>Suzanne<br><br><br><br><br><br><br>-- <br>Suzanne Daigle<br>NuFocus Strategic Group<br>7159 Victoria Circle<br>University Park, FL 34201<br>FL 941-359-8877; <br>CT 203-722-2009<br><a href="http://www.nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">www.nufocusgroup.com</a><br><a href="mailto:s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com</a><br>twitter @suzannedaigle<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>