<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">The whole topic of power for me needs more attention than I can give it at the moment…but I want to underline and echo some of Michael's observations from earlier in the thread.<div><br></div><div>Power is very interesting in Open Space. CEOs are in a really tricky position when they come into an Open Space because they are being asked to let go and trust that the group will come up with great stuff AND they retain their accountabilities for results outside of the meeting. It is very wise in preparing for an Open Space gathering to be very realistic about this dual responsibility because very few people in the world are, in my experience, really good at it. </div><div><br></div><div>The sponsors who have absolutely been gems to work with are people who are willing to take the risk and protect the space for the participants to create new things. You need a brave leader to do that, one who uses their power to create and hold space. Not everyone is comfortable with the power they hold and wield…and this is especially true of people that call Open Space meetings on a hunch. I have worked with several sponsors who called OST meetings because they were afraid to make decisions or create possibilities themselves. </div><div><br></div><div>As a result I work a lot with sponsors to get everyone in right relationship with power before undertaking important and far reaching OST events. I often talk about this as creating the "architecture of implementation." In other words, becoming strategic about how the results will be hosted in the organization or system and ensuring that the power and accountability up and down the line knows what is happening. Failure to do this ahead of time almost always results in the good harvest of an Open Space meeting falling apart in a back room somewhere. </div><div><br></div><div>It is important to remember that space is opened not just in the meeting, but in the moment when the inkling for an OST comes to the sponsor. And it is closed long after the meeting, when the results of the gathering have done their work. During that time, space needs to be held. The facilitator (especially us consultants) may just do the meeting, but leaders need to hold on much longer, to steward the possibilities for change. I think it is a responsibility of us as OST facilitators to understand that "wherever it happens is the right place" means that space needs to be held over time and space, in different locations, including in a meeting. Power, responsibility and multiple accountabilities can create an awful lot of shadow if not dealt with well. </div><div><br></div><div>Chris</div><div><br><div><div>On 2013-10-02, at 10:58 AM, Michael Herman <<a href="mailto:michael@michaelherman.com">michael@michaelherman.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">harrison's post reminds me of a meeting i facilitated some years ago. the chiefs of a 900-person group worked with a colleague of mine for close to a year, studying a book they'd read together, and digging into strategic questions. by the time they called an open space for 120 of the next layer down, they'd produced a dandy mental map of all the issues. <div>
<br></div><div>my colleague got sick and sent me to facilitate. i managed to convince them not to drop their map on everyone by ppoint as part of the opening. but once the opening was accomplished, they were standing in pairs and threes at the wall, pointing to things on their map and then pointing to the wall, laughing. everything they'd identified had been raised and posted. </div>
<div><br></div><div>then, on the morning of day two we had a bit of a crisis at morning news. the invitation for this meeting had been quite short. it basically said, come and work on the issues that make your palms sweat, stomach churn, and keep you up at night. the upset on the second morning was that many folks were looking around at what was on the wall and thinking that they'd failed, that all their work and time was being wasted -- because the issues posted on the wall DID NOT normally keep most of them up at nights. it was just the work that had to be done, and they were doing it. once people realized that they had raised and were addressing every issue that anybody could identify, they got right back to working in their breakouts. </div>
<div><br></div><div>turns out, all the big strategic/adaptive sorts of issues were only keeping the leaders up at night. for everybody else, it was just part of the job. so who had the power here?</div><div><br></div><div>
m</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div> <br>--<br><br>Michael Herman<br>Michael Herman Associates<br>312-280-7838 (mobile)<br><br><a href="http://michaelherman.com/" target="_blank">http://MichaelHerman.com</a><br>
<a href="http://openspaceworld.org/" target="_blank">http://OpenSpaceWorld.org</a><br><br></div>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 12:40 PM, Brett Barndt <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:barndtbrett@gmail.com" target="_blank">barndtbrett@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">Very interesting discussion. Meanwhile, in terms of OST economics, the economics profession and all the adherents have so much power since they choose what ideas/explanations, etc. get proffered for the worlds' events. Many people who come into an Open Space event will carry those beliefs, which are themselves a mere subset and selection of possibilities heavily influenced by power preservation inherent in institutions. <br>
<br>Many of the most influential people in the world operate by these beliefs which say justify austerity because of public debts (and despite destruction of social fabric, even rising suicide rates), public debts themselves (which are not a foregone conclusion in the grand scheme of things), or even the very concept of interest-bearing money, which is itself laden with ecological, power, and social hierarchy implications all by itself. And, powerful funding sources ensure new generations get taught these ideas at universities and secondary schools so that they are not even any longer debatable. <br>
<br>There are so many assumptions not even questioned in our current world because of this hegemony. <br></div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 2, 2013 at 11:40 AM, Diane Gibeault <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:diane.gibeault@rogers.com" target="_blank">diane.gibeault@rogers.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div style="font-size:10pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><div><span>I think the idea is not CEOs giving up power but getting more effective power, differently. </span></div>
<div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13px;background-color:transparent;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span><br></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13px;background-color:transparent;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span>The CEOs are invited to expand their definition of power to include shared leadership, a more open way of working with all elements of the organization... </span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13px;background-color:transparent;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span>Harrison's description of the power that emerges through self-organization captures
well this different paradigm of power.</span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13px;background-color:transparent;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span><br></span></div><div style="font-style:normal;font-size:13px;background-color:transparent;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span>Diane</span></div><div></div><div> </div><div><div style="line-height:1.22;font-variant:normal;font-size:13px;font-style:normal;display:block;margin:2px 0px 0px 2px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;padding:0px">
<div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="line-height:1.22;font-variant:normal;font-size:13px;font-style:normal;display:block;margin:2px 0px 0px 2px;font-family:arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif;font-weight:normal;padding:0px">
<div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal;font-size:16px;font-family:Times"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><blockquote style="border-left:2px solid rgb(16,16,255);margin-left:5px;margin-top:5px;padding-left:5px">
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt"> <div style="font-family:'times new roman','new york',times,serif;font-size:12pt"> <div dir="ltr"> <hr size="1"> <font face="Arial"> <b><span style="font-weight:bold">From:</span></b> Bui Petersen <<a href="mailto:bui.petersen@gmail.com" target="_blank">bui.petersen@gmail.com</a>><div>
<br> <b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> World wide Open Space Technology email list <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> <br> </div><b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, October 2, 2013 10:52:41 AM<div>
<br> <b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [OSList] Open Space Economics? Be Prepared to be Surprised!<br> </div></font> </div>
<div><br><div><div>
Maybe "circumventing" is the wrong word. But for me the issue of
power is central. In order for OST to work, the "CEO" has to
temporarily give up some of her/his power (both procedural and
positional).<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
I'm quite serious about this, and OST (and other group processes)
may become part of my academic research (I just started on an PhD in
Management). Maybe my contribution will be to help make the field of
Management become more open to self-organization. :)<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Maybe you'll all hear back from me in a few years. :)<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Bui<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<div><div>On 02/10/2013 1:04 AM, Michael Herman
wrote:<br clear="none">
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">I can't ever remember "attempting to circumvent
power dynamics," Bui. While it's quite common when people talk
about sitting in a circle they say things like, "...the circle
makes everyone equal." I always disagree. The circle gives
everyone equal access to all the others in the circle, the
markers and paper and microphone at the center, and the bulletin
board gives everyone the same access to all of the info that is
generated. It doesn't make them equal, the ceo has an entirely
different set of skills, resources, experiences, concerns than
the new intern. But as a facilitator, I give everyone the same
job: learn and contribute as much as you can, from wherever you
are, with whatever you have at your disposal. serve the common
purpose.
<div>
<br clear="none">
</div>
<div>none of this attempts or requires any circumventing. i
think ost works in spite of whatever the power structure might
be, once people show up. maybe the invitation tweaks the
power structure -- but if the invite comes from the top, then
it's the top giving power away -- hardly a circumvention, and
certainly not the facilitator attempting. if the invite
bubbles up from somewhere below, then it's the lower ranks
claiming power for themselves. so i think any shifting of
power arises because invitation exists as an option, not
because anything we do in the process of 'opening space.' i
think ost is just one way of pointing out that invitation is
possible and the ost story is pretty much the same in all
kinds of different "power" distributions. </div>
<div><br clear="none">
</div>
<div>or maybe i just don't understand. what do you do to notice
and recognize power imbalances? and how have you seen this
improve the ost experience for people? </div>
<div><br clear="none">
</div>
<div>m</div>
<div>
<br clear="none">
</div>
</div>
<div><br clear="all">
<div> <br clear="none">
--<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Michael Herman<br clear="none">
Michael Herman Associates<br clear="none">
<a href="tel:312-280-7838" value="+13122807838" target="_blank">312-280-7838</a> (mobile)<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="http://michaelherman.com/" target="_blank">http://MichaelHerman.com</a><br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="http://openspaceworld.org/" target="_blank">http://OpenSpaceWorld.org</a><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
</div>
<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<div>On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:06 PM, Bui
Petersen <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:bui.petersen@gmail.com" target="_blank">bui.petersen@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br clear="none">
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div> Michael, I guess
we'll have to disagree. I see OST's temporal attempt at
circumventing power dynamics (e.g through the the
empowered of the the law of two feet) as one of the
beauties of the process. <br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
One of the reasons that the liberal view of market
economics is problematic is that it doesn't account for
power imbalances. While you can't take away all structural
power, I think the OST experience can be enhanced by at
least some awareness and recognition of such powers.<span><font color="#888888"><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Bui</font></span>
<div>
<div><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<div>On 30/09/2013 10:56 PM, Michael Herman wrote:<br clear="none">
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">i don't think ost is trying to "take
away structural power," bui -- not even
temporarily. i think it's more about
acknowledging the distribution of knowledge and
choice (power) that already exists. the law of
two feet isn't something special we enact at the
start of an event, it's something we just notice
and point out, for instance.
<div> <br clear="none">
</div>
<div>m </div>
</div>
<div><br clear="all">
<div> <br clear="none">
--<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Michael Herman<br clear="none">
Michael Herman Associates<br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">312-280-7838</a> (mobile)<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="http://michaelherman.com/" target="_blank">http://MichaelHerman.com</a><br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="http://openspaceworld.org/" target="_blank">http://OpenSpaceWorld.org</a><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
</div>
<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<div>On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at
10:21 AM, Bui Petersen <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect" href="mailto:bui.petersen@gmail.com" target="_blank">bui.petersen@gmail.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br clear="none">
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>
Interesting discussion. When I have
described OST, some people have been
skeptical as it to them has has sounded to
"neo-liberal" and not taking power balances
enough into consideration. Obviously what
the "structure" of OST is trying to do is to
take away structural power temporarily. But
some people are still skeptical about OST's
potential to do this. My own take is that
OST does not always fully succeed in this
regard. <br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Still it is very interesting theoretically.
Both there is a lot of other (than
economics) theoretical perspectives that
better deal with power.<span><font color="#888888"><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
Bui</font></span>
<div>
<div><br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
<div>On 26/09/2013 5:33 PM, Michael
Herman wrote:<br clear="none">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<div>I share your concerns, Jeff, but
found this piece to be mostly not
about politics. And where he comments
on current views and policy, I was
less bothered by what he was saying
than by my tendency to agree in many
cases. But mostly this is interesting
and useful totally separate from his
politics, I think. <br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
On Thursday, September 26, 2013, Jeff
Aitken wrote:<br clear="none">
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>thanks Michael! </div>
<div> </div>
<div>It's unfortunate that I have a
lingering dislike for Mr. Gilder,
who was famous for awhile around
1981 when the Reagan
administration rolled out its
economic agenda, and his work was
considered one of its intellectual
pillars.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Twas a long time ago, and no
doubt the man remains a hard
thinker and clear writer, perhaps
with more heart than I experienced
back then.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>With that caveat, I'll dig into
this when I have a chance. Thanks
for sharing.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Jeff</div>
<div>San Francisco<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
</div>
<div>On Thu, Sep
26, 2013 at 12:25 PM, Michael
Herman <span dir="ltr"><<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">michael@michaelherman.com</a>></span>
wrote:<br clear="none">
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT:#ccc 1px solid;MARGIN:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;PADDING-LEFT:1ex">
<div title="Page 3">
<div>
<div>
<div title="Page 1">
<div>
<div>
<div><font face="Calibri" size="3">Here's
a long one,
friends… But
maybe an
important one.</font></div>
<div><font face="Calibri" size="3">What
follows is an
excerpt from a
markets
newsletter I've
read for maybe
10 years by a
financial expert
and best-selling
author Named
John Mauldin.
He describes
and then shares
an article by a
guy named George
Gilder, Who
seems to have
been writing
"important"
books for at
least a few
decades. </font></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br clear="none">
<br clear="none">
-- <br clear="none">
Michael Herman<br clear="none">
<a href="http://MichaelHerman.com">MichaelHerman.com</a><br clear="none">
<a rel="nofollow" shape="rect">(312)
280-7838</a>
<div>Sent from my iPhone<br clear="none">
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