<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Hi David,<br>
<br>
Thanks for sharing contrasting thinking around boundaries and
containers. I very much enjoy the boundaries breaking thinking of
Harrison, and I'm also curious what you've learned from Glenda
Eoyang's theory and work? Would you share a little more deeply
what you find helpful from her work in understanding Open Space?<br>
<br>
Living in the country, I've had personal experience that good
fences mean good neighbors. But "good" for a fence doesn't mean
impermeable. A fortress wall is not the sign of a good
neighborhood. But no boundaries also doesn't indicate a good
neighborhood either. I knew someone from a church I was part of
who lived in East Palo Alto, and he said if you locked you're
doors - the locks would be broken. You had to give access to your
property, and only then would they leave you alone.<br>
<br>
My understanding speaking with Lisa Heft about facilitating Open
Space - she needs to "own" the room. Not in order to control
people, but having the authority to manage the space. Mostly so
someone from authority won't come in and shut it down if he or she
gets uncomfortable with what people do (or don't do).<br>
<br>
Thanks,<br>
Harold<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 4/7/14 10:26 AM, David Osborne wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:CANQfh89A+JMXKm9D1aCLq4LC5ykPtxAM_HhA9p8-cU56PmDUEg@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<div dir="ltr"> Harrison,
<div> <br>
</div>
<div> I think this is one of the few times I have a different
point of view that you. I believe OS's have natural containers
built in. I also believe you need a container for open space
to be effective. I think the difference stems from having a
different definition or viewpoint on what a container is and
can be. My view has been heavily influenced by Glenda Eoyang's
theory and work in this area. For something new to emerge from
self organization something has to hold our bind the diverse
agents together for them to have exchanges across their
differences. </div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<div> - The room or space the OS is being held in is a
container. </div>
<div> - A concept or idea that people care about brings the
people together.....it binds or contains them creating the
space to have the conversations to emerge. </div>
<div> - The bulletin board is a container.....scheduling a
specific conversation at a specific place and time. </div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<div> In my experience there are always multiple containers that
are massively intertwined. </div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<div> My thoughts along the way. </div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<div> David </div>
<div> <br>
</div>
<div> <br>
</div>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"> <br>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote"> On Sun, Apr 6, 2014 at 9:33 PM,
Michael Wood <span dir="ltr"><<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:michael.wood@uwa.edu.au" target="_blank">michael.wood@uwa.edu.au</a>></span>
wrote: <br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0
.8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"> Thanks,
Harrison, for your response to my question on 'boundaries',
particularly your paraphrasing of my question - which was
spot on. One thing I've taken from this brief conversation
is that although considering the boundaries can be useful,
we also need to accept that boundaries are never entirely
clear, always moving on a spectrum from clear to
uncertain/murky and if we, as a sponsor or facilitator, get
overly bound up with boundaries then we might have moved,
once again, into being too controlling. <br>
<br>
Michael Wood <br>
Perth, Western Australia <br>
<br>
<br>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
<br>
<br>
Message: 1 <br>
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2014 12:01:40 -0400 <br>
From: "Harrison Owen" < <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net">hhowen@verizon.net</a>>
<br>
To: "'World wide Open Space Technology email list'" <br>
< <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>>
<br>
Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space and boundaries <br>
Message-ID: <000301cf4f56$00776480$01662d80$@net> <br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII <br>
<br>
It has been common for us to speak of Containers and
Boundaries as somehow essential to Open Space. I can't quite
find the place, but I do remember saying something like that
myself, as in, "The role of the facilitator is to create the
container..." It certainly made sense at the time, but I
always felt a little uncomfortable with the image. Too
mechanical, coercive... too something. And Michael has
brought the subject up again. "So...here we have a situation
where the 'boundaries' are actually in a state of complex
flux and uncertainty. The financial 'givens' are ambiguous;
there is no 'locum' <br>
pastor in place because of legal uncertainties with the
existing pastor...etc." You might call it "messy boundaries"
-- and he raises the question whether one should press ahead
with Open Space, or wait until the "mess" is settled down.
On the one hand, Michael "hunches" that one should press on
-- Open Space. But his hesitation comes, I suspect, from the
prior notion that fixed boundaries/containers are necessary
for an effective Open Space. What to do? <br>
<br>
Some thoughts (new ones for me): Containers are great for
cooking soup, but are unneeded and maybe even problematical
in Open Space. It is all about holding things together. In
Open Space groups of people come together to deal with their
issues. At the very least that would mean gathering in some
common time/space, be that physical or electronic. It would
seem that this co-location could be facilitated were some
suitable "container" provided, presumably by the
sponsor/facilitator. This certainly makes sense, and as a
rough way of speaking, it seems to describe what is going
on. But as I think about it, I think we may be missing a
most important point. Coming together in Open Space happens
because people care to come. And they continue their
connection as long as they care to do so. (Law of two feet)
<br>
<br>
>From the "outside" it might look as if they were held in
place by a <br>
container, but that is illusory. The actual dynamics are
centripetal, the force is mutual attraction... people are
"there" because they care to be there and not because they
are contained by some external structure. In a word, we as
facilitators really don't do a thing, and creating a
container is the least of what we DON'T do. The people, from
the beginning, do it all. <br>
<br>
<br>
Of course, there are situations where groups come together
under orders, mandates, whatever. And they are definitely
"contained." It is also true that the tighter that
container, the less likely self organization will take
place. If true, providing a container is not only
unnecessary but also destructive. In the name of Opening
space, we effectively close it. Or so I suspect it might be.
Just thinking... <br>
<br>
Anyhow Michael, should my mental peregrinations lead
anywhere useful, it would seem that your "hunch" was spot
on. Forget the boundaries/container. <br>
Just invite the space to open. <br>
<br>
Harrison <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Harrison Owen <br>
7808 River Falls Dr. <br>
Potomac, MD 20854 <br>
USA <br>
<br>
189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) <br>
Camden, Maine 04843 <br>
<br>
Phone 301-365-2093 <br>
(summer) 207-763-3261 <br>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a>
<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.ho-image.com"
target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a> (Personal Website) <br>
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
archives of OSLIST Go to: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org"
target="_blank">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message----- <br>
From: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
[mailto: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>]
On Behalf Of Michael Wood <br>
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2014 9:59 PM <br>
To: ' <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>'
<br>
Subject: [OSList] Open Space and boundaries <br>
<br>
A Case Study.... <br>
One of the principles that I have generally worked with in
Open Space is helping the client get clear on the
'boundaries' of the space that's being opened. For example,
helping people who come into the space to know 'what up for
grabs here and what isn't? What decisions have already been
made?' <br>
<br>
So picture this (purely hypothetical of course)....a church
community in which the pastor has (in many peoples' opinion)
run off the rails and the main church body is in the process
of trying to dismiss him; the church is in compete disarray
and completely conflict ridden, many people have left; the
pastor who holds all the keys, banking passwords; church
telephone connections etc etc, has taken legal advice and
had hunkered down in the church owned house where he
continues to hold the reigns of power (via some of his
'allies' in the church) despite not formally being the
Pastor of the church anymore.... <br>
<br>
So...here we have a situation where the 'boundaries' are
actually in a state of complex flux and uncertainty. The
financial 'givens' are ambiguous; there is no 'locum' pastor
in place because of legal uncertainties with the existing
pastor...etc etc. <br>
<br>
So in terms of 'Opening Space', do we wait a bit longer
until some of the legal boundaries are clarified, OR open
space right away in the midst of the mess....my hunch is the
latter, but any thoughts from anyone? <br>
<br>
Cheers <br>
Michael <br>
_______________________________________________ <br>
OSList mailing list <br>
To post send emails to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:OSList@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
To unsubscribe send an email to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: <br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org"
target="_blank">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
------------------------------ <br>
<br>
_______________________________________________ <br>
OSList mailing list <br>
To post send emails to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:OSList@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
To unsubscribe send an email to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: <br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org"
target="_blank">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
<br>
<br>
End of OSList Digest, Vol 38, Issue 3 <br>
************************************* <br>
_______________________________________________ <br>
OSList mailing list <br>
To post send emails to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:OSList@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
To unsubscribe send an email to <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: <br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org"
target="_blank">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
<br>
<p>--</p>
<p>David Osborne</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://www.change-fusion.com/ChangeFusionLogo.jpg" alt=""
height="58" width="150"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.change-fusion.com">www.change-fusion.com</a> |
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:dosborne@change-fusion.com">dosborne@change-fusion.com</a> | 703.939.1777</p>
<br>
<fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre wrap="">_______________________________________________
OSList mailing list
To post send emails to <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:OSList@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
To unsubscribe send an email to <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org">OSList-leave@lists.openspacetech.org</a>
To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Harold Shinsato<br>
<a href="mailto:harold@shinsato.com">harold@shinsato.com</a><br>
<a href="http://shinsato.com">http://shinsato.com</a><br>
twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/hajush">@hajush</a></div>
</body>
</html>