<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Of course ! It's the wonderful irony of "all" statements.</div><div><br></div><div>Paul <br><br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><div><br>On 16 Oct 2014, at 22:43, Daniel Mezick via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
<meta content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
Including this one?<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/16/14 2:15 PM, paul levy via
OSList wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:CAAnJsbAPBFxe6_MuCMMzpEYUg3eP1rA7-K4aPCDBSNk-iOgUHQ@mail.gmail.com" type="cite">I'd just venture to add a third to Harrison's first
two...
<div><br>
</div>
<div><font><span style="background-color:rgba(255,255,255,0)"> 1)
All Systems are Open. 2) All Systems are self organizing.</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style><br>
</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style>And 3. All "all statements" are possibly
self-limiting</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style><br>
</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style>Best regards</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style><br>
</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style>Paul Levy</span></font></div>
<div><font><span style><br>
</span></font><br>
On Thursday, 16 October 2014, Harrison Owen via OSList <<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">John
– Thank you, Thank you for all the rich stuff! Sort of
a Tidal Wave, but that’s when it gets fun, albeit a
tad difficult to keep track of the sundry bits and
pieces </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#1f497d">J</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Picking
Just One: “But I can't get past the feeling that <i>there
are lots of barriers to the openness of space, and
to self organisation</i>.” Absolutely. And if we
were to put that into the language of the trade
(Complexity Theorists and the like) we would be
talking about “system constraints.” But as I
understand it, that does not mean that Self
Organization is no longer operative. And in fact the
System Constraints are part and parcel of the process,
a very important part. I think it goes something like
this –</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">I
have found myself coming to two conclusions, or
better yet observations. 1) All Systems are Open. 2)
All Systems are self organizing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">As
Open Systems, we, in all permutations of our “us-ness”
– businesses, countries, families, planets, etc) are
open to, and impacted by, all other systems. Sometimes
a lot, and sometimes a little, but in our cosmos there
is no safe, protected place. Everything is related to
everything else, and we are no exception. If true,
this has a number of implications. First of all the
environment in which we exist is so complex, fast
moving and inter-connected we can’t even think at that
level. Secondly, what you can’t even think about, you
can’t control. So the notion that somebody is actually
“in charge/in control” is not just a silly idea, it is
delusional. 3) System preservation/growth depends on
our ability to navigate this environment. And it is a
good news/bad news situation. Sometimes the impacts
drive us in new and creative directions, and open up
new opportunities which are ours if we respond
appropriately. At other times the impacts drive us to
the wall, and it’s Game over. Another word is Death.
If this story is in any ways valid, it would seem like
Mission Impossible. And yet this story has seemingly
been going on for 13.7 Billion years and we are still
here to complain about it. How could that be?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">All
Systems are Self Organizing – Self Organization is in
fact the mechanism whereby we navigate the
environment, and all systems do it, I think. And when
they stop doing it, they disappear. Self Organization
is not the product of some CEO or executive committee.
After all, they really haven’t been around for all
that long. Self Organization is the product of the
total system in all of its aspects and bits and
pieces. How all that works has been a matter of
stunning discovery over the past 40 years or so. I
doubt we have it all right, but I do think we may have
the major elements of understanding in place. The
outline goes something like this – a) Steady State b)
Chaos c) A bifurcation to either dissipation (poof) or
reconstitution at new and higher levels of order. Of
course you have to fill in a lot of the blanks, and
there is a massive literature attempting to do just
that. But I do believe we have enough to get started
with some basic observations. It really is a Whole
System affair, in which all elements must work
together, and no element has an <i>a priori</i> claim
to centrality. In a business this could mean that the
dumb question of an intern could just open the doors
for the future. You just don’t know. But you do know
that an organization’s future directly relates to its
capacity to bring total system assets to bear on
emergent challenges and opportunities quickly and
effectively. It is always tempting to try and “hedge
the bet” with some plan, policy or procedure, but it
worthwhile noting that the tighter (more constraining)
the plan, the greater the likelihood of failure. It’s
not that the plan was bad... but unfortunately the
challenge or opportunity came from a different
direction, and all our eggs were in one basket – the
wrong one. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">So
we have a very existential question – How do we assure
sufficient room (dare I say Space?) so that the
infinite elements of any organization may quickly and
effectively align to meet new challenges and
opportunities – recognizing in advance that we can
never know what will be required? </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Open
Space Technology is just a bit player in all of this,
but good old OST can be useful none the less both as a
natural laboratory to explore what is going on, and
also as an effective intervention to encourage the
appearance of the elemental power of self
organization, particularly when it seems blocked and
constrained. There are no guarantees of course, and
it may well be that The Organization’s time is now:
Game Over. But the chances of renewal are pretty good,
at least that has been my experience. And no matter
what, the magic sauce is not OST – but the power of
self organization. So you could say, just as a way of
speaking, “It’s all Open Space.” But that’s just a
joke, son. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Harrison</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Winter
Address</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">7808
River Falls Drive</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Potomac,
MD 20854</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="tel:301-365-2093">301-365-2093</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Summer
Address</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="x-apple-data-detectors://4">189 Beaucaire Ave.</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Camden,
ME 04843</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="tel:207-763-3261">207-763-3261</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Websites</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://%20www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank"> www.openspaceworld.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">OSLIST
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </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 [mailto:<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org');" target="_blank">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>John Baxter via OSList<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, October 16, 2014 2:57 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Harrison Owen<br>
<b>Cc:</b> World wide Open Space Technology email
list<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [OSList] Authority Distribution
in Open Space</span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
have knots about empowerment, and the ubiquitous
openness of space. These knots are about to
inspire a rant.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>These
knots, I should start with, are not entirely the
result of this present discussion thread - it is
just this discussion that prompts me to speak.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
think I understand Harrison, if you suggest that
self-organisation is more common than we
realise... if not ubiquitous, omnipresent, then at
least that we can fruitfully challenge the
assumption that formal and top-down organisation
dominates how things get done.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>But
I can't get past the feeling that <i>there are
lots of barriers to the openness of space, and
to self organisation</i>. Everywhere and all
the time. In my recent work, mental barriers by
all involved about authority and role
relationships. My personal barriers around trying
too hard to "empower". My client's patronising
assumptions about the "capacity" and "maturity" of
"the sector". Information asymmetries.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>So
I get really conflicted when anyone starts saying
"well space is open all the time" (implication:
'so chill out cos there's nothing you need to
do').</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
am also conflicted about stepping back from the
goal of empowerment, as if everybody else needs to
just step into open space and take responsibility.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Yes
- many people don't realise the power that they
have. (In my last project; nobody seemed to quite
buy into the fact that <i>they could directly
author the document that they were trying to
influence</i>.)</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>But
it is also patronising to suggest that empowerment
lies in just helping people to see how powerful
they are... because many people <i>don't</i> have
the power that we or they might like. To suggest
that people have the power and just don't use
it... that effectively blames them for their
situation, and washes our hands of responsibility.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>The
biggest barrier to group change I see time and
time again is authority figures who believe others
need to change, not themselves. (Most commonly,
that their employees need to "be empowered", and
that they need to manage a culture change program
to get there... or better yet, that HR needs to
manage the change program, while we are busy
getting the real work done.)</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
don't pretend that empowerment is something that
can be done to other people (patronising), but I
do firmly believe that we all first need to look
to ourselves and what we need to do to play our
role making such a future possible. And, in fact,
that <i>this is all that we can ever do</i>.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Maybe
the wisdom in what you say Harrison is that we do
this by focusing on respect first, as a productive
way to enable empowerment.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Maybe
I am picking on the wrong things and have
misunderstood them, and I apologise if I have been
critical. But I also see a lot of things said
that make me uncomfortable, that knot me up.
Again, most of these things are from my memory,
not the present discussion. While my memory might
not be the best, I'm sure it is based on
something.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Thank
you all for your patience and for being in this
discussion</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all">
</p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#663300">John
Baxter</span></i></b><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"></span></i><i><span style>Co</span></i><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"></span></i><i><span style>Create
Adelaide Facilitator, Director of
Realise consultancy</span></i><span style></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style><a href="http://cocreateadl.com/localgov%E2%80%8B" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155cc">CoCreateADL.com</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc"></span></a> | <a href="http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155cc">jsbaxter.com.au</span></a></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"><a href="tel:0405%20447%20829">0405 447 829</a></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444">
| </span><span style></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>@</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_" target="_blank"><span style>jsbaxter_</span></a></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Wed, Oct 15, 2014 at 6:06 AM,
Harrison Owen <<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','hhowen@verizon.net');" target="_blank">hhowen@verizon.net</a>> wrote:</p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">John
-- I’m rather curious what you meant by “The
overall project was more complicated than
OST?” My confusion comes in part from my
experience that complexity is actually an
essential precondition for OST, or more
exactly the effective operation of self
organization. The essential pre-conditions as
I have experienced the are: A Real business
issue (something that people really care
about). High levels of complexity such that no
single person or group has a prayer of
figuring it out. High levels of diversity in
terms of people and points of view. Lots of
passion and conflict. And a decision time of
yesterday (urgency). Given these 5 conditions,
self organization in the more formal setting
of OST or as a natural occurrence just seems
to happen... unless...And this may be the
point of problem... It is arbitrarily
constrained... which usually means that
somebody already has the plan/program/design
and they are just looking for buy-in or (worst
case) they are simply trying to sugar coat the
pill, and make it seem like the folks are
creating something, when in fact the cake is
already baked. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">A
clue to the dilemma may be in the phrase, “I
struggled to help the client (the funding
body) to really 'empower'...” I know we talk a
lot about empowerment, but I have come to the
conclusion that it is really a red herring,
and most painfully so in those situations
where you actually try to do it. Sounds odd, I
guess, but think about it. If I empower
you...you are in my power. And the more I try
to empower you the worse it gets. Real
empowerment, in my book, is not an act that we
(or somebody) do, but an acknowledgement of a
pre-existing condition...you are powerful. Of
course I might encourage you a bit to be as
powerful as you are, but it is not something I
can give you. You must claim it for yourself.
Strange as it may seem, I find the notion of
“empowerment” to be just the opposite of that
fundament of effective working relationships
(or any relationship) RESPECT. And I suspect
that it is precisely here that the fickle
finger of fate is pointing to the critical
issue. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Another
word that fits in here for me is
“Patronizing.” Everything may sound super
nice, and all the proper and correct words may
be spoken, but if the implication is that the
folks (participants) really do not have the
competence or ability to deal with the issues,
it is fairly predictable that they will not
bother to try. Or if they “try” it will be
pretty much of a pro forma situation. Sound
familiar?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Harrison</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Winter
Address</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">7808
River Falls Drive</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Potomac,
MD 20854</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="tel:301-365-2093" target="_blank">301-365-2093</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Summer
Address</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="x-apple-data-detectors://18">189
Beaucaire Ave.</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Camden,
ME 04843</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="tel:207-763-3261" target="_blank">207-763-3261</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Websites</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://%20www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"><a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">OSLIST
</span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;color:#1f497d">To
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </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 [mailto:<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org');" target="_blank">oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>John Baxter via OSList<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, October 13, 2014 2:41
AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Daniel Mezick<br>
<b>Cc:</b> World wide Open Space Technology
email list<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [OSList] Authority
Distribution in Open Space</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Hi
Daniel. Thanks for your considered
response.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
will try to keep my response in line
with the topic.... but expect it may
meander.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>The
OST day I was preparing for has since
come and gone.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
decided in the end to least give OST a
crack and see what happened.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>It
didn't go very well; but it also went
well enough (vis overall project
goals, and client expectations), so I
don't feel so bad about it... even if
I had personally envisaged more.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
am not one to worry about the
cannon... which means sometimes I
break things, as I did this time.
There was still an (informal) sponsor,
the one that sent the invites. They
just did not have a presence on the
day. Thank you Daniel as you did make
me think critically about the strength
of my role as host. I think I dealt
with that through my introduction to
the day; and as it turns out the
authority to host was not an issue.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>But
as it turns out, that was not really
the biggest challenge!</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>The
main lessons I took away about what
contributed to the average result:</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style>There
needs to be clear, compelling shared
work.</span></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>The
overall project was more complicated
than OST, so it wasn't clear what
turning up actually meant, and I think
many did not turn up on the basis of
wanting to resolve a shared challenge
(the work), as you might expect for
OST. In straight OST terms, you
could say this was an issue of
invitation, but really it was many
things.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>So
the group was interesting. They had
the heart, but not the will. They
were committed, but without ownership
of the result. I've seen this a lot
in the community engagement field, but
nowhere that I have used (or seen)
OST.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
thought about this a lot, I thought it
might have been about the invitation
and self-selection; but at the end of
the day I think it comes down to the
sense of (and invitation in to) shared
work.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style>It
is super hard to dissolve ingrained
power and authority relationships in
the short term. These can't be
sidestepped by an external
facilitator.</span></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>I
struggled to help the client (the
funding body) to really 'empower'.
They talked about it and genuinely
want to, but old habits and mental
models don't change overnight. They
really struggled to push beyond
managing the process as superiours (to
a set of subordinate participants).
This is 'empowerment' within a
patriarchal system, and it doesn't
work. It felt very yucky at times.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>A
curious side effect of this
partriarchal 'empowerment' was an
unwillingness to be clear about the
work ("we want to be open and let them
lead the process" they would say... I
got the client to agree that <i>the</i>y were
clearly the leaders, but we didn't
quite work out how to put that into
practice).</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Over
the course of the engagement, we all
took baby steps together that invest
in their (/our) capacity to really
work together in future. They learned
a LOT in a short period of time, and
so did I, but it was too short. By
the end of the project I had the
client calling me up to ask how they
could reword things so they didn't
reflect a control response. : ) That
was good, but obviously if they need
me for this then there is some way to
go. And different client reps had
different levels of self reflection.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Hosting
an isolated OST workshop against this
grain was very ambitious, it was
always going to be, no matter how we
conducted ourselves.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>And
perhaps 20% were very proactive, and
led the bulk of the work that
occurred... they saved the day!</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>But
the length of the OST was not enough
for this leadership to really be
contagious and precipitate a
productive culture.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style>Or
in other words: we struggled to free
up authorisation to be more dynamic</span></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Reading
your blog post Daniel, the idea of
dynamic authorisation would have been
very useful earlier in the project.
Another way of looking at the project:
we struggled to free the space of
ingrained authority to enable dynamic
authorisation.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>There
were lots of other insights into how
we could have done it differently, but
to me these were the fundamental
stumbling blocks for us.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Still,
they were not too big, and I'm pleased
we made a good start.</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>My
favourite feedback was "thank you,
this was the first time I have been
part of genuine engagement in more
than a decade in the sector" : )</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>Next
time, we will do better.</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all">
</p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#663300">John
Baxter</span></i></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"></span></i><i><span style>Co</span></i><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"></span></i><i><span style>Create Adelaide
Facilitator, Director of
Realise consultancy</span></i></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style><a href="http://cocreateadl.com/localgov%E2%80%8B" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155cc">CoCreateADL.com</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1155cc"></span></a> | <a href="http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155cc">jsbaxter.com.au</span></a></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"><a href="tel:0405%20447%20829">0405
447 829</a></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444">
| </span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style>@</span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_" target="_blank"><span style>jsbaxter_</span></a></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://citygrill.eventbrite.com.au" target="_blank">City
Grill— An Election Forum
More Magnificent Than Any
Ever Seen</a>!</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://28">Saturday
18 October 2014</a><br>
Connect with your candidates,
get your voice heard by
joining with others in your
community, and Influence the
future of the city</span></i></p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Tue, Sep 30, 2014
at 12:07 AM, Daniel Mezick <<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','dan@newtechusa.net');" target="_blank">dan@newtechusa.net</a>>
wrote:</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi John, <br>
<br>
Yours is a very interesting story. <br>
<br>
You say: <br>
<br>
<br>
<i><span style="font-size:18.0pt">"...To
be honest<b> I am not sure</b> how
I need to deal with this, though <b>my
strategy is to accept the
authority</b> for hosting the
space in the next workshop, <b>obsolving
the department of their
responsibility</b> to manage the
day."<br>
<br>
"...I don't think it is feasible
for the obvious authority
candidates hosting something
genuinely participatory. <b>The
relevant director has said she
doesn't want to speak formally
and become The Authority for the
day</b>, a position I agree
with."</span></i></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
In the situation as described, it
sounds like the org is the very
earliest stages of moving in a
direction of more
open/participatory/inviting. <br>
<br>
Do you agree with this assessment?<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
If this assessment is correct, based
on what you describe, I would
probably avoid attempting Open Space
in the canonical form whatsoever (as
described in the OST GUIDE) because
the Sponsor role is vacant.
Unoccupied. And so, by my reckoning,
if I understand you right, a true
Open Space event isn't even
possible, because the essential
OST-Sponsor-role is in fact not
willingly occupied by anyone with
enough authority to play that
essential role well. <br>
<br>
What's clear is that someone who
could function as OST-Sponsor is
currently unwilling to do so. And so
I might try a "taster" or "demo"
event instead, where the goal is to
<i>learn about Open Space in general</i>,
and do a <i>little</i> bit of
"real" work too. Especially if the
allotted time a mere 1/2 day, I am
even more inclined to strongly favor
this re-framing of the stated goals.<br>
<br>
So the primary and stated goal for
the "taster" is learning about OST.
Another goal for a short event might
be to see who shows up
super-interested in the art of
Facilitation, and then offer to
mentor those who do self-select by
showing interest. In this manner
some Facilitation capacity is
developed inside the org, to help
with current meetings and processes.
Introducing Facilitation into
typical meetings is a easy and
effective "culture hack".<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
For me, the total unwillingness of
an obvious candidate to occupy the
Sponsor role is a huge warning
signal to slow down, pause, or even
stop. <br>
<br>
Lots of people here have more
experience than me, and might be
willing to lend you some of their
expertise regarding the authority
dynamics of Facilitating an OST
event with the essential
OST-Sponsor-role completely vacant<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Kind Regards,<br>
Daniel </p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On 9/28/14
11:30 PM, John Baxter wrote:</p>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am
navigating some challenging
authority dynamics in a
project at the moment.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was
brought in a week out from
the first of three forums,
and asked to 'facilitate a
codesign process' which was
at that stage a black box
(with many hidden
expectations) scheduled into
that event (1 hour before
lunch and 1 hour
afterwards).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">It's a
long journey, but you can
imagine how my role has
changed as I prepare for the
third forum which I am
hosting in Open Space.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">The
overall process is an
engagement between a
government department and
their funded agencies. The
most obvious direct power
dynamics are obvious, the
effective power and
authority dynamics are much
more complex (though
predictable).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Department
staff have authority
challenges as much as the
agencies. They are trying
so hard to be 'neutral'
and 'non controlling' that
they are effectively
reinforcing their own
authority positions (which
often have little real
correlation to the power,
knowledge etc that they
imagine them to).</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">To be
honest I am not sure how I
need to deal with this,
though my strategy is to
accept the authority for
hosting the space in the
next workshop, obsolving
the department of their
responsibility to manage
the day.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">It has
been interesting to watch
push back so far from agency
reps who are committed to
participating, who are
genuinely engaged, but are
playing to an us-them
tension that is getting in
the way of the shared work
(and serves them no good
ends except protecting them
from their own
responsibility).
Stand-offishness is
gradually being resolved,
though some pockets are
holding firm.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am
crossing my fingers for WS3
that we can traverse these
and get into Open Space
without being pushed off the
bridge by the reactionary
tension; and that once on
the other side, the
department reps can embrace
Open Space and take
responsibility for their
role.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">We will
get across <i>as long as I
have the authority</i> to
host the space for them.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don't
think it is feasible for the
obvious authority candidates
hosting something genuinely
participatory. The relevant
director has said she
doesn't want to speak
formally and become The
Authority for the day, a
position I agree with.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">But it
does leave something of a
shell, where I am crossing
my fingers that our time
together thus far affords me
the authority to host that
space.</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">I think
we are ready. I am bringing
my harness and floaties just
in case.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all">
</p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#663300">John
Baxter</span></i></b></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>
CoCreate Adelaide
Facilitator,
Director of
Realise consultancy</i></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cocreateadl.com/localgov%E2%80%8B" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155cc">CoCreateADL.com </span></a> | <a href="http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="color:#1155cc">jsbaxter.com.au</span></a></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444"><a href="tel:0405%20447%20829">0405 447 829</a></span><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#444444">
| </span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">@<a href="http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_" target="_blank">jsbaxter_</a></span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""> </span></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif""><a href="http://citygrill.eventbrite.com.au" target="_blank">City Grill— An
Election Forum
More Magnificent
Than Any Ever
Seen</a></span></i><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">, <a href="x-apple-data-detectors://36">Saturday 18 October 2014</a><br>
Influence your city
by building
relationships and
joining voices with
others in your
community</span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Mon,
Sep 29, 2014 at 12:26 PM,
Daniel Mezick via OSList
<<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','oslist@lists.openspacetech.org');" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>>
wrote:</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi
Harrison,<br>
<br>
So interesting how the Law
of 2 Feet authorizes me,
and every other member of
an OST event, to go
anywhere we may want to
go. <br>
<br>
Without asking anyone else
for any kind of
"permission"... <br>
<br>
<br>
Reminds me of this past
June, being in Camden with
you, and Ethelyn, and
Harold, and friends...
when we were standing on
the porch of that Camden
restaurant... waiting for
everyone to arrive, and
assemble for dinner... <br>
<br>
And as we wait, I notice
there is this
convenient-looking,
alternate entry-door...
into the dining area. <br>
<br>
And I say: "Hmm...I wonder
if we are authorized to
use that door."<br>
<br>
And you say: <br>
<br>
"We're authorized to go
Anywhere we want to go."<br>
<br>
...and I like that.<br>
<br>
Daniel<br>
<br>
<br>
Picture of that place:<br>
<a href="https://twitter.com/DanielMezick/status/483054326265692161" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/DanielMezick/status/483054326265692161</a><br>
See also:<br>
<a href="https://twitter.com/danielgullo/status/483434622009999360" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/danielgullo/status/483434622009999360</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<mime-attachment.png></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On
9/25/14 4:58 PM,
Harrison Owen wrote:</p>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Daniel...
You really did
it! I think.
Your language
comes from a
place I don’t
know... which is
to say that I
probably
wouldn’t say
what you say in
the way that you
do (duh). BUT
when I run my
“translator” it
comes out
sounding pretty
good! So... I
can’t help with
the questions
you have raised.
Actually I think
you are doing
pretty well on
your own, and
(hopefully) will
incite others to
a similarly
riotous
performance.
Thanks!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d"> </span></p>
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<div>
<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 [<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org');" target="_blank">mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Daniel
Mezick via
OSList<br>
<b>Sent:</b>
Thursday,
September 25,
2014 9:39 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','oslist@lists.openspacetech.org');" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b>
[OSList]
Authority
Distribution
in Open Space</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">Greetings to All, <br>
<br>
For the past
several years I
have attended
conferences of the
Group Relations
community, and
encouraged others
to do the same.
I've studied their
literature, and
harvested some
important learning
as a result. One
of the things I
have come to
understand a
little bit better
is the role of
"authority
dynamics" in
self-organizing
social systems.<br>
<br>
Link:<br>
<a href="http://www.akriceinstitute.org" target="_blank">www.akriceinstitute.org</a><br>
<br>
Over the past
several years I've
been using Open
Space with intent
to improve the
results of my work
in helping
companies
implement Agile
ideas in their
organizations. We
do an initial Open
Space, then the
folks get about 3
months to play
with Agile (we
carefully use the
word
"experimentation"
with management,)
then we do another
Open Space after
that, to inspect
what just happened
across the
enterprise. The
initial and
subsequent Open
Space events form
a "safe" container
or field in which
the members can <i>learn</i>...
as they explore
how to <i>improve</i>
together by <i>experimenting</i>
with new
practices, and see
if they actually
work. I call the
process Open Agile
Adoption. <br>
<br>
Link:<br>
<a href="http://OpenAgileAdoption.com">OpenAgileAdoption.com</a><br>
<br>
This seems to work
pretty good. It
seems to "take the
air out of" most
of the fear, most
of the anxiety and
most of the worry
that is created.
The key aspect is
<i>consent</i>:
absolutely no one
is forced to do
anything they are
unwilling to do.
No one is <i>coerced</i>
to <i>comply</i>.
Everyone is
instead
respectfully <i>invited</i>
to help <i>write</i>
the story, and be
a <i>character</i>
in the story...of
the contemplated
process change.
Open Agile
Adoption
encourages a
spirit of
experimentation
and play. <br>
<br>
The spirit of Open
Space is the
spirit of freedom.
Isn't it? In the
OST community, we
discuss and talk a
lot about
self-organization,
self-management
and
self-governance.
The Agile
community also
talks about these
ideas a lot. <br>
<br>
So I have some
questions. What is
really going on
during
self-organization
in a social
system? What are
the steps? What
information is
being sent and
received? >From
whom, and by whom?
Is the information
about <i>authority</i>
important? How
important? Can a
social system self
organize without
regard to who has
the right to do
what work? <i>How
do decisions
that affect
others get made
in a
self-organizing
system?</i> <br>
<br>
Who decides about
<i>who decides</i>?
How important is
the process of <i>authorization</i>
in a
self-organizing
system? Is
self-organization
in large part the
process of dynamic
authorization (and
<i>de-authorization</i>)
in real time?<br>
<br>
What <i>is </i>authorization?
Can
self-organization
occur without the
sending and
receiving of
authorization data
by and between the
members?<br>
<br>
Is Bruce Tuckman's
forming/storming/performing/adjourning
actually
decomposing the <i>dynamics
of authorization</i>
inside a social
system?<br>
<br>
The essay below
attempts to answer
some of these
difficult
questions. I'd
love your thoughts
on it. Will you
give it a look?<br>
<br>
<br>
Essay: Authority
Distribution in
Open Space<br>
<a href="http://newtechusa.net/agile/authority-distribution-in-open-space/" target="_blank">http://newtechusa.net/agile/authority-distribution-in-open-space/</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Kind Regards,<br>
Daniel</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">-- </p>
<p>Daniel Mezick,
President</p>
<p>New Technology
Solutions Inc.</p>
<p><a href="tel:%28203%29%20915%207248" target="_blank">(203) 915 7248</a>
(cell)</p>
<p><a href="http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/" target="_blank">Bio</a>. <a href="http://newtechusa.net/blog/" target="_blank">Blog</a>. <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.<span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p>Examine my new
book:<span style="color:black">
</span><a href="http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/" target="_blank">The
Culture Game </a>:
Tools for the
Agile Manager.</p>
<p>Explore Agile
Team <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/" target="_blank">Training</a>
and <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/" target="_blank">Coaching.</a></p>
<p>Explore the <a href="http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/" target="_blank">Agile
Boston </a>Community. </p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">--
</p>
<p>Daniel Mezick,
President</p>
<p>New Technology
Solutions Inc.</p>
<p><a href="tel:%28203%29%20915%207248" target="_blank">(203) 915 7248</a>
(cell)</p>
<p><a href="http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/" target="_blank">Bio</a>. <a href="http://newtechusa.net/blog/" target="_blank">Blog</a>. <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </p>
<p>Examine my new
book: <a href="http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/" target="_blank">The
Culture Game </a>:
Tools for the Agile
Manager.</p>
<p>Explore Agile Team
<a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/" target="_blank">Training</a>
and <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/" target="_blank">Coaching.</a></p>
<p>Explore the <a href="http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/" target="_blank">Agile
Boston </a>Community. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>
_______________________________________________<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-- </p>
<p>Daniel Mezick, President</p>
<p>New Technology Solutions Inc.</p>
<p><a href="tel:%28203%29%20915%207248" target="_blank">(203) 915 7248</a>
(cell)</p>
<p><a href="http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/" target="_blank">Bio</a>. <a href="http://newtechusa.net/blog/" target="_blank">Blog</a>. <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. </p>
<p>Examine my new book: <a href="http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/" target="_blank">The Culture Game </a>:
Tools for the Agile Manager.</p>
<p>Explore Agile Team <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/" target="_blank">Training</a> and <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/" target="_blank">Coaching.</a></p>
<p>Explore the <a href="http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/" target="_blank">Agile Boston </a>Community. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
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<p class="p1">Daniel Mezick, President</p>
<p class="p1">New Technology Solutions Inc.</p>
<p class="p1">(203) 915 7248 (cell)</p>
<p class="p2"><span class="s1"><a href="http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/">Bio</a></span><span class="s2">. <a href="http://newtechusa.net/blog/"><span class="s1">Blog</span></a>. <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/"><span class="s1">Twitter</span></a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s2">Examine my new book:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/"><span class="s1">The Culture Game </span></a></span><span class="s1">: Tools for the Agile Manager</span><span class="s2">.</span></p>
<p class="p1">Explore Agile Team <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/"><span class="s3">Training</span></a> and <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/"><span class="s3">Coaching.</span></a></p>
<p class="p1">Explore the <a href="http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/"><span class="s3">Agile
Boston </span></a>Community.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p>
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