<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div><div><div><div><span>Hey Harold! I'm smiling about the OS-Rainbow Gathering connection!<br><br>I had my first intensive gathering experience in 1981, in Washington State,<br></span></div><span>then in 1983 in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Have been to a few more since then...<br><br></span></div><span>About a decade later, when I attended my first Open Space -- the Organization Transformation Conference<br>in Napa, I believe it was 1994 or 1995 -- and met Harrison in person, I remember telling him<br></span></div><span>that I was blown away that "he had figured out how to hold a Rainbow Gathering indoors". :-) <br><br></span></div><span>The next time I was at a Gathering... it may have been a regional in New Mexico a few years<br>later? I remember talking with some of my long-time gathering friends, and telling that there was this<br></span></div><span>crazy thing that they could do with organizations, helping them hold Rainbow-Gathering-like events<br></span></div><span>indoors... I think they thought I was nuts! <br></span><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span><br><b><i>1. when did you first hear about os or ost?</i></b><br><br></span></div><div><span>1994 or 1995, in the Bay Area, saw Harrison's book at my friend Kim Rosa's house.<br>I read it all in one sitting, then called him up using the phone number in the back of the book,<br>and was blown away when he answered the phone. I told him I'd just finished reading his book,<br>and really wanted to experience this... he asked me where I was calling from, <br>and then told me that I was in luck since the conference in Napa was going to be happening soon...<br></span></div><div><br><span><b><i>2. what was the hook? how did you notice it might have value?</i></b><br><br></span></div><div><span>I think it was somewhere on day two, when I really got that if something wasn't being offered,<br></span></div><div><span>it was up to me to do something about it. Some friends and I offered a session or two. <br></span></div><div><span>It was a blast.... The closing was really amazing also, a huge circle, then snake-dancing through the building,<br></span></div><div><span>turning the energy outward toward the world, feeling this huge circle at our back...<br></span></div><div><br><span><b><i><span>3. when did you notice that you'd started letting it inform how you
live?</span><br></i></b><br></span></div><div><span>I think that first OST gathering was it... <br>it's been a huge reinforcement ever since then,<br>for my already-present tendency to "listen inside" for where I need to be...<br></span></div><div><span><br></span><span><b><i>4. what has happened since then? what difference does it seem to
make?</i></b><br><br></span></div><div><span>some time shortly after that initial encounter, a friend and I offered a one-day OS gathering for<br></span></div><div><span>the education reform non-profit I was working at, that was going through major re-org.<br>It was small, but very meaningful... <br><br>I remember going to some OS training with Harrison in SF, maybe in 1998?<br>Then in 1999, I assisted my friend Tom Atlee with another one-day OS event that he was hosting in the Bay Area...<br><br></span></div><div><span>At the time, I remember worrying at that OS had "spoiled" me, as I had been wanting <br>to go back to school for a master's in OD, as a way of moving into consulting work...<br>However, after experiencing OS I was worried that I would not be able <br>to deal with a program that was not open to self-organization!<br><br>Fortunately, I ended up finding Sonoma State University's great OD program,<br>which is quite open to dialogic processes... :-) :-) :-) Got to play with Future Search<br></span></div><div><span>and other good stuff there. And, in 2000 I encountered Dynamic Facilitation,<br>which is particularly useful and fun for small groups working on complex issues. <br><br></span></div><div><span>I didn't connect with this list until a few years ago when my friend Peggy mentioned<br>it to me. Mostly lurk but occasionally comment. <br><br>I've been on the hosting team for a few conferences <br>in Austria using Art of Hosting, where we do some OS,<br>but I wouldn't really count that as hosting a multi-day OS gathering,<br>which is where I feel the real juice is... <br>and which I've only attended so far, not hosted. <br></span></div><div><span>So I'm very much an amateur in the OS world...<br><br></span></div><div><span>with all best wishes,<br><br>Rosa<br></span></div><div><span><br>
</span></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><i>Rosa Zubizarreta</i><div><i>Diapraxis: Facilitating Creative Collaboration<br><a href="http://www.diapraxis.com/" target="_blank">http://www.diapraxis.com</a></i></div><div><i><br></i></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Dec 17, 2014 at 3:01 PM, Harold Shinsato via OSList <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:oslist@lists.openspacetech.org" target="_blank">oslist@lists.openspacetech.org</a>></span> wrote:<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Such awesome stories. Much gratitude, and may the powerful stories
to continue to emerge. I'm in!<span class=""><br>
<br>
1. when did you first hear about os or ost?<br>
<br></span>
Short answer: May 2007. Long answer: I first about OST from the
wonderful Kaliya Hamlin who was hired to conduct a sideline
"barcamp" in San Francisco at Moscone Center for the annual (huge)
JavaOne conference in May of 2007. The only reason I was drawn to
that was because something really struck a cord in me when I heard
read on the web in 2007 what was happening at FooCamp (a watered
down version of OST), which would be hard to experience as only 250
a year get invites. When I heard that BarCamp's were a copy of
FooCamp and something anyone could conduct, I got quite excited
about offering one in Montana. And a few other influential people in
the tech community in Montana were also interested and had heard
about BarCamp and supported my intention. But the JavaOne sideline
'barcamp' was pretty much a glorious failure. Out of 10-20 thousand
participants, only 10 showed up for our BarCamp and only stayed for
an hour (despite one of the handful of lead conference organizers
showing up saying he thought all tech conferences would eventually
be in this kind of format). Kaliya did a small "barcamp" anyway and
she told me about the real stuff, Open Space Technology. Kaliya was
conducting her Internet Identity Workshop less than an hour south in
Mountain View the following week, and when I showed up there Kaliya
introduced me to Lisa Heft who offered me a short slideshow on how
OST was used around the world in very diverse and powerful
environments. I took Lisa's workshop December 2007, facilitated my
first OST the month after at SAP in San Jose, CA, and my first
"BarCamp" in Missoula in April of 2008 - but I did full force OST.
No watering down. Have been hooked ever since.<span class=""><br>
<br>
2. what was the hook? how did you notice it might have value?<br>
<br></span>
That's a long story - but the short version is I had had such a mind
blowing experience of seeing self-organization in effect (before I
had any words for it) - in 1996 at my first National Rainbow
Gathering where 15-30K people camp for a week offering all kinds of
things and feeding everyone as well without any official leadership.
Also, my experience taking improv classes 1995-1998 offered the same
kind of urging towards the emergent. And then hearing about
self-direction and self-organizing in Agile Software Development in
2001. And finally, Jim and Michele McCarthy's bootcamp for me in
2002 also offered a huge level of self-direction and
self-organization. I just *knew* it was the right direction. And
Open Space had such a simple process and a beautiful invitation that
let me feel like I or anyone could do it. The principles were
already built in to our humanity. Anyone can play.<span class=""><br>
<br>
3. when did you notice that you'd started letting it inform how you
live?<br>
<br></span>
Hmm, I'd say with confidence that I started let OST inform how I
live well before I even heard about OST. See the story above. And
what I find is that Open Space is so amazing that it keeps teaching
me as I continue to practice.<span class=""><br>
<br>
4. what has happened since then? what difference does it seem to
make?<br>
<br></span>
OST has made such a difference for me and so much has happened, more
than I can imagine writing. Short answer, it has totally changed my
life for the better. Ten facilitations under my belt since 2008.
Participated in 2-3 times as many, several I think will go down in
the history books like the 3 WOSonOS events in 2010, 2012, 2013,
"Leadership in a Self-Organizing World" and "Scrum Beyond Software".
Serving on the Open Space Institute board and helping keep the
OSLIST alive on the cheap by finding us free hosting. Leaving my day
job this year and getting to face Open Space with even deeper
commitment and intentionality for Open Space being my real life
work.<br>
<br>
I'm so grateful to Harrison, the early pioneers; for the many
incredibly transformative relationships as well as getting to
participate in the lively OSLIST with all of you. Blessings!<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
<br>
<span><big></big></span>
<div>-- <br>
Harold Shinsato<br>
<a href="mailto:harold@shinsato.com" target="_blank">harold@shinsato.com</a><br>
<a href="http://shinsato.com" target="_blank">http://shinsato.com</a><br>
twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/hajush" target="_blank">@hajush</a></div>
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