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Yo Harrison, <br>
<br>
Where are you lately hearing about 'scaling up' OST? <br>
<br>
I'm interested in knowing the origin of that. <br>
<br>
Daniel <br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 4/26/15 12:12 PM, Harrison via
OSList wrote:<br>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">To
add a bit... The 4 (actually 5) “preconditions” were simply
what I, and others, had observed to be the situation. I
can’t actually remember, but I think my original motivation
was to question what seemed to be the conventional wisdom
regarding what it took to have a good meeting. I think we
all know the drill – there should be a clear agenda, closely
ordered procedure, something close to absolute control, and
the like. With thoughts like these in mind, Open Space was
not only counterintuitive, but wrong, dangerous, and
obviously heretical. What we were experiencing was
definitely a horse of a different color. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">And
yes, Jeff, there is certainly no “requirement” that all
conditions be at maximum red alert. That said, if none are
present there would seem to be little reason have a meeting,
let alone Open Space. After all who would want to waste the
time when there was no business issue, everything was
crystal clear, everyone thought exactly the same way, no
passion or conflict, and the sense of urgency non-existent?
Sounds like a non-starter to me. Then again it constantly
amazes me that every day in organizations all over the world
folks hold meetings just because you are supposed to. Is it
any wonder that people are bored, disengaged, and cynical?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">But
actually what really got me excited was when I realized that
my “5 Preconditions” almost exactly paralleled the essential
preconditions for self organization as described by Stuart
Kauffmann and others. That made a connection which produced
my greatest learning in and about Open Space. It is all self
organization. It is not a process we/I created, invented, or
whatever. All we actually “do” is to invite people to
remember what they have been doing for ever. Well at least
for the last 13.7 billion years. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">And
just for a tag line .... to those who might be thinking
about “scaling up” Open Space, I would suggest you save your
energy. It’s already happened. It is all self organizing. It
is all open space. Of course it is true that things get
pretty sloppy and gooey when we set about organizing a self
organizing system. Oh well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Harrison<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Winter
Address<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">7808
River Falls Drive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Potomac,
MD 20854<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">301-365-2093<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Summer
Address<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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ME 04843<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Websites<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="%20www.openspaceworld.com">
www.openspaceworld.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="www.ho-image.com">www.ho-image.com</a><o:p></o:p></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
subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
archives of OSLIST Go to:<a moz-do-not-send="true"
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<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 class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org">mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Jeff Aitken via OSList<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Sunday, April 26, 2015 11:31 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Daniel Mezick; World wide Open Space
Technology email list<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [OSList] OST: Public vs Private
events: apples and oranges?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Daniel. When Harrison's four conditions
came out way back when, I imagined them as a way to tell a
client that even in the most challenging situation it's quite
possible that Open Space will work very well. In other words,
don't hesitate to consider it, even if you're afraid things
are just too messy to try this strange new process.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Having hosted and seen many great open
spaces in which the scores were low, so to speak, I never
took seriously that these are absolute preconditions. To me
they are a kind of inoculation against a prospective sponsor
being afraid to make that phone call or send that email. <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">With lots of appreciation for your good
work<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jeff<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Lagunitas, California<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><br>
<br>
-------- Original message --------<br>
From: Daniel Mezick via OSList <br>
Date:04/26/2015 6:20 AM (GMT-08:00) <br>
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list <br>
Subject: [OSList] OST: Public vs Private events: apples and
oranges? <br>
<br>
Greetings All,<br>
<br>
...I notice these well-worn, well-understood set of starting
conditions for great Open Space, on Wikipedia...hmm...<o:p></o:p></p>
<p><WIKIPEDIA><br>
Hundreds of Open Space meetings have been documented.<sup
id="cite_ref-4"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology#cite_note-4">[4]</a><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup>
Harrison Owen explains that this approach works best when
these conditions are present,<sup id="cite_ref-OST_3-1"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Space_Technology#cite_note-OST-3">[3]</a></sup>
namely high levels of<o:p></o:p></p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1"><i>Complexity</i>, in terms of the tasks to be
done or outcomes achieved;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1"><i>Diversity</i>, in terms of the people
involved and/or needed to make any solution work;<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1"><i>Conflict, real or potential</i>, meaning
people really care about the central issue or purpose; and<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"
style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0
level1 lfo1"><i>Urgency</i>, meaning that the time to act
was "yesterday".<o:p></o:p></li>
</ol>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"></WIKIPEDIA><br>
<br>
<br>
In an organization, we could work with formally authorized
leaders to gauge the magnitude of each dimension. So for
example we could gauge or rank the magnitude, with 1 being
lowest and 10 being the highest magnitude for gauging each
dimension. For a really nice opportunity to use Open Space, we
might be looking for a combined score of, say, 32 or higher
(out of a possible 40)<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The Public Conference Event<br>
<br>
Now let's consider the PUBLIC conference event. What is the
typical combined score in a public conference... for these 4
elements? I am guessing the combined score is something like
20 or lower for the typical conference event. Maybe 25 out of
a perfect 40? The cohesion is just (generally speaking!) <i>so
much lower</i> in a public vs org-based (private) event...<br>
<br>
<br>
<HERESY><br>
And that is why I think OST is for "development and
transformation in organizations" (that actual subtitle of the
SPIRIT book) and that it is not at all as effective, in terms
of impact, when implemented in a public conference. <br>
</HERESY><br>
<br>
I am guessing the scores for the 4 dimensions are almost
always be lower in a public vs. private event. <br>
<br>
Certainly that is my general subjective observation, based on
a small sample of direct experience (less than 20 experiences
doing OST inside corporations...)<br>
<br>
...Yes: some exceptions do exist. As is almost always the
case. Right? That said, I feel these exceptions prove the
general rule... that private events have a much higher
combined score, all else being equal.<br>
<br>
Ironically, the OST format was originally formulated to ease
the effort required to arrange and execute public conference
events. <br>
<br>
And then....<br>
<br>
<br>
Daniel <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-- <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1">Daniel Mezick, President<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1">New Technology Solutions Inc.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="p1">(203) 915 7248 (cell)<o:p></o:p></p>
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