Hello Michael, I smile when I experience where you are going with your passion. It is different from where I am with my passion. I look forward to seeing where your creativity takes you and I know we will all be richer for your contributions.
As you know, two years ago, I took off on a path of my own out of what I felt strongly about regarding Open Space Technology and the conscious Open Space Organization. Within what emerged as our Genuine Contact program, we have key ingredients that we attend to. We keep the form simple and consistent to ensure that our "customers" are provided with a simplicity and consistency to allow them the framework to work with complexity in a way that they can count on (this is where the consistency comes in). I find it easier to refer clients to a facilitator/consultant when I know there is this consistency in work. The standards we set within our "Working with Open Space Technology" session fits with my belief and experience that when the framework is clearly known, there is a greater sense of freedom for exploring within the framework. I believe the success of promoting Open Space Technology in the world is to offer it in a way that is consistent and duplicable in what is offered by the facilitator.This has been my passion with this work. And you are pursuing a different path with this from which we will all learn. Thank you, Birgitt -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu]On Behalf Of Michael Herman Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2002 5:25 AM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: beyond convergence (and training) hello all, as promised... an invitation to explore convergence, non-convergence, training, non-training, and the opportunities now offered by the guide, non-guide, oslist and more. have posted the following at metanet (see below to access that space), along with a bunch (maybe two bunches) of reflections on this to get us started. please join us there if you can. have been cooking this with corrigan and weaver most recently and for several years with so many others. anyway, here is the beginning of what i've posted there: -- beyond convergence (and training) evolution is now and open space: convergence as control, non-convergence as built-in training, the do-it-yourself open space training workshop, and 24-hour online support.... an exercise in connecting the dots. when i met harrison at ralph copleman's open space conference (thanks to sheila isakson) six (wow!) years ago, he said something like, "...open space should disappear in, pick a number, say 5 years... that is talk about it should disappear... as it becomes 'just the way we do business.'" this isn't the average guru sort of statement and it struck me... caught me? ...knocked me down and dragged me away and pressed me (nay, "invited" me) into service of this notion that we might actually be able to run business as usual ...as open space. actually, i'd come into that circle suspecting and hoping that this was the case, so i was glad for a concurring opinion from somebody with so much more experience than i. so this is the direction that i've been working on for some years now, as have many of you, i know. in recent months, i've been connecting a number of dots for myself and seeing some new possibilities for a more integrated and seamless practice to help us work closer to business as open space. i want to connect those dots for you (and me) here and see what any of you might add. in short, i want to suggest that we might now be able to peek beyond control (and convergence!) enough to see how a mini ost training could now be embedded into every open space event, long or short, and that the technology we've learned to rely on can let lots more learing and doing go on at once as we move from business as usual to business as open space. i'm thinking that we might now initiate, accelerate or accentuate a shift from convergence to extension, from training to practice, and from broadcast to conversation. and to be clear before i really start here... NOTHING i say here means to (1) be critical in any way of what anyone is doing with various shapes of convergence, training or anything else.... OR (2) be saying that there is any one right way to do converging, non-converging, training, learning, conversing or any of it... just to be clear. what i want to do is offer a whole mess of observations, assumptions, and ideas.... dots if you will... and share something of the forms that i see when i start connecting them. to be sure, i suspect that john engle, brian bainbridge, chris corrigan, michael pannwitz, and others are already doing much of what i'm saying here. hoping to root out the truth(s) of this, perhaps fill in a few gaps, and make the whole lot of it available to all. -- how to read more and join us at metanet... go to this page: http://www.tmn.com/new if you're new to metanet: When you get there, you will have to register by clicking 'new account in upper right corner. (very simple, private stuff). then look for "other conferences" -- type "openspace" (all one word, no quotes) and you'll be in. then you can surf around at your leisure and read conversations that go back to mid-2000. for busy folks like all of us, this system is great because it keeps track of what you've read. look for the 'beyond convergence (and training)' link and click. if you're already registered, you can get in through that same page, just click 'access conferences' in the upper right. hope to see you there... -- Michael Herman 300 West North Avenue #1105 Chicago IL 60610 312-280-7838 voice 312-280-7837 fax http://www.michaelherman.com ...an invitation. * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu, Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html