Plexus runs a series of conference calls, to which you can subscribe by visiting their website. Harrison, you would make a great conference call speaker.
Somehow I became a member of Plexus last year, and have been impressed with the work they are doing. Conferences, newsletters on complexity, conference calls with interesting people.in the Pacific Northwest of America (and the Pacific Southwest of Canada) we have formed a Plexus fractal, which is just a mini Plexus. There are plans in the works for a regional conference. So what would Plexus be interested in vis a vis Open Space? I think perhaps they might find the following of interest: * How does OST work WITH the complexity inherent in organizations anc communities vs. process which need a more simple ground on which to work? * Are organizations and communities holographic, that is, does each member of the group carry a reflection of the whole group within themselves? If so, even metaphorically, what does this say about how OST invites the character of groups and communities forward? * What does OST imply for the ongoing operation of organizations, especially regarding dynamics that provoke complexity like diversity, urgency, multiple goals and objectives, and conflict? * What's wrong with certainty? I think the Plexus folks (at least the ones I know) would be open to discussions of Spirit, flow, and self-organization for any number of perspectives. On our little regional fractal email list we have had quotes and thinking shared from Wheatley, Csikszentmihalyi, Prigogine and others. For many people OST won't be unfamiliar terrain, and lots of Plexus folks come from more scientific backgrounds than I do, or Harrison or most of us that got here from the OD side. I agree that Plexus will be a useful intermediary. Perhaps one day they will even hold a conference in Open Space :-) Let us know what turns up, Harrison. Chris --- CHRIS CORRIGAN Bowen Island, BC, Canada http://www.chriscorrigan.com ch...@chriscorrigan.com (604) 947-9236 -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Harrison Owen Sent: Monday, May 26, 2003 6:45 AM To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Subject: Open Space ,Self-Organizing Systems, and The Plexus Institute When it come to dealing with the interesting question: Why does Open Space Work? -- I have found the emerging theory and practice surrounding Self organization to be very helpful. Not the only help to be sure, but definitely on the short list. I also confess to a degree of frustration -- that to the moment, few in the larger scientific community have taken any notice or interest in Open Space. I think this is a lose/lose situation. We lose because their insights and questions might reveal aspects of Open Space that we have failed to notice. And I think they lose because, from where I sit, Open Space is a wonderful natural experiment over time and in the present. Over time, we have probably some 20,000 iterations of the "experiment" from which to learn. Since most of us were more interested in the practical results than "doing science" detailed accounts are hard to come by. but we do have a network, and it does have a memory. And what we may have lost as a matter of historical record can be replicated any time someone chooses to open space. Anyhow, it may happen that the Plexus Institute becomes a useful intermediary. Those of you who were in OZ for OSONOS will remember Henri Lipmanowicz who is chairman of the Institute and came to OZ to find out about Open Space. The mission of the Institute is to discover and foster the application of principles of self-organization to the real world of human systems, particularly health care systems. Since OZ, Henri and I have had a number of conversations, and I attended a conference they sponsored in Austin TX -- which was most interesting and definitely neither Open Space nor self-organizing. But one thing is sure, Plexus did manage to attract substantive folks from multiple disciplines and some useful conversations have started. My conversations with Henri will continue, and hopefully move from talk to action. Which brings me to the point (at long last) of this note. What sort of actions, questions, explorations occur to you which might be pursued with Plexus. Henri, Curt (The president) and I will be conversing next week, and I will let you know the outcome -- but if any burning, passionate issues or opportunities jump to your mind -- let me know. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, MD 20854 USA phone 301-365-2093 Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org <http://www.openspaceworld.org/> Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm 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 * * ========================================================== 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