I am not quite sure why I am writing this piece, although it way well have something to do with the recent items from Chris and Michael about worldwide OSONOSs. Or something. But I found myself reflecting on the 20 year journey we have all enjoyed.
Every now and again, somebody on this LIST sets to wondering why OST isn't more broadly used - or what I take to be pretty much the same thing - how do we "sell" Open Space? Personally I have found that trying to sell Open Space is right up there with teaching pigs to sing. Those of us who have made such an attempt fully understand that doing so sounds terrible and also annoys the pig. But on the question of the spread of Open Space, that is a puzzlement. We all know on the strength of our experience that OST is fast, fun, effective, cheap, and easy to do. Of course we do not have a shred of scientific data to prove that and certainly not rigorously conducted research. :-) But I am not sure any of that would change much - we would doubtless be stuck with our experience. However, the question remains - if OST is so good, why doesn't EVERYBODY use it? It seems like a total no-brainer! I take the point, but find myself wondering (wandering) in a different direction. For me the really interesting question is why is Open Space used at all? I guess that sounds like total heresy, but think about it. First off, OST contravenes just about every single principle and practice of modern management, be that of meeting or organizations. By all rights it simply should not work. And who on earth would want to try something that virtually all prior experience and training tells you is impossible? And it gets worse. If OST did work (God forbid) much of what constitutes the core practice of multiple managers, executives, facilitators, conflict "resolvers," organization designers, developers, and such like - would be open to some question. I am sure that sounds pretty much off the wall, to say nothing of egotistical and deluded. But consider this. Some years ago a vice president of ASTD (American Society of Training and Development), who was responsible for Professional Development, invited me out to lunch. He came with a young associate, and I knew just what they wanted. They wanted to know about Open Space - so I told them in simple, unvarnished terms. At that point I had not made the connection between OST and self-organization, so I couldn't even sound marginally academic and enlightened. I just had to tell it the way it was. About half way through my description, the VP gently raised his hand. He said, "Harrison you can stop right there. If what you are telling me is true, and I do not doubt your sincerity, then something like 95% of what we are currently doing doesn't need to be done." At that point his young associate chimed in saying, "I think you (the VP) are heading in the right direction, but I believe the number is closer to 99%." Right then and there I knew we were in serious trouble. If Open Space somehow caste into question many (most?) of the activities and practices of mainstream management, whole careers and reputations were in jeopardy. And attempting to sell Open Space could obviously be quite hazardous to your health, not unlike selling powerful space heaters to Ice cream factories. If somebody actually bought the heater, and it worked - everything would melt. I can't say that I ever thought about trying to eliminate Open Space, and the truth of the matter is that I couldn't have done that if I had wanted to - it wasn't mine to eliminate. But it did seem to me that keeping a low profile might be useful. A quiet revolution, so to speak. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org Personal website www.ho-image.com OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html <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: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist