I also take (or try to) a similar stance in my law practice. See a
cool book by a therapist, William Purkey, The Inviting Relationship.
Sent from my iPhone
On Dec 15, 2009, at 9:09 PM, Michael Herman
<[email protected]> wrote:
oh this is fun.
for me, this business of inviting has long been the center of the
ongoing practice of opening. what i noticed some time ago is that
"inviting" is something that we can *do* as a business practice,
somethign we can try and repeat and refine. but it's also something
that we can, as individuals, *aspire* to *be*. the practical
inviting is essential for performance. but the latter, the
aspiring, is where spirit shows up. if we are a space for that.
as for the accepting or not. being trained in economics and
finance, straight through a rather serious mba program, i have
always understood invitation in terms of markets and prices. any
invitation is just like a bid or offer in any market. the text of
an invitation is like a price. it's got to be stated, announced.
but it also might need to be adjusted. i like what denise says
about getting to "core" because core is from french coeur, heart.
when an invitation fails, it's usually because i've started from
something other than heart.
the way i think of markets, despite the financial training, i mostly
think in terms of farmers markets. the guy who brings tomatoes or
blueberries or whatever has poured some chunk of his life energy
into tending and harvesting that crop. it's him. it's his care.
his responsibility in those baskets. it's what he has to offer. so
invitation is the same. it just has to be offered. the danger is
not that an invitation might be declined. the danger is in caring,
in being full of somethign, and not sharing it, letting it go to
waste.
so the invitation to a meeting or simply into relationship in a
passing smile on the street, is about being a space that doesn't
know what will happen next, but shows up anyway. alive. ready.
enough. and inquiring.
anyway, these are some first thoughts that didn't want to rot.
m
--
Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
http://www.michaelherman.com
http://www.ronanparktrail.com
http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org
http://www.openspaceworld.org
312-280-7838 (mobile)
On Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 9:59 PM, Denise Tennen <[email protected]
> wrote:
Harrison
For me, when an invitation I extend is refused, I take another look
at the invitation (especially when I think the person and project
would be a good fit). In some ways it feels like my whole life is
about learning to extend vibrant, inspiring invitations (this often
helps me get to the core of what I'm trying to accomplish), as well
as receiving the response with acceptance and love.
I also notice that it is useful to reconnect with my own sense of
inspiration about the project - that seems to make a difference in
the whole interaction around the invitation - whether or not the
invitation is accepted. My being centered and inspired helps retain
the relationship regardless of the response. I am always thankful
for a clear no...
On Dec 15, 2009, at 3:32 PM, Harrison Owen wrote:
Denise --
So this is all great! And my question is how can you do the same
thing every day with every project, organization start-up, whatev
er…
I think you are hinting at the problem of making a REAL invitation
… Not the sort that we all have received knowing full well that we
will be shot at dawn if the invitation is not accepted. Or at the
very least -- FIRED!
So what would happen if all our invitations were real? Which means
they could be refused. And then what?
Harrison
Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Dr.
Potomac, MD 20854
USA
Phone 301-365-2093
www.openspaceworld.com
www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)
From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Denise Tennen
Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 2:17 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Opening space 24X7 --Wave Riders Unite!
Harrison
Thanks for these thought-provoking words.
As far as invitiation - in my work as an artist supporting large
groups to come together to create collaborative works of
"permanently" installed art for their (the participants')
communities - Invitation is the only thing that works.
My underlying belief is that engagement in artistic endeavors is a
useful piece in the puzzle of creating a peaceful world. I've
found that eople creating art together generally aren't engaged in
fighting
here are the ingredients of invitation, for me, that I believe
contribute to good flow:
1) getting the word out is critical,
2) the "stickiness" (see Malcolm Gladwell and more particularly,
the brothers Heath in their book Making It Stick) of the invitation
and project description heavily affects the outcome in terms of
participation and engaged-ness of participants.
3) having the setting ready before the participants arrive so I'm
not distracted by DOING and can keep my attention on BEING PRESENT
with the participants
4) having a structure in mind and at the same time being willing to
let it go at any moment
5) keeping participation voluntary (a bit tricky when I am
operating in a classroom setting where the children are basically
in the position of being "sitting ducks")
As far as the invitation, my on-the-ground work is lots of word-of
mouth, who knows who. Increasingly via internet - helps spread the
word quickly, although in the end, nothing beats the realm of the
personal, one by one invitation.
Different age groups respond to different methods (snail mail/flyer
vs internet etc)
my beginning thoughts on this for now...
Denise
On Dec 15, 2009, at 7:26 AM, Harrison Owen wrote:
Several days ago I sent a note to what I thought was going to be a
small group of friends, inviting thinking about opening space every
day, what that might mean, and how to accomplish all that in
specifics. In effect, I was taking off from my book "Wave Rider"
which is my best shot on the subject to date -- with the
expectation that there is much more "out there" in terms of ideas
and actions. Along the way I did suggest that OST (as the meeting
approach) might be getting in the way of the larger discussion.
Even worse, I facetiously (jokingly) invited everybody to join "The
Imperial Society of Wave Riders!" Well you can imagine the uproar
this caused. Here I am suggesting that we eliminate OST and become
imperialists! Not a good day -- but I do think the proposed
discussion has merit. In fact from where I sit it may just be the
most important discussion we could have.
Given the state of the world (no need for detailed analysis)
superior human performance achieved in a peaceful fashion seems
like a very good idea. Or put another way how do we find the
intelligence and energy to deal with the massive issues we face
without killing each other? I believe that the 25 year Open Space
experiment has clearly shown that superior performance in a
peaceful manner can be achieved any time we open space. It may not
be perfect, but it works better than just about anything else, and
for sure it is a lot less work. The reason for all this is that we
are not really doing anything. Rather, we are inviting the system
(business, family, organization) to do what it can do all by
itself. Self organize. We are just helping people to notice that --
and when they do magic seems to happen. Peace and high performance
show up. If we are honest about it, I think we might realize that
OST is in some real ways a fraud and a joke, at least it becomes
all that if we take credit for the power and effect of the process,
and the special way that we might "do" it. Rather like taking
credit for the power and effect of gravity -- which will continue
no matter what we do!
Anyhow, I believe the community that gathers here online (and
anybody else who cares to join us) is uniquely positioned to engage
in this discussion not just at a theoretical level but at a very
solid practical level. We have the shared experience of hundreds of
thousands of Open Spaces. And we have something else -- the shared
experience of life in our community. As the world might see it the
"Open Space Community" is a pretty strange thing. It has no
boundaries, no formal organization, leadership, or corporate
status. Membership is pretty much whoever shows up -- and the party
has been going on for 25 years. Odd but very effective. Indeed
there are multiple formal organizations in the world who with might
greater effort have accomplished substantially less. Think about
it! Multiple Global and regional meetings. A world wide reach. More
training programs than you can name. And absolutely nobody is in
charge. There has never been a Business Plan, and if a budget
exists it has never been found. Is it all just a gossamer dream, a
fanciful delusion, or something much deeper and more important? I
vote for the latter. I think this is a conversation that needs to
happen, not to the exclusion of all others, but this is where my
passion is.
Anyhow I invite you to share and think about our common experience
-- and let our experience be our guide. As a starting point we
might just begin with invitation. What would happen if all our
projects began with invitation as opposed to assignment?
Harrison
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