Dear Harrison I enjoyed reading your post :)
Be well, Arno * * 2012/12/19 Harrison Owen <[email protected]> > Good one, Kari! ("Is Open Space not working when there are many internal > conflicts?") > > For me the place to begin is with a clear understanding of "working," and I > find that there are at least three questions (meanings) here. You have to > make sure you which one you are asking and answering. Specifically, do you > mean, Does Open Space work in formal terms? -- i.e. people sat in a circle, > opened a market place, etc -- The answer in my experience is, Yes at the > 100% level. If you mean Does Open Space work as a productive activity? -- > were critical issues/opportunities raised, clarified, and usefully dealt > with? Again the answer in my experience is Yes and pretty close to the 100% > level. However, if you mean "works" as in "solves all problems forever and > ever..." it gets a little more complicated, and depends greatly on the > situation and context. > > There are multiple examples of Open Spaces involving large groups of very > angry and/or confused people resolving major complex issues by the end of > the closing circle. I wrote up one of the earliest in the opening chapter > of > the User's Guide. In that situation 240 people consisting of Federal, State > and Local officials along with a equal number of Native Americans had the > task of writing guidelines for the expenditure of $1.5 billion for Highways > on Tribal lands. This group had been fighting for 2 years, and absolutely > nothing had been accomplished. When the meeting began the group had only 2 > months additional time before the whole $1.5b would disappear back into the > US Treasury. In the course of the gathering the discussion was indeed hot > and heavy, putting it mildly. However, by the closing circle, the task had > been accomplished, the guidelines had been created. To be sure, those > guidelines had to be put in formal, legal language -- But by any reasonable > standard it can be said that Open Space worked in and through intense > conflict. > > In a different situation and context the question becomes more nuanced and > complicated -- but the answer, simply put, is the same. Open Space works. > For example, I am currently working with a relatively large organization > (2000+ employees) which was described to me by several of the senior folks > as "dysfunctional." When I asked what that meant they said something to the > effect that the anger, low morale, missed communication, games playing, > etc. > was so severe that nobody really even knew what the problems were, and for > sure the productive output of the organization was seriously compromised. > They wanted to do an Open Space for their Washington people and did I think > it would work? > > I had no problem saying, Yes. At least it always had worked so long as the > participants fell somewhere within the genetic pool of Homo sapiens. > HOWEVER, that is only the beginning of the story. The truth, it is really > quite easy to enable any group of people, who share some common concern, > albeit in highly diverse and conflicted ways -- to reach a point of > intense, > meaningful, and productive interaction and solutions. But that is just a > start, albeit a good one -- and never to be confused with eternal > salvation. > What next? > > The simple fact of the matter is that if a group of people, having > experienced deep, meaningful and productive joint activity (in the Open > Space) are simply thrown back into the situation which caused all the > dysfunction in the first place -- they are twice damned. They have seen the > lights of Paris, and are definitely back on the farm. Now they know, as > perhaps they never did before, just how really miserable they are, and > worse > yet -- they know it could be better. In an odd way, this is real progress, > but very painful and not conducive to a long term, positive outcome. > > Right here we run head on into all the "nasty details" so well described by > my friend Lisa H. ("...without looking at the whole ecology of > communication, history, context, resources, differences, internal and > external reasons for issues that feel like conflict, communication styles, > what happens before and after the event, how the event fits into the > ongoing > work of the community or organization, and so on...."). > > But when it comes to finding the way forward, I have to take a different > path than friend Lisa seems to be suggesting. If I understand her > correctly, > the critical next steps involve careful analysis of all the "nasty details" > (I think we call it Systems Thinking) combined with strategic interventions > (re-organizations, etc) to achieve the fix. > > This is a great idea and Grand Theory -- but frankly it gives me a massive > headache. I simply can't think all that and I seriously doubt that anybody > else can either. It is simply too massive, too complex, too interconnected, > too fast moving. Mind boggling -- and I really don't think I am stupid, > just > finite human. And when it comes to designing useful solutions, the stakes > have just simply gone off the charts. I don't think we can do that! But > more > to the point, my experience tell me, we do not have to. > > If we have learned nothing else in the 27 year Natural Experiment Called > Open Space it is that Self Organization is powerful and effective. Left to > its own devises, the organization (any group of people gathered together to > do something) will in short order manifest orderly patterns that enable > their efforts. Those patterns (structures) may be minimal, but they work. > And if we provide some minimal initial focus (sit in a circle, create > bulletin board...), what happens naturally appears to happen with even > greater dispatch. All we have to do is stay out of the way. This is not a > process we do, as in run, create, even facilitate. It is what we are, and > it > happens all by itself. > > Perhaps it is an unjustifiable leap -- but I absolutely believe that the > only difference between the Organization of a group of people in Open Space > and Organization of any other sort is a matter of size and duration. It is > all self organizing. And in all cases it remains true: Organizing a self > organizing system is not only an oxymoron, but stupid, a waste of time, and > ineffective. Truth is the organization (organism) can and will do a much > better job -- and virtually every effort on our part slows things down and > effectively thrown a "spanner" in the works. Putting it in the baldest of > terms, our efforts to organize the system and create the "fix" actually > create most of the pain and dysfunction we seek to resolve. Self inflicted > wounds. > > So when we follow the path that Lisa suggests, which of course is also the > path that most all of contemporary management theory and practice supports, > we are essentially adding fuel to the fire and creating new levels of > potential dysfunction. Our "fixes" may seem to work for the moment, but in > all too short a time we hear the magic words - Re-Organize! Re-Organize! > The > good news is that it does keep all managers, consultants, and I'm sorry to > say, facilitators employed. But it is an odd situation: Seems we create the > very problems we are then paid to resolve. > > Total heresy I know, but on the off chance that some grain of truth may > reside therein -- what is the alternative? My experience says that the > alternative is a simple one, and one we already know: Open Space. > > This might mean "doing an Open Space"--but more usually it would mean > applying the lessons learned from our Natural Experiment in our everyday > world of life and work. The lessons have been multiple, but we might start > with the simple ones. For example, when starting a project INVITE > participation -- DON'T Order it. And guess what, the right people will turn > up. And when they do show up, get rid of the tables and work in a circle. > And forget about the Program Plan; elicit the passions and responsibilities > of those who cared to come. Well you get the idea. > > All of this is really the heart and soul of the 5th Principle "Wherever it > happens is the right place." And we will learn, I think, that it can and > does happen anywhere and everywhere. > > Goodness me, I have gone on. And indeed there is a lot more to go. If you > are interested in my best shots to date, check out my last two books, "The > Practice of Peace," and "Wave Rider." But better yet just start with your > own experience and let it grow. It could really get exciting. > > So Kari -- Does Open Space work in conflicted spaces? You bet! And > everywhere else as well. > > Harrison > > > > > > > > Harrison Owen > 7808 River Falls Dr. > Potomac, MD 20854 > USA > > 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer) > Camden, Maine 04843 > > Phone 301-365-2093 > (summer) 207-763-3261 > > www.openspaceworld.com > www.ho-image.com (Personal Website) > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST > Go to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kári > Gunnarsson > Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2012 8:17 PM > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > Subject: [OSList] Is it true that Open Space does not really work when > there > are many internal conflict? > > Is Open Space not working when there are many internal conflicts? > > This is stated in one of the reports from the Wosonos2012 "The limits of > Open Space" > > I believed that the passion fueling the conflict was the stuff that fuels > the Open Space activities and without this fuel nothing real will happen > for > nobody will care sufficiently to have an opinion or take up a conflict. > > I am not able image the case where the many internal conflicts will inhibit > the Open Space if the preconditions are fulfilled, perhaps someone could > enlighten me about such a case. > > Is there a different approach that is better for such condition, will > nothing work or will Open Space work? > > with love from Iceland and with a hope for an answer Kári. > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] To unsubscribe send > an > email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org >
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