To misquote my hero Marx, Groucho that is, I would not be uncertified by any organisation that would uncertify me
Alan Halford Facilitator Mediator www.alanhalford.com.au/ 0421 475 252 On 09/08/2013, at 6:01 PM, Artur Silva <arturfsi...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Complettelly in accordance with you, Chris - except maybe in a small point, > that is a different thread inded. I will came back to that. > > > Let me make a comment on one point and highlight some others. > > You wrote (my highlight): > > > I fundamentally distrust anyone who makes a concerted effort to certify Open > Space. If Harrison Owen, the guy that put it all down on paper, refuses to > do it for excellent reasons, then I wonder what gives anyone else the right > to do it. > > The clarification: I think it is a bit more than that. Harrison wrote that > anyone that reads the manual and has "a good head and a good heart", can > begin using the method, but then will need a lifetime to use it correctly. > This means - as you have noticed - that OST was made "open source" before > "open source" even existed. In "open source", no one needs a course from the > original developer(s) or any other elder to use the code, or change it. Hence > the possibility someone mentioned to drive a lineage (like in Reiki!) or > clarify by whom (if any) one has been trained has no meaning. That IMHO is > also contrary to the initial philosophy of "offering (giving back, indeed) > OST to Humanity" with no need for intermediaries. No intermediaries at all!!! > Whenever the explanations they may give (I don't teach/certify "OST" but "how > to work with OST", for instance. Big difference, indeed :-( > > > That said, I have nothing against OST trainings per see (if the trainer > understands that an OST training IS NOT an OST event, and clarifies that in > the first place), neither against presencial meetings among professionals to > perfect the application of the method (OSonOS's) or virtual ones, like this > list. > > And you also wrote (my highlights): > > And for me that is a terrific example of how to steward something that really > has an impact in the world. Offer it up and let it go and only defend it > from those that would try to own it. Thankfully Open Space Technology I > think is at a place in the world where it defies ownership. Anyone who tries > it will simply be laughed off the stage. > > Amen > > Artur > > > > From: Chris Corrigan <ch...@chriscorrigan.com> > To: World wide Open Space Technology email list > <oslist@lists.openspacetech.org> > Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2013 6:35 PM > Subject: Re: [OSList] Certification? > > Ohh I love this topic too, because as we go on and on it becomes clearer and > clearer to me that Harrison's original idea (which predated Open Source) was > sheer genius. There is an expression in english: "Closing the barn doors > after the horse has left." It's too late to certify people in Open Space > Technology, and thank God! > > You simply cannot certify people as a way to protect the brand and the reason > is simple. > > Certification is based on an industrial quality assurance model In other > words, every product leaving the factory is guaranteed to work the way we say > it is going to work. If it doesn't you can have your money back and we'll > give you a new one that works. Every product can be tested before it leaves > the factory to be sure it works reliably, > > You simply cannot do that with facilitators. No amount of certification will > guarantee that a client will get what they want every single time. And a > facilitator taking a single training in Open Space or some other method will > by definition NOT be perfect leaving the factory. You need to develop a > practice, and even still there are contexts and situations that will > challenge and surprise you. "Be Prepared to Be Surprised" is the only > certification I can reliably give to anyone that has trained with me. We are > not engineers, architects or doctors. We are people whose skill is in > responding well to myriad and changing contexts. > > The International Association of Facilitators went down this route. I have > seen some horrible facilitation done by people who are certified by the IAF. > So much so that I have no faith in that certification as standing for > anything. It is a worthy idea but it simply cannot be implemented. > > Open Space is a brand like brainstorming is a brand, like using markers and > flipcharts is a brand, like parliamentary procedure is a brand. In a few > more decades, with any luck, the world will have forgotten where it all came > from and it will just become a basic operating system of groups. In the last > 10 years that prospect has really come on as people have stolen, mashed up, > mixed together, modified and redesigned Open Space Technology. Participatory > process is becoming an acceptable way of doing things, and will only become > more so. Most conference goers for example are now able to report on > conference evaluations that they would have rather had a world cafe or an > Open Space than a keynote address. I see it all the time. There is a > fluency in the world with this method and others. > > I fundamentally distrust anyone who makes a concerted effort to certify Open > Space. If Harrison Owen, the guy that put it all down on paper, refuses to > do it for excellent reasons, then I wonder what gives anyone else the right > to do it. > > And for me that is a terrific example of how to steward something that really > has an impact in the world. Offer it up and let it go and only defend it > from those that would try to own it. Thankfully Open Space Technology I > think is at a place in the world where it defies ownership. Anyone who tries > it will simply be laughed off the stage. > > Chris > > > > > On Thu, Aug 8, 2013 at 9:29 AM, Kári Gunnarsson <kari.gunnars...@simnet.is> > wrote: > I love the Certification dialogue and I think that the recurrence of > the dialogue is necessary. As I have looked around of things that > trace there roots to open space or give the impression to be similar > is some way. Some of these processes have the Certification hierarchy > protecting the Quality of the Brand and the revenues steaming from the > property that the brand name is. > > The hierarchy of the Certification process associated with Brand names > is a way to close space and create tension witch in turn will fuel the > flow of cash from the people that can pay, excluding the people that > can not. It is an exercise in creating a closed system to fuel a > business plan. And naturally, any start up consultancy offering some > tools will need some flow of cash to pay the phone bill. > > When I was at Wosonon in Berlin back in 2010, I head one participant > saying. "You always have the clients that you deserve". > > By knowing that the space for clients is well open and the law of > mobility is active from them is perhaps a little scary. This scare can > be remedied by letting go of the outcome and commit time to prepare to > be of more benefit for my future clients. > > Here I have opened up many lines of thoughts that stay with me when I > think about this topic. What I would like to have written down is some > sort of vision on how to go about using the open space as a central > idea and core philosophy in a practise. > > On Certification, my vote would go for "no central Certification", but > I don't mind that various offspring's of Open Space go ahead and > create there own brand name with the associated cash flow headaches > and salaried sales staff of Certification trainings in there bid to > get a bought with a handsome cash out from lager companies. > > That said, I would like to see more people get interested in the > "boring" methought of meeting, working and begin together called open > space. > > By the way, I am bored to tears by people hearing about open space and > begin pissed off by the way open office layout (also called open space > in my country) has been ruining there work experiences. > > This is starting to be a long rant, Ill stop now. > > With the breeze from Iceland > Kári > > > On 8 August 2013 14:50, Harrison Owen <hho...@verizon.net> wrote: > > Certification (whatever that might mean) seems to be a perennial topic. I > > suppose that is understandable, but for myself it is a horrible idea. My > > reasons are several. First of all it is too much work. The thought of > > developing the criteria, programs, and even worse, “protecting the brand” is > > totally exhausting. We’d have to have certifiers to certify the certifiers > > and so on ad infinitum. Second reason – Open Space seems to be taking care > > of itself. When folks come on with “A little Open Space,” “Sort of Open > > Space,” “Modified Open Space,” ... the participants (increasingly) > > understand that they aren’t getting the genuine article—and say so. I recall > > one instance where a large gentleman stood up in the middle of the “program” > > and loudly proclaimed, “This sure ain’t Open Space! I’m out of here.” And he > > walked. I guess you could call that “Market Certification.” Best of all --- > > it works all by itself. One more thing not to do!! > > > > > > > > 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 > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > OSList mailing list > > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > > > > -- > Kári Gunnarsson > kari.gunnars...@simnet.is > gsm: +354 8645189 > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org > > > > -- > --- > CHRIS CORRIGAN > Facilitation - Training - Process Design > Open Space Technology - Art of Hosting > > http://www.chriscorrigan.com > > Upcoming workshops > > Wise Leadership in Practice > August 22-25, Sänna Cultural Manor, Estonia > > Art of Hosting - Art of (Inter)action > October 8-10, 2013, Montreal, PQ. > > Art of Hosting - Participatory Leadership and Social Collaboration > November 11-14, 2013, Bowen Island, BC, Canada. > > > > _______________________________________________ > OSList mailing list > To post send emails to OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > 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 OSList@lists.openspacetech.org > To unsubscribe send an email to oslist-le...@lists.openspacetech.org > To subscribe or manage your subscription click below: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
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