yes, but the words personal agency of each "self-organizing" person is what's drives the process - a fulfillment of ones own intrinsic motivation. Now that takes a long response.I just found a peice I wrote around conversations recently with David Glenwinkle about VillageCare.com his organization in Africa and a group in Mexico who use this very language. I'm always looking for the "organizing principles" to learn what are the universals in these processes that work with "self-organization." I suspect that's what we're trying to identify.
On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 5:50 PM, Daniel Mezick <d...@newtechusa.net> wrote: > I'm loving the richness of this conversation. I'm loving it so much! > > One question that comes up for me repeatedly, as I read and ponder the > responses to OST-as-game: what is the goal (if any) of self-organizing > behavior? Is the question even worth answering? If so, why so? If not, why > not? > > Where do I go, with this line of reasoning? Here: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teleology > > > > On 10/14/13 4:53 PM, Harrison Owen wrote: > > Paul – Can always count on you. Thanks**** > > ** ** > > ho**** > > ** ** > > 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 <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20> **** > > www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com%20> (Personal Website)**** > > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > OSLIST Go to: > http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org**** > > ** ** > > *From:* oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org [ > mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org<oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org>] > *On Behalf Of *paul levy > *Sent:* Monday, October 14, 2013 4:48 PM > *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list > *Subject:* Re: [OSList] The OST Game**** > > ** ** > > Harrison **** > > ** ** > > Whatever you experienced as OST when it first escaped has largely become a > game. A game of training. A game of "go back to base and read the manual". > Even you play a regular game on here as one of the elders who keep > defending OST against change (oh yes you do). It's become a game with a > book of instructions with bells, anti-clockwise circle walking and "rules". > That's a shame and, thankfully, fairly pointless as it keeps on escaping in > different and lovely ways anyway.**** > > ** ** > > Now, opening space, that's something really worth trying... **** > > ** ** > > (Waits as the usual elders line up to deliver their wise pronouncements)... > **** > > ** ** > > So it goes.**** > > ** ** > > Paul Levy**** > > ** ** > > > > On Monday, 14 October 2013, Harrison Owen wrote:**** > > A marvelous conversation... and I have been absent a bit for a good cause, > I hope. I have been doing my homework, reading all the assigned material > about broken reality and culture hacking. Interesting journey! And along > the way I came upon an odd realization – I really just don’t like games! > Seems it had something to do with early childhood trauma... my mother just > loved games, and she would beat me unmercifully. Oh well. Unfortunately > that aversion carried on into my adult life, particularly as it related to > the so called Group Dynamics games that we were all supposed to play prior > to serious discussion. Seems like you just couldn’t have an adult > interchange without some “warm-up” to break the ice. Or so they said. > Really bugged me. I just couldn’t believe that consenting adults could not > communicate without some elaborate foreplay – funny tools drawn from the > omnipresent Facilitator’s Tool Box.**** > > **** > > So much for my inherent pathology and prejudices, but there may be > something of a positive outcome. I simply had to believe that given > reasonable conditions, human beings could sit down and talk productively > with each other – all by themselves. As adults. It did take two martinis to > get me there... but “there” was (guess what) Open Space. We have been > doing that ever since, and it turns out that children do just as well. *** > * > > **** > > What may have started as childish rebellion (against Mother, Facilitators, > etc) has only gotten worse. With increasing age and experience it has > become clearer and clearer that the less I do the better things work. It is > not that I have no agency or contribution, but it does turn out that the > ambient wisdom and capacity of the individuals and groups that I am > privileged to interact with so vastly exceeds my own that I would do very > well to fold my hands and shut my mouth. Anything else has me working much > too hard, and generally messing things up... Such are the eye glasses > through which I view my world. Distorted perhaps, and different for sure, > but I’m stuck with it. And it is through those glasses that I read my > assignments, beginning with “Reality is Broken.” **** > > **** > > Jane McGonigal weaves a fascinating tale of the strange (to me) world of > Game Makers, Gaming, and Gamers. I can certainly understand why she has > created a stir, and I applaud her massive research and clear prose. That > said, my reaction was close to horror, and the thought that the world and > techniques she describes should become a model and a means to fix our world > was pretty close to terror. Doubtless much of this can be ascribed to my > aforementioned phobia – but I suspect that others might share such > feelings. Two points stand out in my mind—Gaming is addictive, a point she > develops in infinite detail, and secondly that good Game Makers actually > capitalize on this phenomenon and make every effort to enhance the > addictive power. Their success is obvious and awesome. It seems that one > massive, online game attracted 5,000,000 man/years of attention. George > Orwell, where are you now that we need you?**** > > **** > > I joke a bit – and my concerns run deeper. When Jane says, “Reality is > Broken,” I feel constrained to ask, Who’s reality? Not mine, for sure. It > is not that I experience every day as a walk in the park, but there have > been precious few moments when I have felt bored, without challenge, > non-productive and unappreciated/respected. And I have many friends and > colleagues around the world who seemingly have a similar experience. > Doubtless that makes us odd, perhaps aberrant, but there is a certain > consolation in numbers. We are not alone. **** > > **** > > When I think about the factors that positively contribute to my reality > they include such things as the indeterminacy of my surroundings. The > moment I think I know where it is all headed, I am confounded by the twists > of happenstance. Then there is the total lack of clarity when it comes to > goals and objectives. Certainly I have hopes and desires, but just about > every time I have locked on some particular outcome, it doesn’t turn out > that way – usually better. And lastly, if there are clear cut rules, I > certainly have never found them. Of course there are moments when I think > it is all a dreadful mistake and I am scared to death. But even that has > its positive: I know I am alive. So for me, my reality is doing just fine. > Exciting, challenging, growthful, rewarding -- In fact it seems to be > working perfectly.**** > > **** > > I am truly sorry for those who have a different experience, but if reality > for them is broken, it is reasonable to ask, Who broke it? Or could it be > that it isn’t really broken, they just think it is, if only because it > doesn’t measure up to their expectations. That would certainly be the case > if reality was *supposed* to work by clear cut rules, heading in a > pre-determined direction, always under somebody’s control. That > understanding of reality is certainly alternate to anything I know anything > about. It just never happened, and if it did I believe it would be > unendingly boring. But that might account for the Game Maker’s success – > for if I read Jane correctly, that is pretty much the reality they create. > And if that is the reality you want, no wonder people spend 5 million > man/years immersed in it!**** > > **** > > And on to a related question: Is OST a game? Possibly, but not according > to Jane’s rules/criteria. To be sure, there is a correlation with Jane’s > first criteria: Opt in = Voluntary Self Selection, and a second one > relating to Good Feedback (we might say documentation). But it seems to me > it all goes downhill from there. If there are any rules in Open Space, I > have yet to encounter them. To be sure there are 5 principles and a law, > but none of them are things you have to do. In fact they all seem to emerge > no matter what you do – all by themselves. As for a clear goal, I think you > have precisely the opposite. Everything begins with a question, and under > the best of circumstances there is no attachment to outcomes. As we say, > Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.**** > > **** > > Just to drive a little deeper. If OST is not a game – what is it?**** > > **** > > Drum roll... Cutting edge revelation...**** > > **** > > OST... is ... Life. **** > > **** > > It does not bring anything new. Represents no mind bending revelation. In > fact it doesn’t DO a thing. Nothing. OST simply and quietly invites us to > be, fully, what we already are – ourselves. It really is shocking. Just be > yourself as you really are. Drawn by a question (Quest) – you are invited > to explore what you really care about. No foregone conclusions. No prior > exclusions (givens). No rules prescribed (by somebody else). Just be > yourself and take it from there. Of course it helps to be honest. What do > you really care about? And if you care, take responsibility for what you > care about. Nobody else will. And you don’t need an act of Congress, > Parliament, the Legislature, or the writings of the latest Guru. It’s just > you. **** > > **** > > But not just you. Who shares your passion? Who will join you in the > assumed responsibility? In advance you simply don’t know, nor can you > predict. But when it happens, you know it happens. Life not only goes on – > it gets deeper and richer with the shared passions and responsibilities > that weave the rich tapestry of the human odyssey.**** > > **** > > I know you have heard this song before, but I think it bears re-singing. > The temptation to change this simple invitation into some complex process, > procedure, structure is almost overwhelming, driven I am sure by our hope > to improve and also perhaps to make it something we own or do. Something > that requires the professional touch, as it were. But the truth of the > matter, I believe, is that there really isn’t anything to improve and still > less to do. Above all, Don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, and always think of > one less thing to do.**** > > **** > > So where does all this discussion leave Agile and OST, or more exactly the > relationship between the two? Closely united, I believe – but perhaps not > in the way that Dan and others seem to be suggesting, even though that way > appears to be eminently rational and definitely a good plan.**** > > **** > > I understand that Agile (as described in the Agile Manifesto) is an > elegant set of principles which await implementation (adoption) through > some method or process, SCRUM for example. The principles are magnificent > and represent the latest iteration of a longish tradition beginning perhaps > with Quality Circles, and passing through Excellent Organizations (Tom > Peters et al), Learning Organizations, with possibly a side trip through > Process Re-Engineering. In every case, elaborate processes, procedures, and > protocols were designed in order to bring the noble ideas into everyday > practice. In every case the energy and enthusiasm surrounding the several > efforts was considerable (aided I suspect by the fat consulting fees that > could be generated). And in every case I believe we learned many useful > lessons. However, in terms of the desired outcome, which might be described > as “enhanced organizational function,” I think the record is less than > positive. Only people of a certain age will even remember Quality Circles, > Excellent Organizations seem evident mostly by their absence, The Society > of Organizational Learning disbanded last year, and Process Engineering has > been retired by general consensus as an embarrassing failure. Jane > McGonigal may just have written the epitaph, “Reality is Broken.” Whether > Agile and its several implementation procedures (SCRUM, etc) will meet a > similar fate remains to be seen.**** > > **** > > Reasonable people might well ask, how could we invest so much and > accomplish so little? Doubtless there are multiple answers, but one stands > out for me. We’ve been trying to organize self organizing systems. This is > a thankless task if only because we will never get it right; the systems > involved (our businesses, countries, organizations) are so complex, > inter-related, and fast moving that we can’t even think at that level – let > alone effectively structure and control them. Even worse it seems all too > often that our best efforts and intentions make the situation worse – our > fixes end up with painful unintended consequences. But worst of all our > efforts are not needed because the system itself, all by itself, can do a > better job. Frankly our efforts are just plain clunky.**** > > **** > > It is precisely at the point where I think other efforts have been less > than successful that OST may enable Agile to succeed -- but not by > facilitating the adoption Agile as a set of principles, but in a much more > immediate and direct fashion: by enabling Agility. The principles are > definitely nice, but what we truly care about is real, meaningful, > organizational agility, which others might call High Performance, and Open > Space demonstrably delivers on that score. My favorite story, of course is > the AT&T design team for the ’96 Olympic Pavilion. In 2 days they designed > a $200,000,000 structure which had taken them 10 months on a previous > effort. That is a 15,000% increase in productivity. Not bad. **** > > **** > > If that were the only instance of such a phenomenon it would be > interesting but not helpful, but there are others, a lot. And how does all > that work? It is just a well functioning self organizing system. And if you > ask whether it is all scalable – the answer is it is already scaled to the > highest levels. Been around for 13.7 billion years, and the Cosmos (along > with everything else) is the product. Don’t adopt Agile, BE agile. > Honestly, it is a natural condition if we stop trying to fix it. **** > > **** > > So I think we have some very good news here. Reality ain’t broke and > serious Agility is available any time we want to open the space to let it > happen. And if you were wondering who all those friends and colleagues > around the world who know that their reality is unbroken (albeit painful > sometimes) you can start by looking in a mirror. Yes, I am talking about > all those folks who have wandered into Open Space to discover, many times > in spite of themselves – that deep, meaningful, productive, playful, > respectful encounters with their fellows can and do happen. That is just a > taste, of course – but it can happen all the time -- 24X7. I know.**** > > **** > > Harrison**** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > **** > > Harrison Owen**** > > 7808 River Falls Dr.**** > > Potomac, MD 20854**** > > *From:***** > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > > -- > > Daniel Mezick, President > > New Technology Solutions Inc. > > (203) 915 7248 (cell) > > Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. > Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>. > > Examine my new book: The Culture Game > <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the Agile > Manager. > > Explore Agile Team > Training<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/>and > Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/> > > Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/> > Community. > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > > -- *Skye Hirst, PhD* President - The Autognomics Institute *Conversations in the Ways of Life-itself* www.autognomics.org @autognomics New Phone Number: 207-593-8074
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