Opening Space for Systems

My last post was a harvest of my ah-has and notes from the Systems Thinking 101 Workshop. The day shifted into World Café and Open Space conversations as part of a Pegasus Communications Regional Event. As a quick harvest I did up a short prezi of the event’s flow.

And a few other notes…. some incredible videos that we enjoyed:

• Senge’s keynote “We’ve never been here before”
• Joanna Macy, deep ecologist and proponent of living systems
• Drew Jones on carrying your own trash
• Drew Jones with the bathtub simulation
• Eric Berlow’s TED Talk on complexity
• The Girl Effect
• Kids with causal loop

A few system stories I heard:

• Grub – a grassroots non-profit organization dedicated to nourishing a strong community by empowering people and growing good food
• E3 Washington – integrates three systems – education, environment, and economy – and asks, “How can education help achieve a healthy, prosperous, and sustainable future for all?”
• John Oleson from Saybrook University LIOS Graduate College of Leadership Studies
• Terry Leers from Boeing Organizational Transformation Services Group
• Northwest Evaluation Association

And a few other tidbits:

• Book to read one day: Tracing Connections
• Leadership Challenge – A Coaches Guide
• Ron Clark Academy

And a great closing check-out question: because of this event I _____________________.

Here was my answer: Because of this event I have 12 pages of nuggets and insights on both conversation design and systems thinking, a community I didn’t know existed and courage in my heart.

Thank you to the design team of Claudia Eilers, Brian Mason, Julie Baker, Steve Byers, Nalani Linder, Terry Leers and Betsy Geist for hosting a terrific and inspiring learning experience, and to the talents of the graphic recorders who captured the event’s conversations!