by Harrison Owen
Download full text of The Practice of Peace (2d Edition)
Rarely, if ever, have the Peoples of this planet had greater need for Peace and High Performance. Peace so that we may freely pursue the fulfillment of our potential. And High Performance for ourselves and our organizations so that our pursuit may be accomplished with energy and finesse.
The twenty year natural experiment with Open Space Technology has demonstrated that both Peace and High Performance are attainable. Hugely conflicted groups have found ways to respectfully deal with each other as they discovered workable solutions for their issues. Complex projects have been brought to fruition in breathtakingly short times, a clear example of High Performance.
Many people have viewed the results as counterintuitive, unbelievable, even magic. The results continue, however, in thousands of instances and 135 countries. But the “magic” is not Open Space Technology, but rather the force that underlies it — the power of self organization. You are invited to explore that primal power for purposes of peace making and enabling High Performance.
High Performance is the special domain of The Wave Rider. Wave Riders are to be found in all times, places, and stations — manifesting their unique capacity to identify and ride the waves of life amplifying their own creative abilities and enabling their colleagues to do the same. The way of the Wave Rider is open to all who care to travel it.
Rarely, if ever, have the Peoples of this planet had greater need for Peace and High Performance. Peace so that we may freely pursue the fulfillment of our potential. And High Performance for ourselves and our organizations so that our pursuit may be accomplished with energy and finesse.
The twenty year natural experiment with Open Space Technology has demonstrated that both Peace and High Performance are attainable. Hugely conflicted groups have found ways to respectfully deal with each other as they discovered workable solutions for their issues. Complex projects have been brought to fruition in breathtakingly short times, a clear example of High Performance.
Many people have viewed the results as counterintuitive, unbelievable, even magic. The results continue, however, in thousands of instances and 135 countries. But the “magic” is not Open Space Technology, but rather the force that underlies it — the power of self organization. You are invited to explore that primal power for purposes of peace making and enabling High Performance.
High Performance is the special domain of The Wave Rider. Wave Riders are to be found in all times, places, and stations — manifesting their unique capacity to identify and ride the waves of life amplifying their own creative abilities and enabling their colleagues to do the same. The way of the Wave Rider is open to all who care to travel it.
Peacemaking is too important to be left to the professionals. It is the opportunity and obligation of every human being. The act of peacemaking may be purely intuitive, but it can also rise to the level of intentional act and become in fact The Practice of Peace. See Wave Riding.
Peacemaking is too important to be left to the professionals. It is the opportunity and obligation of every human being. The act of peacemaking may be purely intuitive, but it can also rise to the level of intentional act and become in fact The Practice of Peace.
Harrison’s Notes on the 2d Edition
It was never my intention to get into the “Peace Business.” Nor was it my intention to write another book. But in the course of my life my intentions are often overlooked, and happenstance rules. So much for a life plan. And now, the book – The Practice of Peace – is available in a 2nd edition.
Happenstance, in this case was a fortuitous journey to The Middle East several years ago. I went to that troubled part of the world lacking any clear understanding of what I might usefully contribute. To say that I was confused would be gross understatement. But confusion, as I have learned, is often (always?) an essential precondition to deeper insight. Confusion rids the mind of all you thought you knew, and thereby opens some space for new ideas. The new ideas, in my case, were perhaps closer to a blinding flash of the obvious. Twenty years’ experience with Open Space Technology in over 40,000 iterations in 83 countries had demonstrated to myself and thousands of colleagues, that every time space was opened, a most remarkable and unexpected result occurred. I called it Genuine Community, the sort where differences (of opinion, ethnicity, economics, politics etc.) were if anything amplified AND those involved found it possible to treat each other with respect, often coming close to real affection. It seemed to me that another word for this phenomenon is Peace. Further more, the deeper the original conflicts, the more intense was the sense of community.
Why all this should be happening and what might be done with it remained hidden in my cloud of confusion. Hence the book, which began life as a set of confused notes to myself in search of clarity and understanding. Anybody who says that they write a book does not fully understand the process, I think. And certainly in my case, the book wrote me. As those of you who have shared in this little odyssey will know, confused notes eventually yielded to some form of connected text, which in turn was shared with some 180 colleagues for their critique. And critique in full measure was given and gratefully received – yielding a book which was published collaboratively by the several Open Space Institutes around the world with the title, The Practice of Peace. In the intervening period since publication, there have been multiple workshops and conferences around the world, each contributing to a deeper understanding of Open Space and the possibilities of Peace. Now, I am pleased to announce that a 2nd Edition has been published by The Human Systems Dynamics Institute.
In substance, the 2nd Edition is not radically different from the 1st, but countless hours of concerned conversation with colleagues and friends around the world have tightened the focus, enhanced the flow, and brought to mind a number of facets that had been neglected in the first attempt. In short it is a much better book.
As an author, I have always found it difficult, not to say embarrassing, to recommend my own books. However, in the case of this book, The Practice of Peace 2nd Edition, I have no such qualms. This is not theory in search of a practice, but just the reverse. The practice required the theory simply because the practice works. Every time Space opens, Peace seems to break out. And the application is not only in the global arena of conflicted people, but also in the multiple arenas of human life were Peace appears in jeopardy, including families, community organizations, and businesses.
Such qualms as I may have about apparent self-serving advertising are also mitigated by the fact that even though my name appears on the book (and I take full responsibility for all errors of omission and commission), this book is in truth a communal production. Literally thousands of people all over the world have contributed great thoughts and ideas. So this is not so much an advertisement for my book, but our book.