Fw: April 16 OS Meeting Notes

[Open Space Institute]

For those interested in the latest of the OS training discussion, the
meeting notes are attached.

This session became more part of the practice of how training might look
than a conversation on training.  What I mean is the basic form of training
we've been discussing is to view training as an entry into the OS
community.  As such, the flow is something like:

        Attend an open space
        Participate in OS discussions (like we had on the 16th and will have aga
in
on May 14) in which stories are told, questions are asked and answered)
        Be linked up with a mentor to support conducting your first OS
        Attend OSonOS if desired.

We haven't yet given thought to the mentoring role -- timing, preparation,
beginning and ending, etc.  We also haven't thought through the pricing and
costs associated with such a design.  I would expect the next meeting to be
a combination of discussing these aspects of the training design and
continuing the conversation on OS.  It will all depend on the mix of people
and where the energy lies.

Peg Holman

----------
> From: Holman, Peggy  <holmanp at wdni.com>
> To: Open Space Institute <osi at tmn.com>
> Subject: FW: April 16 OS Meeting Notes
> Date: Thursday, April 24, 1997 10:01 AM
>
>
>  ----------
> From: MaHower at ix.netcom.com
> To: Holman, Peggy
> Subject: April 16 OS Meeting Notes
> Date: April 22, 1997 10:23PM
>
> OS Meeting Notes: April 16, 1997
> at Peggy & Neil Holman's residence.
>
> Participants:
> Peggy Holman
> Neil Holman
> Spencer Fox
> Clarice Sieden
> Mark Hower
>
> Next Meeting: May 14 at 6:30 PM (we'll have pizza again)
> Peggy & Neil Holman's residence: 15347 SE 49th Pl, Bellevue
> 206-643-6357
>
> The turnout on April 16 was very small due to my failure to get the
> word out.  I apologize to Peggy and all of you who may have wished to
> attend, as it was a truly invigorating meeting for those few of us
> participating.  Below are my notes of our free-ranging conversations.
> I have occasionally recorded the speaker, but what follows should be
> taken as the product of an engaged and fully present group of folks.
>
> Peggy asked each participant to answer: "What has brought me to this
> meeting?"  Our responses follow.
> Peggy: I have an interest in inviting new people into OSI to keep it
> vital.  I hope to see beginnings of what someone needs to know to be
> comfortable to facilitate OS.
> Spencer: I'm here to find out what I want to know.  New questions are
> evolving...: how to participate and facilitate at the same time?  And
> it seems that we can learn how to facilitate by participating or doing
> Open Space.
> Mark:  I am interested in seeing how Open Space or Open Space
> principles can be applied in our daily lives.  People seem to
> learn/embrace OS with ease, can't we use it elsewhere in our lives?
> Clarice: OS is so right, so rich, so important.  What can I do to
> contribute toward the work that needs to be done?  How do I speak
> about this to others?
> Neil:   I find OS energizing -- the participation/exchange of ideas,
> growth.  At work, I am trying to implement management tools in a
> company that has been largely without.  How do you introduce
> infrastructure with its discipline without destroying the creativity,
> etc. that is so essential?  I am using an open format, helping people
> see that they control their own destiny, must take personal
> responsibility, go with passion.  I hope to give them a taste of these
> things and then use Open Space.
>
>
> What would we get out of the OS Training?
> Peggy: a greater renewal of Spirit....  Also, part of Open Space is to
> get people to breathe together..., or to sing together.  There is a
> very slow, deliberate pace to the convening of the circle.  Tone of
> voice, pace, modulation are key.  Many people learn kinesthetically,
> so this kind of thing cannot be learned by reading Harrison's books.
>
> Other things that may be missed by those reading the books:
> the importance of sacredness, honoring, ritual, spirit.
> Since these things are so contradictory to our work environments, they
> need to be seen and experienced.  People are not willing to be
> responsible at work.
>
>
> Qualities of Open Space differing from traditional training or OD:
> the learner is often seen as an empty vessel in traditional trainings.
> Open Space assumes everyone contributes/belongs.
> The "facilitator" is NOT the expert in OS.
> OS has a pull vs push philosophy.
>
> Spencer: Its power is its simplicity.  There is just enough structure
> for freedom to take off without anarchy.
>
> Unlike traditional OD consultants, Harrison is saying take this
> framework and use only its essence, what is essential.  Others have
> been taking something and building onto it, creating more complexity.
>
> Spencer: So anyone can learn Open Space.
> Peggy: Yes, but training is necessary to better hold the space..., or
> to know how to just let things happen.  The role of the facilitator in
> OS is not to control.  He/she should "be fully present and totally
> invisible."  That can be very hard to do at times.
>
> Open Space is natural.  It is "in" us already.  In the circle, we
> readily share what we know.  We do not need experts.  People with life
> experience can do this.  We assume that people know rather than assume
> they do not.
>
>
> What is the Open Space Institute?
> place to mentor and be mentored
> support for practitioners
> place for research
> a place to practice
> on-line conversations
> regular meetings
> place to share stories
> place to get feedback
> come as practitioners to regular meetings
> new members will be able to enter a community
>
> OS people talk about spirit, what has heart and meaning,
> intentionality, etc.  So it is not about certifying who can do Open
> Space.
>
>
> Can a participant also facilitate Open Space?
> Spencer: I see how it could work.
> Peggy: The first priority should be in holding the space.
> Peggy also noted that she had participated before, but only for very
> short periods.  "Participation keeps me from getting fully engaged (in
> holding the space).  My bias is don't do this when getting started as
> a practitioner."
> Clarice: Holding the space means you are accessing something bigger.
> When I speak, I am back in my head, so not so "present."
>
>
> What does Holding the Space mean?
> like meditation, being intentional, fully present.
> Clarice: It's an altered state, silent sitting;  be authentic and
> full; no opinion, let go, allow space to occur; observe, catch what is
> off center, attention to self and state of being; don't do, let others
> fill that void.
>
> People entrust you to hold the space and they are able to do the rest,
> to do the work.  Let go of old models of facilitation.  The
> facilitator is not responsible for outcomes and at the same time, you
> (the facilitator) put the work back into people's hands.
>
> Pre-event planning includes plumbing the depths of people's passions
> so that they will be able to go as deep as possible during the OS.
> Interventions during OS are not part of this.  The level of passion
> will directly correlate with how deep a group will get in Open Space.
>
>
> O.S. Training through OSI:
> 1) Attend an Open Space event.
> 2) story telling session and get hooked up with a mentor
> 3) when ready, work with a mentor to facilitate an Open Space event.
>
> What should be taught/what people should learn:
> 1) The circle is about communication and community,
> 2) learn to breathe -- gather, disperse, gather, disperse rhythm
> during OS (collective consciousness happens, the same kinds of
> conversations take place within the various learning circles)
> 3) bulletin board
> 4) market place
>
> A field is created during Open Space.  The notes of sessions, no
> matter what the topic, tend to have common threads running through
> them.  People tap into key themes.  Open Space has a kind of cycle or
> rhythm regardless of its length.  There is an unloading (divergence)
> followed by creativity (emergence).  However, the depth will be a
> factor of time.  Harrison recommends at least a full day of OS.  Peggy
> describes it as follows:
>       in one day, people have a good conversation
>       in two days, people begin to document and expand knowledge
>       in three days, people begin to get into action.
> Peggy also noted that the convergence of the third day is still seeing
> experimentation.
>
> Open Space is about getting things done.  People come together for a
> purpose, out of intention.
>
> Also Peggy said that Harrison believes OS should be a last resort,
> when other methods are not working.  People must be ready for the
> effects of OS since it has the very real potential to radically
> transform an organization.  So, if the leadership is not ready for
> such change, OS can create more problems.  The profoundness of the
> Open Space experience, and its effect on those who participate must be
> known beforehand.  Don't use OS unless ready for the consequences,
> because it will run its course.
>
>
> Walking away (after Open Space)
> OS does not lead to traditional action planning.
> It is more like the medicine wheel (vision, community, etc.)
> To what extent do you as a manager allow flow to work, to happen?
> That is the key to following up on OS.  And the manager needs to
> continue to hold the space, so that what emerges is possible.  So,
> this means that managers need to change or be different than those
> found in traditional command and control environments.
>
>
> It was an incredible meeting!   We demonstrated many of the truths of
> OS in our participation at the meeting.  We pursued the questions
> brought by each participant.  Like a pull model, we explored what we
> felt passionate about, confident that somebody in the room would know
> the answer.
>
> Next Meeting:
> May 14 at 6:30 PM (we'll have pizza again)
> Peggy & Neil Holman's residence
> 15347 SE 49th Pl, Bellevue
> 206-643-6357
>
> If you have any questions about these notes, please feel free to
> contact me at (206) 781-5150 or through E-mail at
> MaHower at ix.netcom.com.  Cheers!    Mark Hower