More Open Space

Fri Jan 22 12:24:44 PST 1999

>
>     Now the tension. The decision was only made yesterday, and I'm already
>     getting e-mails and calls from people who want to do what they have
>     learned to do: make presentations, "frame-in" the issues to be
>     discussion, control, control, control. I'm sure you have faced this
>     many times.
>
>     Don
>______________________________ Reply Separator
>It is their meeting, and if that is really what they want to do -- I say
carry on. Just be sure that they start where everybody else starts -- at
the edge of the circle. Stand up, state your passion and post it on the
wall. And if your passion is to give a speach -- so be it. They need to
know that the Law of Two Feet applies, even if they are the chairman of the
board. Should the other folks get bored, they will walk.

Actually I, and a lot of others I know, have blended in "presentations"
when a meeting had already been organized in a traditional way, and then
the sponsors saw the light and decided to Open Space. They couldn't very
well dis-invite the Presenters -- but they did make it clear that everybody
stood on a level field, and there were to be no "command performances."
Seemed always to work out pretty well, save for one or two slightly bruised
egos.

Harrison

_________________________________
>Subject: Re: More Open Space
>Author:  OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>  at internet
>Date:    1/22/99 12:17 PM
>
>
>>     Hello everyone,
>>
>>     This is Don Ferretti. I asked a question of the list about using open
>>     space for strategic planning. Well, the group wants to do this in open
>>     space. Just thought I would report back on that. Thanks for all the
>>     input. Any learning about computer:person ratios?
>>
>>     Don
>*********************************************************************
>Usual ratio is 1:100, and the same applies for breakout rooms/spaces. I
>think you will find this and other practical logistics pretty well covered
>in The User's Guide.
>Harrison

>From  Fri Jan 22 16:56:30 1999
Message-Id: <FRI.22.JAN.1999.165630.0500.>
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 16:56:30 -0500
Reply-To: eewing at inforamp.net
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Esther Ewing <eewing at inforamp.net>
Subject: Re: Process question
In-Reply-To: <000f01be459c$b057a060$77a43dcf at birgitbo>
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I need to jump in here on the use of metaphors. Don, perhaps what might work
is for you to ask people to close their eyes and mentally chose something
very beautiful and wondrous to them. Work at not telling or suggesting the
actual metaphor for them but giving them a chance to chose something of
meaning to them. Then you can ask them to imagine if they were creating it,
what would the parts be and then you can ask them what parts of their
learning in open space do they need to put together to create this.

I'm torn between using using a metaphor (which I love) and not using one at
the end of open space. But if you do, you might try my method above rather
than leading them.

Just don't let them choose a moose! ;)
Esther

-----Original Message-----
From:   OSLIST [SMTP:OSLIST at listserv.boisestate.edu] On Behalf Of Birgitt
Bolton
Sent:   Thursday, January 21, 1999 7:18 PM
To:     OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject:        Re: Process question

Don,

Here are how my thoughts address the question of metaphor at the time of
prioritization.

I attend a yoga class. After all the moving and stretching and such, and
then getting myself untangled again (not gracefully I might add), we have
the chance to lie and move into a deep meditation. I have experiences that
are uniquely mine and enrich who I am and my own transformation and the way
I can go forward into the world. The teacher brings us back to awareness of
the present moment. And then she always does something that upsets me
greatly. She uses and elaborates on a metaphor that she has predetermined as
appropriate for us at that moment. I am aware that the metaphors that she
uses meet her need of the moment, her journey. They have totally different
meanings for me. And I don't like them being intruded on my learning and
journey at that moment, which was much richer before she intruded with her
stuff.

I wish she would just keep it simple and stay with the minimum necessary to
get the task done. I wondered how I would feel after being in an Open Space
in which my whole self was present and in which I had powerful experiences
that were uniquely mine, if a metaphor was presented by the facilitator to
take me through to next steps. And I realized that I would not like it. I
would want whatever happened to honour my right to my journey and my space.

Anyhow, that is me. Metaphors are powerful, more powerful in deeply
influencing another than we know. And each metaphor means something
different to each of us. Even something as innocent as a house. This
metaphor may be a good one for you. It may not be a good metaphor for
someone who has serious negative issues about a house of just that  shape.
You just never know what memories the metaphor triggers and how much can be
unleashed.

I personally love metaphors and constantly think in metaphors. When I am a
participant in Open Space, I use them in discussions and like others using
them. This is a natural flow. Is it different when the holder of space uses
them---I think yes. It is not part of the natural flow.

Anyhow, thus was my thinking on this one.

Birgitt

-----Original Message-----
From:   OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of owen
Sent:   Thursday, January 21, 1999 9:20 AM
To:     OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject:        Re: Process question

>But has anyone ever used a metaphor as a pathway to prioritizing. What
images
>did you use besides a house or building of some kind?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Don Ferretti
>
>______________________________ Reply Separator
What you are suggesting is interesting, but personally, I have never had
any problem getting people to respond to a very simple question -- what are
the most important issues for you?  Most often I use a prioritization
proceedure borrowed from Andre Delbec of Nominal Group Porcess fame. Each
person is asked to identify the 10 most important issues for them, rank
them, and assign a value of 10 to their most important (9,8,7,6,....) The
ballots are collected, the scores are added, and you come out with a set of
weighted scores that neatly separates out the hot from the not so hot. The
same thing can be done with an electronic version of the ballot which is
available from TASC (See my User's Guide Chapter 10 for details).

Leaving the mechanics aside, my thought would always be to go for the
simplest way of doing things that works. The use of metaphor is intriguing,
but is it essential? Over the years I have always tried to think of one
more thing NOT to do. If I don't do it, and everything works out just fine
-- so much the better.

At a slightly deeper level, I am firmly convinced that the reason Open
Space works is that it is quite simply the process of self-organization in
operation. Organizing  a self-organizing process, no matter how minimal the
intervention, turns out to un-necessary at the least, and usually
counter-productive. Anyhow, I am not suggesting that your notion of
metaphor is without utility -- I just wonder is this trip necessary.

Harrison

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