nuggets

[Birgitt Williams]

Dear friends in Open Space,
I have been going through my Open Space files and hence the number of
e-mails from me this Saturday evening. In an earlier e-mail,I sent a sample
invitation. In this e-mail, below my signature, I include a number of
paragraphs, each independent of the other, each nuggets of information that
are useful to me and might be to you. Depending on the circumstance, I use
any and all of these paragraphs when describing different things about Open
Space Technology to someone. Sometimes they are included in my proposals, in
my contracts, or in the invitation, or in the report. Different paragraphs
have different authors. They are gems I have picked up over time. They sure
don't include the whole story. Simply that I have found them useful.And I
thought you might.


Birgitt

Birgitt Williams
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Deliverables of an Open Space Technology Meeting

Harrison Owen

1)Every single issue that anybody cares about enough to raise will be "on
the table".

2) All issues will receive as much discussion as people care to give them.

3) All discussion will be captured in a book, and made available to the
participants.

4) All issues will be prioritized.

5) Related issues will be converged.

6) Responsibility will be taken for next step actions.




What is Open Space Technology best used for?

Birgitt Williams

Almost any business issue including strategic direction setting, learning
new material, envisioning the future, identifying the issues and
opportunities to realize the desired future, conflict resolution, morale
building, product development, leadership development, community building,
public input forums, conferences, organizational transformation to a high
performing and high learning organization.

Role of the Facilitator

Alban/Bunker, Large Systems Interventions, Chapter 13, Jossey Bass, 1997

"It may seem that the Open Space facilitator hasn't much to do after the
opening session. In terms of the usual role of scheduling and controlling
activities associated with "facilitation," this is certainly true. On the
other hand, the facilitator's real role is to "hold the space": allowing the
process to develop and intervening only if anyone is interfering with
others' rights to choice by dominating or insisting that everyone must go
along with his or her ideas. The facilitator also must understand systems
and large group dynamics at a fairly sophisticated level. Several of the
stories in Owen's book (1992) demonstrate how not taking action can be just
as important an act in holding the space as doing something.

"In other words, the technology is straightforward and it is possible to set
up and structure an Open Space by reading Harrison Owen's book (1992). What
happens in Open Space, however, is always new and unpredictable. Therefore,
figuring out how to hold the space is not always either simple or easy. "

Scope of the Open Space

Birgitt Williams

It doesn’t matter if the space is big or it is little with many constraints.
What matters is that it is authentic. If a group believes the space is big
and later finds it is much more limited, real anger and a sense of betrayal
emerge. If the group believes the space is really smaller than it is because
the constraints or "givens" have been communicated incorrectly, there is not
enough room for the full discussion that could have taken place, and again,
after the fact there is a sense of anger and betrayal.



"The right time and the right topic are clearly key. If the issues are too
big or too vague or unclear, they will create lack of focus. If they are too
narrow or defined, they will not provide enough room to be creative and they
wilt not engage the imagination. Especially to be avoided are clients who
have a narrow vision of specific outcomes that they want. They should not
try Open Space."

Alban/Bunker, Chapter 13



The Role of Leaders in the Open Space Technology Meeting

Birgitt Williams

In Open Space, leaders need to be present and to participate the same way
everyone else does. They set the theme (focusing question) and the
parameters "givens" for the work, but after this, they need to let go of
control. If participants feel that they do not have full support to move on
their own energy wherever it leads them but must second-guess what the boss
is thinking, the process will not work. Consultants, therefore, need to work
carefully with the executive group beforehand to ensure that they know what
type of effect they can have on participation.

What are the benefits of using Open Space Technology?



Breakthrough learning

Appropriate structure

Genuine community

Spirited performance

Playful involvement

High efficiency

High productivity

Shared leadership

Growth from within

Elimination of barriers to doing a job quickly with excellence and pride



What concrete information do I get out of an Open Space Technology meeting?

A format is laid out for every discussion group to record its findings, and
the recorder inputs the report into a computer. The consultant organizes,
indexes, and assures one printer ready copy of the "book of proceedings"
with reports from each group, as well as other pages the planning committee
have agreed upon (such as a covering letter). In a three-day event the book
is printed during the second night for distribution on the third morning,
whereas in a one or two day event the book is to be in the participants’
hands within two weeks. Criteria for prioritization, feasibility, and
actionable forward steps may be included in the report.

Far more important and far-reaching, however, is the change, which takes
place in the minds and hearts of the participants, who emerge from the event
as ambassadors for the change within the organization.What Does an Open
Space Technology meeting really do?

Large Systems Interventions by Alban/Bunker 1997, Chapter 13

"Like other systems events, it gathers the whole organization or collection
of interested parties in one place and enables them to talk about the topics
as a whole. Therefore, communication changes dramatically, and people have a
sense of the whole and a voice in the process of change. This can be
especially useful in dispersed-network organizations where people do not get
together regularly.

The thing that is really unique about Open Space, however, falls under the
expression that is one of the ground rules of Open Space: "Be prepared to be
surprised." This intervention allows people to temporarily restructure the
organization around interests or "attractors," people with similar energy,
or issues. It makes visible the underlying energy patterns of the
organization. When these interests connect new ideas and outcomes are likely
to emerge. As Janice Greene comments (Owen, 1995, p.138), "What we tend to
do in western society is fix the outcome then decide and complete the steps
to reach it." In Open Space, people focus on interests. If outcomes emerge
and catch people's interest, they may become reality, but the name of the
game in Open Space is following your passion and not worrying about where it
will lead."



What is an Open Space Technology meeting

Billie Alban and Barbara Bunker Large Group Interventions, Jossey-Bass, 1997

 "Open Space Technology is a meeting methodology that enables individuals
and groups become more effective in work environments that are rapidly and
constantly changing by developing their skills as lifelong learners and
collaborative problem solvers. It creates the conditions so that the maximum
potential of the individual and the organization can be realized. Open Space
Technology captures the knowledge, experience and innovation in the
organization that is not captured through less open processes. "

What types of issues is Open Space Technology best used for?



Almost any business issue

Strategic direction setting

Smoother transitioning of the people part of new IT and other technology
related processes

Envisioning the future

Identifying the issues and opportunities to realize the desired future

Conflict resolution

Morale building

Learning new material

Product development

Leadership development

Community building

Public input forums

conferences

improving communication

organizational transformation to a high performing and high learning
organization.

What types of organizations is Open Space Technology Best Used For?



Large, small, mid-sized corporations in the private sector

Communities

Cities, Provinces/States, Countries

Large, small and mid-sized non-profit organizations in the public sector

Large, small and mid-sized non-government organizations

Large, small, and mid-sized government organizations

Established organizations

Organizations that are newly forming

Organizations that are ending

When is Open Space Technology the best meeting format to use?

Harrison Owen



Any organizational situation in which there is:

A real issue of concern

Diversity of players

Complexity of elements

Presence of passion (conflict is an element of passion)

Decision time is now

When should Open Space Technology not be used?

Birgitt Williams

Open Space Technology should not be used if the formal leadership in the
organization needs to control the outcome. In other words, if there are no
real degrees of freedom to use wonder, imagination and creativity.

Please note that controlling the outcome is different from establishing the
theme and "givens" or non-negotiables prior to the Open Space Technology
meeting. A "given" might be that the meeting is that the Open Space
Technology meeting is about designing a new assembly line within a certain
budget and within a certain time line. When we look at the concern about
control,it is to say that the formal leadership cannot control what the
group comes up with in creating the design within the "givens".





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