How much planning and preparation time do you find you need?

Thu Feb 17 11:31:29 PST 2000

I think it is worth looking at preparation for an Open Space Technology from
a multi-dimensional approach. Here's what is helpful to me.
1. at the level of content, how the client sees content and what the
outcomes of content are--no preparation is required or desirable--people are
always wanting to hand me volumes of stuff about their topic, and I really
don't read it--it doesn't help and it is not for me to comment on. Even if I
read it all, it would be a drop in the bucket only to what they are really
working with
2. at the level of form--I work at form for the Open Space Technology
meeting with great discipline. I have worked at learning the form as taught
by and written by Harrison. And I have attended every OS on OS and any other
formum through which I can hear the learnings of others, be in discussions,
and improve my work with the form of Open Space. I have done hundreds of
Open Space Technology meetings and learned more from each one. In the end, I
don't add by volume to what I do or what I attend to as a result of my
ongoing learning and professional development.I believe the quality
improves. Or else I wouldn't bother with ways and means to learn from others
about Open Space nor would I invest so much of myself in sharing my
travelogue through the training I offer. I keep it simple, but I understand
that if some basic essential ingredients are attended to well, that the Open
Space will be more likely to create the conditions for maximum potential to
be realized. The basic ingredients for me are theme and "givens". My earlier
e-mail was saying that the "givens" first stated, or the "givens" that are
apparent may be illusion and that sometimes a facilitator can assist a great
deal by enabling a management team to get clarity and focus on their
"givens". I feel responsible to my ethics on this one. I have watched enough
Open Space meetings unfold to know that unspoken truths surface, that the
level of participation is very frightening for many leaders, that the
leaders are often told "home truths" that are painful. Joy happens and pain
happens. I also know that even well intentioned leaders, when in pain, have
fear reactions afterward--and fear surfaces as things like control moves.
Not badly intended people, just scared people.So, what can I do ahead with
them? Except to spend time with them, to tell stories, to assist them in
understanding how rich Open Space will be and that it may not be all flow
and glow.  My ethics on this are like this: I as a seasoned facilitator know
that a lot  will surface. And no matter what, Open Space Technology works.
One can sit back smugly and say it always works, and it does. And yet, my
personal ethics are such that I take that which I know and set in place the
basics (theme, givens, logistics as best as I can, no matter how long people
need to do this work--I give a bit of structure and hold the space to enable
them to get this done and don't worry about billable hours in the process).
The givens, amongst other things, include givens about what will happen to
the information after the fact. And I've learned this from hard
experience--sometimes I've not done this well--in one case, it was assumed
the book of proceedings was confidential inside the organization--a
difficult topic came up--the firing of the executive director---and within
ten minutes of the end of the meeting, that document had been circulated to
just about every agency in town--it probably would have anyway, with a given
stated about confidentiality or not---but IF the given had been worked out
and clearly communicated that this was to be a public document, participants
of the Open Space may not have written in their reports the confidential
info that it contained. So, what I am saying is that as facilitators, we
have a lay of the land of what might happen, and so we can ask certain
questions of the client so that they can obtain clarity for themselves. Call
this traditional facilitating and too much time if you will, I call it
responsible to my ethics).
3. at the level of essence---Open Space Technology is much more than just
form. The essence also needs to be attended to and this is where the
preparation of the facilitator is essential. And this is where I agree with
Chris in terms of a day ahead of the event for personal preparation and a
day after the event for a nap, because one does get exhausted. I tend to do
this on my own time. At deep layers, much is going on. And the facilitator
must be totally present and yet totally invisible and non-intrusive. And
this being totally present isn't just about preparing that day or the day
before, but a daily every day discipline of learning how to be present, in
whatever way one does their own personal discipline and whatever works for
each one of us. For me, I meditate daily, I journal daily, I spend time in
nature, I work with items from nature, and I pray. No one else needs to
follow the same. This works for me. And so, if events around an Open Space
are chaotic, if the morning of there is a calamity and so on, I remain
present to myself, to my calm, and I am able to be present to the Open Space
and "hold it" for the group.

I have been in Open Spaces where the theme and givens are not accurate. I
have witnessed Open Spaces where no time or attention was given to working
with the client on these matters. I have screwed up on not getting accuracy
on givens myself--sloppy work like the time when I didn't uncover that the
theme of the Open Space, which was stated "issues and opportunities for a
preferred future for the organization" was in reality the theme "we need the
executive director to be fired". (this was told to me by the Board Chair in
those words at the end of the Open Space. He had wanted her fired for four
years, didn't have the courage to do it, and this is why he wanted the Open
Space meeting. And he went around planting the seeds amongst participants
one by one. The Open Space Technology meetings were highly successful,
none-the-less. The aftermath was not pretty. We could say, whatever happened
was the only thing.... and we could say the OST meetings was
successful...and we could say everybody learned and look how it all turned
out in the long run---because usually in the long run it does all work out.
In the case of the Executive Director, she resigned and got a much better
job and the organization continues to wrestle with its mess. Because I have
knowledge of the power of Open Space Technology, I must wrestle with what is
right for me, and how to live congruent with my ethics and values and my
inner being. Having done this, I share what I know to the best of my
ability, and enable clients to be as prepared for it as I can. And then let
go of attachment to outcome, and know I have given the preparatory work my
best. Much like raising my children--I did the best preparation I knew
how--now I hold the space with no attachment to outcome. I could not just
have held the space with no up-front input for them to work with.

One of my current clients is a group that is holding an Open Space meeting
about issues and opportunities about seniors. They had a theme "The seniors
are coming"--so was the meeting about seniors of the future and if so, who
should be invited. NO--it turned out the meeting was about present AND
future seniors. The theme now is "issues and opportunities for quality of
life for seniors now and seniors of the future". It took time for the
committee to get to this. And it affected the guest list. And it affected
the givens. We would have had a successful Open Space either way, but it
feels good to have done the clarifying.

Birgitt

Birgitt Williams
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  -----Original Message-----
  From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Harrison
Owen
  Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2000 8:09 AM
  To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
  Subject: Re: How much planning and preparation time do you find you need?

  At 12:01 AM 2/17/00 -0800, you wrote:

  >The day after is used for sleeping.  Holding the space is the most
  >exhausting thing you can do (just ask any parent!).  I am completely
  >incapable of any productive work on the day after an OS, so I just sleep
  >the whole day and bill my client for it.  I sort of fudge the wording on
  >the contract a little so it clears interal audits and that sort of
  >thing.
  ****************************
  Chris -- you are definitely a person after my own heart. I bill the client
for the nap(s) I inevitably take during the event. But I never thought of
the day after. Wonderful!

  All of which raise (for me) a very serious issue. Creating space and
holding space takes a lot out of you. Which means there must be a lot there
to start, it is essential to conserve energy as you go along, and when its
over -- you are going to need a break. As we all know, this is not about
"doing" a whole mess of things. God forbid -- if we tried to operate in Open
Space with the sorts of behaviors we used to use (taking care of all the
details etc) --- ultimate fatigue would be the best result.  Rigor mortis is
more likely.

  Keep napping Chris.

  Harrison

  Harrison Owen
  7808 River Falls Drive
  Potomac, MD 20854
  USA
  phone 301-469-9269
  fax 301-983-9314
  website
  www.mindspring.com/~owenhh
  Open Space Institute websites
  www.openspaceworld.org

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