Making the OS community visible

Wed May 24 18:35:15 PDT 2000

Message text written by INTERNET:lpasoc at inforamp.net
>Open Space just got more visible in Canada.  Day 3 of the Opening session
of
the Governor General's Study Conference 2000 was just held in Open Space.
250 of the "next" key leaders from business, unions, government and the
non-profit sector prepared to go out on 10 day "tours" throughout Canada in
Open Space.  It was fully bi-lingual with Diane Gibeault and I playing
different roles.  I Openened the Space in Banff and Diane will Open the
Space in Quebec City in about 10 days.  It was a long, difficult political
battle for the programme committee just to get Open Space as part of the
conference.  I don't think it will be difficult again.

Larry
<

Larry and fellow Canadian Open Spacers

having just returned from my expedition to the North Pole, I am now in
Montreal for the next month - aiming to put the experience into a digital
story and hopefully onto the web......

While I need to focus on the film work and do not have a great amount of
time, it would be great to catch up with some OS folks while here.......

and I wonder if the Study Conference is coming this way too?

my contact details are (514) 868 0656  and cell phone  (514) 572 3827 if
there are some Open Spacers around who would like to say "Hi"

all the best

Romy

PS while on the trail and doing our nightly radio sched' report, each of us
took it in turns to reflect on our learning on the journey.  When I did
mine, I found myself returning again to the OS principles......  Of course
I was out there in really open Open Space in the Arctic - which added to
the power of the principles.  If you would like to, you can see our daily
dispatches from the expedition on the website www.xdogs.com.  While my
words came out mildly interpreted.......you can see OS coming through: this
is what is written as part of one of our web reports:

Team member Romy Shovelton had this to say about her experience on the
Trail, "I relearned some principles from the Open Space methodology: Expect
the unexpected. Prepare to be surprised. Whoever comes along are the right
people. Whenever it starts is the right time. When it's over it's over. And
whatever happens is the only thing that could have. We have our intentions
and goals and then we work with whatever comes our way especially in the
natural world."

You can probably imagine what I was refering to.   In the Arctic, Mother
Nature reminds you every day and every hour to 'Expect the unexpected'.....
you just never know what the weather, the light, the ground underfoot is
about to offer you.

And....... as always.... the team..... together and as individuals... turn
out to be the right people.  Personally when I read the reflections of my
teammates I appreciate them more on each reading - they really were the
right people - and still are.

And of course, in the mornings, preparing for the day takes what it
takes... ..... and takes the time it takes............personal preparation
(washing with 'wet wipes'), cleaning  teeth and swallowing the toothpaste,
pulling and pushing until the liners finally go back in your boots,
collecting all the right clothing layers for the day and getting them on
before you loose the warmth generated in your sleeping bag over night,
attending to the most personal of personal needs !, communal food making
including copious amounts of hot water creation (from snow) for breakfast
and sufficient for each person's daily needs, packing our individual tents
and the Siberian Chalet we eat in (but not packing it too soon), squeezing
everything into the sleds in roughly the right order, chopping dog-food-
filled fat and feeding our 18 pure bred Inuit dogs, and finally harnessing
them and getting them onto the ganglines ... plus collecting whichever dog
decides to run off, and finding the spare harnesses after one is chewed
right through just before leaving etc etc..    So.... whenever it
starts....

And then...... when I had to leave the expedition for the final three days
(return on the last day to the Pole) because of frostbit in several
fingers........ I truely learnt 'when it's over it's over'..... while
resisting it with every fibre in my body.

and gradually came to embrace 'whatever happens.......'

So...... thank you dear Harrison, for the life wisdom you have given
us.....

......... it's magic continues.......... even in the most far away
places.....

>From  Thu May 25 02:18:34 2000
Message-Id: <THU.25.MAY.2000.021834.0400.>
Date: Thu, 25 May 2000 02:18:34 -0400
Reply-To: birgitt at mindspring.com
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Birgitt Williams <birgitt at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Looking for one of you, maybe
In-Reply-To: <B55153D0.C95%ralph at earthdreams.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Hi Ralph,
if you find whoever it was that did this conference, I am interested in
connecting too. In February I facilitated a one day Open Space Technology
meeting for the Canadian Farm Business Managers in Banff. Several US
delegates. About 200 people. One of my references to be hired for this was
Viv McWaters in Australia who has done a number of Open Spaces dealing with
land care in that country and spanning to folks from Africa. I see a trend
here that is global in terms of Open Space Technology and land
care/agriculture and in my own love relationship with Mother Earth, this
feels wonderful.

The event was also special for me because the day before I facilitated the
Open Space Technology meeting, Steven Covey was the workshop leader. In the
closing circle, there were a number of comments about how they had so much
enjoyed Steven Covey and that what they enjoyed more was the Open Space
Technology meeting because instead of just learning about the 7 effective
habits, they showed themselves that they actually used them in how they
related to each other in Open Space. And they were as pleased as could be
for such demonstration of their own mastery.

This in turn led the woman who had hired me to tell a story. She said that
in my interview she had explained that if they went with Open Space
Technology, it would follow a day with Steven Covey. Apparently, some
minutes later, I told the interviewers that Open Space Technology would be
the best part of their conference. When they got off of the conference call
with me, one of them said to her "didn't Birgitt hear us tell her Steven
Covey was coming? Why would she say Open Space would be the best part of the
conference" . Her boss answered "I think Birgitt heard us just fine and
still thought Open Space would be the best part of the conference. I like
that woman.What chutzpah (sp?) We'll hire her." And for me, I wasn't even
aware that they thought this part of the conversation might be odd. I
chuckled.

Birgitt

Birgitt Williams
Make Genuine Contact!
Dalar Associates: organizational
effectiveness consultants

Striving for Success? Ready to exceed
your expectations?

Contact us for consulting services, training,
conference and meeting facilitation,
and keynote speaking.

www.openspacetechnology.com <http://www.openspacetechnology.com>

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of Ralph
Copleman
Sent: Wednesday, May 24, 2000 9:39 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Looking for one of you, maybe

Hi,

The other day I learned of a large open space event that took place for one
day at the conference of the Northeast (US) Community Supported Agriculture
conference (or some such title) several months ago.

Did anyone on this list open that space?  I'd like to talk with you about
it.  A client of mine was there and had a wonderful time.

--
Ralph Copleman
http://www.earthdreams.net
609-895-1629