Max/Mix was: Experience with geeks in OST forums

[Bruce Craig]

Ah... right Harrison - I was forgetting how Kathy does it.
We just plunk the "max mix" in a room and let them fight it
out.. :)  I guess I'm calling any "representative" group
that has been select as a cross section (vs selected by
having a passion for an issue) a max/mix.

Sometimes - and not always - when we have been asked to work
with a group the "management" is leary of Open Space - and
one key concern is that if we get all the staff together
they it will just turn into a pissing match.  I know that OS
will work  - You know that OS will work and yet still the
fear of chaos reigns.   In this case we did a max/mix
session for 3 hours with 18 folk and did some small group
work and some large group work and some dialogue and in the
end got enough of a "preview" of the sorts of issues that
the dept would raise in the larger session that the
management team finally understood that a whole system event
would not lead to chaos.  In the end we got one day of
tables of eight (max/mix) and one day of OS and a half day
of convergence and that was as much space as the group could
open.  Before the max/mix session we were expecting 80 of
the dept of 140 to show up (the rest had to provide support)
after the max/mix session 135 people signed up for the 3 day
off site and the group self organized an off site war room.

I think it was a good thing.  The max/mix was a bit of a
safety net for them and the OS was a great experience.  Next
time I think they would be willing to go straight to OS.  It
would be great if we could find more clients who were ready
and willing to go right into OS but we haven't solved that
puzzle yet.

Happy Ho Ho to all,

Sharon

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html