our vehicle for developing conscious Open Space Organizations

[Birgitt Williams]

Dear Colleagues and friends working in and with Open Space,
Ward and I developed the first phase of the Genuine Contact program, a
vehicle for developing the conscious Open Space Organization. I share with
you here the unfolding story with this work. I begin by sharing the core
beliefs in our lives and upon which the program is built and then share with
you the story of what happened here during the past week as 17 people
attended the “train the trainer” learning journey with us, each now prepared
to lead these training sessions. And then below my signature, I include a
longer description of the Genuine Contact program for those of you who are
interested in the way that we market it through Dalar International
Consultancy. If you find yourself interested in this work, you might want to
consider doing the preparatory work through the next twelve months so that
you have the prerequisites to take the next “train the trainer” here in
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA beginning Sept 21 of 2002. If you have already
attended a training session in working with Open Space Technology, you
already have a key pre-requisite.

All who graduate from the “train the trainer” now co-create the Genuine
Contact program as we continue evolving. As part of their contribution, Koos
de Heer of Holland and Thomas Herrmann of Sweden have developed a list serve
for ongoing discussions.

In the Genuine Contact program, we relate to the following three beliefs to
guide our development, behaviors and actions:

1.      Spirit is all that is.
2.      All organisms have within them the blueprint for health.
3.      Focusing on genuine contact enables individuals and organizations to
achieve health and experience our connection with all that is.

17 people, representing 5 countries joined Ward and I here in Raleigh, North
Carolina, USA for the last four days to enhance our learning and development
in working with conscious Open Space Organizations. This is a note to you,
our friends and colleagues who work with Open Space Technology to keep you
posted about our journey and to invite you to consider participating with us
in the future. We offer great gratitude to the community of practice
regarding Open Space Technology and to its creator, Harrison Owen, for
providing a key ingredient for us in working with the conscious Open Space
Organization. We go beyond the meeting methodology and work with the ongoing
organization. We have learned a lot and will continue to learn and evolve
and develop.

Here is a summary of what we have just participated in and the immediate
results of this gathering. We invite you to consider joining us in this
evolving work. And below my signature, I send along to you the outline of
how we at Dalar International Consultancy describe our work with this
program that we have called the Genuine Contact program. For us, it is the
vehicle to develop the conscious Open Space Organization. For others who now
co-create this program, they will make other offerings of what the program
is for them.

1.      Over the last few years, hundreds of people have participated in training
sessions in component parts of the Genuine Contact program including Working
With Open Space Technology, Whole Person Process Facilitation, Cross
Cultural Conflict Resolution, and Advanced Work in Open Space Technology
focusing on the conscious Open Space Organization.
2.      From amongst this group, 17 chose to take all of the sessions,
culminating in attending the Train the Trainer session from Sept 21-24.
There are a number of others who have already identified that they will join
the 2002 Train the Trainer session next September here in Raleigh, North
Carolina, USA.
3.      Our home, intended as a healing center held its first meeting September
17th. The excitement of a dream unfolding

4.      On the morning of September 21st at 7am eastern standard time, this group
along with hundreds of others in the world “opened space” for opportunities
for harmony in the world with the intention of “holding space” for our
lifetimes. We created a large Open Space (different from an Open Space
Technology meeting as we know it). All participants were cofacilitators.
5.      The training began at 9am using Whole Person Process Facilitation.
6.      Birgitt Williams facilitated an Open Space Technology meeting  from 1pm
on the 21st to 5pm on the 23rd to discuss “issues and opportunities for
working with the Genuine Contact program”. This meeting included convergence
and action planning. The givens for the meeting were limited but clearly
stated to define what the Genuine Contact program as initiated by Birgitt
and Ward Williams is and is not. A given was that beyond the few basic
givens, the program from here on in is open for co-creation by all who
invest of themselves in the full program and complete the Train the Trainer.
We were intentionally developing as a conscious Open Space Organization,
learning as we participated to “walk our talk”.
7.      Judi Richardson facilitated an Open Space Technology meeting within the
already existing meeting that Birgitt was facilitating. This second meeting,
which included some people on-line from around the world, discussed “the
International Alliance for Mentoring”, a newly forming organization with
only one given, the definition for mentoring. Everything else was open for
creativity. This meeting did not include convergence and action planning. It
lasted from 6 through 9:30pm on the 21st.
8.      The “space” was closed with a closing circle on the 21st for the OST
meeting for the International Alliance for Mentoring. The space was closed
on the 23rd for the OST meeting for the Genuine Contact program. The space
was not closed for the intentional Open Space for harmony in the world. And
the space of the overall training session, held using Whole Person Process
Facilitation, was closed on the 24th. Every experience was unique,
different, and intended for our fullest experience and learning regarding
conscious Open Space Organizations and the circles within the circles within
the circles that make up daily living in an organization.

Some Results
High learning and high play and high achievement.
A list serve for the Genuine Contact program hosted by Koos de Heer of
Holland  and Thomas Herrmann of Sweden. All who are interested are invited
to participate. To sign up for the list serve contact Koos at
openspace at auryn.nl <mailto:openspace at auryn.nl>  or Thomas at
Thomas.herrmann at telia.com <mailto:Thomas.herrmann at telia.com>
A group of people made a commitment to co-creating the Genuine Contact
program and how it will manifest in the world. This group of people
committed to finding their way to “walk their talk” by working with the
Genuine Contact program as a conscious Open Space Organization, and to
continue to involve more and more people as co-creators of an organic
conscious Open Space Organization over time. Every year, we will find our
way to involve the new graduates of the “train the trainer” as co-creators
of the program.
We learned that where we are going with this is an unknown and that we are
doing pioneering work with this which will come complete with moving forward
and falling a few times. We committed to continuing to work together to find
a new way of working.
We committed to developing as a learning community to keep evolving and
developing with this work, adding to a greater knowledge base. We will have
an annual professional development gathering (the next one Sept 26/27 of
2002 here in Raleigh, North Carolina immediately following the next train
the trainer) and we will support one another through on-line discussions.

And beyond that, except to express gratitude, I cannot at this time either
process or summarize the richness of what happened and what is now birthed.
I can say that it began with a dream. And somehow the dream is now reality.
The reality, with 17 additional people now working with the Genuine Contact
program is  way bigger than I ever dreamed it. I am grateful and filled with
joy and wonder and awe. And anticipation
.

Others will make contributions to this list about some of our learnings as
we continue to link our learnings into the Open Space list serve too. All of
us are people who love using Open Space Technology and are simply taking it
to what we see as a natural progression to working with the conscious Open
Space Organization.

Peace and love and honoring the beauty within you all,
Birgitt


The Genuine Contact * program

The Genuine Contact * program was designed with simplicity in mind, using
meetings as a catalyst to develop conscious, life nurturing, interconnected
learning organizations. We call these organizations conscious Open Space
Organizations. The process is organic so every organization brings about its
own unique change from within, simultaneously enhancing skills and capacity
for working with change in our rapidly changing times. For an individual to
achieve optimum health, the individual must balance the system, cleanse and
detoxify the cells and provide absorbable nourishment to the cells. Through
the Genuine Contact * program, individuals within the organization learn to
achieve and sustain organizational health through understanding and working
with balance, cleansing, and nourishing the organization.

Within the Genuine Contact * program, we work from the following three
beliefs:

4.      Spirit is all that is.
5.      All organisms have within them the blueprint for health.
6.      Focusing on genuine contact enables individuals and organizations to
achieve health and experience our connection with all that is.

When you work with  the Genuine Contact * program, you will experience seven
key components for your skill and capacity building as individuals and as an
organization:
1.      Within the Genuine Contact *program you will experience the healing
circle or medicine wheel as the overall matrix to guide your learning,
healing, development, evolution and consciousness. This assists you in
bringing about results that exceed expectations. The medicine wheel assists
action/reflection learning regarding health and balance in the organization
focusing on purpose, leadership, vision, community, management and
relationships. You will be taught to use this framework as a diagnostic and
prescriptive tool for achieving and then maintaining health and balance.
2.      You and your organization will be in a mentoring relationship with the
consultant that you choose to work with. The consultant will mentor the
organization and individuals within the organization to achieve
organizational health and balance with minimal consultant involvement. As
well, you will be offered the opportunity to enhance your mentoring skills
and capacity through an evolving interconnected learning community,  the
International Alliance for Mentoring (IAM).  This forum is provided to learn
the art of mentoring and to “walk the talk of mentoring” of  both
individuals and organizations. The International Alliance for Mentoring uses
“encouraging truth, facilitating compassion, tolerance, self acceptance,
promoting service in the world, cooperation, respect, and joy” as the
definition for mentoring. The IAM is a component of the Genuine Contact *
program and extends beyond the program to include all persons who are
interested in mentoring who wish to enhance their learning about mentoring
through an interconnected learning organization.
3.      You will learn  Working With Open Space Technology to develop and enhance
skills in facilitating meetings in which a frequency is held for people to
make life nurturing choices from amongst agenda items within a particular
theme and givens.
4.      You will learn how to facilitate Whole Person Process Facilitation to
develop and enhance skills in facilitating meetings in which a frequency is
held for people to make life nurturing choices based on what is presented to
them to solve within a particular topic and within stated givens.
5.      You will learn  Cross Cultural Conflict Resolution to develop and enhance
skills to facilitate meetings in which people determine  personal boundaries
and view situations from flexible rather than fixed perspectives.
6.      You will learn Advanced Work With Open Space Technology focusing on the c
onscious Open Space Organization to develop and enhance skills in leading
and mentoring conscious interconnected learning organizations. These
organizations provide the conditions for choices to be life nurturing rather
than life depleting.
7.      And you will be offered the opportunity to develop and enhance skills to
teach others in all of the components of the Genuine Contact * program ,
ensuring that the program maintains its integrity (wholeness) and respects
the unique contributions that each individual makes to the program.
What is the Genuine Contact * program?

The Genuine Contact * program is a program for building skill and capacity
within the organization, for working with change. It is designed to keep
external consultant involvement to a minimum, providing training and
mentoring work only, so that working with change is led from within the
organization. Leaders within an organization are taught to develop and use
an operating system in which business is conducted with genuine contact at
all levels on an ongoing basis. Upon completion of the sixteen days of
training,  leaders are authorized to teach the components of the Genuine
Contact * program to others within the organization, in an ongoing internal
process, until the new operating system is functioning fully in a growthful,
sustainable and effective way. During year one, during and following the
initial training, a consultant to the organization coaches and mentors this
“in-house” team as the “in-house” team leads the change process for its own
organization.



Training days during the first year range from 12 to 16 days, generally
taken in groupings of 4 days at a time and spaced a few months apart.
Additional external consultant time is limited to approximately 24 days
through the course of the first year, supporting change and capacity
building that is led from within the organization.







Results beyond your expectations through the Genuine Contact *  program


Dalar International Consultancy offers you the opportunity to achieve
organizational results beyond your expectations. We believe that Spirit
matters and people are precious. We know that strategies based on these
values have exciting, tangible results.

Dalar International Consultancy will enable you to draw upon the wisdom that
exists among people in your organization to achieve success. We offer you a
program that can develop an energized, interconnected learning organization,
able to achieve, sustain, and renew itself in healthy and effective ways. We
offer you a program that fosters genuine contact within your organization to
access its full potential.

Dalar International Consultancy focuses on uncovering key ingredients from
which an organization determines what will work best for it. The operating
system developed from these through the Genuine Contact *  program enables
the organization to make the most of its potential. They system is
duplicable and self-replicating throughout the organization, and is
customized to suit your specific situation.


What your Organization will Achieve through the Genuine Contact *  program

Through the Genuine Contact * program, you will achieve an effective and
quick means to access the issues that need to be addressed in your
organization, and the solutions that need to be implemented. This program
fosters a solution-focused organization, achieving results that surpass
expectations. It provides a nourishing environment in which the human spirit
can flourish creatively and fulfil its potential. Solutions come from the
collective genius and passion of the organization’s human resources. The
energy to implement them is generated in the process.



Tangible Results from using  the Genuine Contact *  program


*       Breakthrough learning
*       Appropriate structure
*       Genuine community and effective communication
*       High morale
*       Spirited performance
*       Engaged involvement
*       High efficiency
*       High productivity
*       Shared leadership
*       Shared vision
*       Clear purpose
*       Growth from within
*       Elimination of barriers to doing a job quickly with excellence and pride
*       Increased creativity
*       Sustainable and renewable organizational health and energy for further
successes
*       An ability to navigate with change and take quick advantage of the
opportunities it brings
*       an environment where the creative human spirit can flourish


The focus  of the Genuine Contact * program is on building skill and
capacity within the organization, keeping external consultant involvement to
a minimum

As an organization develops its interconnected learning, change in action
and behaviors are required. More important are the changes in the way that
purpose, values, assumptions, and structure are understood and worked with.
For both individuals and organizations, growthful change comes from deep
within. For both, change uncovers our fears of the new and unknown, yet we
know that we must face the unknown if we are to grow and flourish. In the
Genuine Contact * program, change is viewed as life nurturing rather than
life depleting.

In the Genuine Contact * program, we foster the development of the
interconnected learning organization, which we have called the conscious
Open Space Organization. Leaders within an organization are taught to
develop and use an operating system in which business is conducted with
genuine contact at all levels on an on-going basis. These leaders are then
empowered to teach others within the organization in an ongoing internal
process until the new operating system is functioning fully in a growthful
and effective way.

Change is a constant, not a destination. Change cannot be managed. Success
is dependent on building the capacity of individuals and organizations to
navigate with change.

Values Considerations for embarking on the Genuine Contact * program in your
organization
If you and your organization are truly interested in effectiveness and
success, if you want positive results in attitude and action, if you
understand that change is constant and cannot be managed, then the Genuine
Contact * program is for you. It provides a simple approach for solving
complex situations, and helps you create a way of working with ongoing
change.
The Genuine Contact * program is for you if:
1.       You value whole systems thinking and understand that the
organization is not a “closed system,” but an open one, subject to constant
change and interaction with the environment in which it operates. You want
your organization to be flexible, able to flourish as it navigates
successfully through change.
2.       You value learning organizations which build the capacity, skills
and knowledge of individuals resulting in ongoing organizational
effectiveness.
3.       You value developing and using the potential of your human
resources for successful personal and organizational accomplishment.
4.       You value effective work teams that can address day to day
challenges, assessing and overcoming any difficulties they encounter, and
coordinating their efforts with other work teams that might be affected.
5.       You value a clear framework of parameters that are understood
throughout the organization so that individuals can work effectively under
minimum supervision, and can safely participate in finding and implementing
solutions that will lead to increase achievement for the organization.
6.       You value not only highly productive organizational achievement,
but also the continuing personal growth of those involved in creating and
sustaining it.

What is provided if we bring the Genuine Contact * program into our
organization?
The Genuine Contact * program assists the development of organizational
change and transformation for increasing effectiveness and success by
providing basic training and ongoing coaching for a fixed period of time for
its leaders. It requires minimal external consultant intervention. The focus
is on building in-house skills to handle on-going change which can be
developed and sustained from within. The approach is organic, rather than
mechanical. It encourages simple solutions that are easy to use to increase
real, ongoing organizational effectiveness.

How does an organization begin the Genuine Contact * process?
1.       Establish the commitment of the CEO and senior managers to
developing an organization that recognizes and draws upon its workforce
potential, is open, participative, interconnected, and working to improve
its learning and capacity.
2.       Form an internal team to be trained by a trainer authorized in the
Genuine Contact * program. It is recommended that this team include
managers, human resource specialists, organizational development
specialists, and in the case of unionized environments, union leaders. The
maximum recommended size of this team is 35. At the completion of the
training phase, each member of this team will be authorized as a trainer of
the Genuine Contact * program for others within the organization. This team
will implement the transformation of the organization into an Open Space
Organization capable of navigating change effectively and productively.
3.       Identify internal coaches who will work with the training team and
senior management, including the CEO, to provide leadership and coaching on
an ongoing basis within the organization to sustain peak performance. If an
external coach is preferred, this consultant must take the Genuine Contact *
program training and training certification. Such external consultation
should be limited to 24 days over the initial one year period of
transformation.
4.       Contract with Dalar International Consultancy for an in-house
Genuine Contact * program, or arrange to send the internal team in a small
organization to external training programs organized in various locations in
the world by Dalar International. The total training program takes 16 days
over the first year and has five components.





We Invite Consultants to become Authorized to Provide the Genuine Contact *
program to Organizations

We invite consultants to attend the five components of training of the
Genuine Contact * program to become authorized to take the full program
"in-house" to assist organizations in their transformation. Graduates of the
“train the trainer” will train people within the organization in the
component parts of the Genuine Contact * program so that those authorized
through this process in turn will train ever widening circles of people
within the organization. Anyone trained as a trainer can offer the complete
program and authorize those graduating in turn to train in the Genuine
Contact * program, using the outline they learn from Dalar International so
that there is consistency and duplicability.
Consultants authorized to deliver the Genuine Contact * program will be
listed on our website www.genuinecontact.com
<http://www.genuinecontact.com/>  if they so wish for direct contact by
organizations. We recognize that everyone facilitating and leading using the
Genuine Contact * program will do so with their own unique style and
experience. However, it is also necessary to guarantee to organizations who
bring this Program into the organization that they are receiving consistency
with the component parts and/or their development as a conscious Open Space
Organization. Clients are entitled to assurance that when they engage in any
or all of the components of the Genuine Contact * program, that the
components and the whole program maintain the integrity of what is offered
through the Genuine Contact * program.

Within the Genuine Contact *  program, the component parts are standardized
so that they can be easily duplicated and so that when a client pays for one
of the components to be used in the organization, the client is guaranteed
of a certain standard.

Persons completing their training in the Genuine Contact * program are
invited to become co-creators of the program as it evolves and develops
through time, using a list serve and annual professional development
gatherings to “walk their talk” as an interconnected conscious Open Space
Organization.  Dalar International is available in an ongoing mentoring
capacity to all facilitators and leaders trained in the Genuine Contact *
program. To maintain consistency, all trainers delivering the Genuine
Contact * program training programs will use the training format developed
by Dalar International and will guide participants through the Genuine
Contact * program using the training workbooks from Dalar International. The
workbooks, accompanying CD ROM’s and video and audio tapes for the Program
are available through our publisher, Musango multi-media and can be ordered
through musango1 at home.com <mailto:musango1 at home.com>


Our personal life commitment is to create opportunities for higher
consciousness. Higher consciousness is required for our healing and
wholeness. As individuals, we also live according to the beliefs stated
above for the Genuine Contact * program.




Birgitt and Ward Williams
Co-founders, Dalar International Consultancy

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