from OS Institute (US) board

[Michael M Pannwitz]

Dear Kerry,
first few times I introduced groups to ost I would tell them
"open space always works" (and give some examples I had read up on).
With more practice, I told groups that I used to say
"open space always works because this guy ho had this written down in
a manual but that now I know from my own experience that it always
works".
Now I just tell people about the principles etc. without saying a
word about it working fully aware of the fact that it always works.
In hindsight I think the whole exercise had more to do with my
anxiety and trying to calm myself than with the need to convince
people or to make them feel better.....they usually feel pretty good
within minutes into the process if I can trust their smiles and such.
In a way its like saying "breathing works".
Still, in all the preliminary consulting contacts getting ready with
the client/sponsor people have statements like "well, sure, yes, I
can imagine that it works with xyz but in our outfit?" Then I tell
them about my database and the universal experience with open space
(here I would love to be able to say 125 countries, 7 continents,
etc.). For this purpose and for strengthening the acceptance/spread
for/of the ost-approach I love your chronological list of events
which I have used as a model for my own list, thank you.
By the way: I am uncertain whether you are on target with your
assumption about European countries being more hierarchical than the
USA....at least I have not found hierarchical organisations in
Germany (the church, for instance) to be closed to ost...at the same
time I am also convinced that all organisations are os-organisations,
that sort of belief/assumption seems to make it easier (for me) to
work even with highly structured orgs.
Now to the list of countries in which I have directly experienced
ost-events:
Germany
Austria
Russia
Channel Island of Jersey
Canada
USA
Kenia
Hungary

and a list of countries I have heard of working with ost
Denmark
Sweden
Norway
Switzerland
Italy
The Netherlands
England
Ireland
Mexico
Taiwan
Japan
Indonesia
India
Pakistan
Saudi Arabia
Israel
Armenia
Haiti
France
Spain
Portugal
Marocco
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
Azerbaidjan
Tadschekistan
Scotland
Croatia
Ok, thats almost 40, I am sure there are lots more. And I would love
to have them all (there are almost exactly 200 countries on this
planet that are members of the UN, Switzerland just joined and thats
just about all countries, I think that the Vatican is still out
there, anybody done an ost-event in the Vatican?)
Greetings from Berlin
michael


On Wed, 6 Mar 2002 11:23:01 +0000, kerry napuk wrote:

>Dear List
>
>When I introduce the Process to groups, I say there have been more
>than 40,000 events in over 50 countries.  I don't know if there is
>any evidence for this statement, but it makes people feel better to
>know there is a proven approach.
>
>It may be easier to suggest OST in North America, but the UK is a
>different story.  Many European countries are very hierarchial and
>not use to bottom-up inputs from self-organizing events.  So, we have
>a credibility issue and an open database helps deal with this.
>
>We use OST in 85% of our events, because it works.   We won't change
>our preference, although I resent implications these ideas are
>"corporate."  I have stayed out of the corporate world for decades,
>because I do not like corporate values.
>
>My suggestions were just that, suggestions.  I am perfectly capable
>of "paddling my own canoe" and will continue to do so.  I still feel
>we could help ourselves around the world even if we knew how many
>countries had experience of OST.
>
>Regards
>
>Kerry Napuk
>Open Futures Ltd.
>www.openfutures.com
>
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Michael M Pannwitz
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