What are the unstated assumptions and aims of OS?

[Lisa Heft]

Doug --

I love Joelle's idea of exploratory surgery, and using words known in
the medical field: 'best practices'.  It may also be helpful to let the
doctors know that this method has been used in many settings with
doctors - Anne Stadler's work at the Hutchison Cancer Research Center in
Washington State, is it? comes to mind.

Maybe if you pull together from a question on this list (new thread
title) peoples' experiences facilitating with
doctors/hospitals/healthcare settings that will help the doctor-types,
too.  Real specifics, with 'experts' and others (who we all know are
also experts in oh so many things).

Perhaps you could develop the theme with a traditionally facilitated
session at the first meeting.  I do this as part of my Intro to OST
learning workshops, right down to honing it down to the exact words.  I
do this the night before their Open Space, and they are eager to jump
right in the next day because the gathered folks have all participated
in setting and defining the theme.  I think the energy would hold for a
week apart meetings or whatever you've got - if you think it's too long
in-between you might send out a flyer full of energy reminding them to
save the time/date.

I've had people post sessions for a next day OS, too.  Excitement and
anticipation (even some anxiety for those who haven't experienced an OS)
hold them over to the next day.  But raising topics and letting it all
sit for days or a week?  Seems to me to not be helpful, as the topic
raising is a snapshot, as it were, of emerging thought and energy.
Wouldn't necessarily be the issues next week.

Instead I'd do any version of a full OS for 1, 2 or 3 hours.  I've done
45 minute sessions; even 30 minute ones.  It feels to me kind of hard to
switch so fast with those short sessions unless the group is
comfortable/experienced in OS.  Our dear colleague Laurel Doersam (hi,
dear colleague!) did ... help me remember here ... 1.5 hour OS's every
week with the staff in a hospital facility; after learning the bits they
just dived right in each week.

I agree with my colleagues; any speechifying drains all the air out of
the room: any one-way presentation that puts peoples' bodies in a
passive/receiving mode rather than a doing mode.

I've experienced a 1.5 hour, one-session OS with hundreds of people (at
the International Association of Facilitators conference); so I know
even one session would work (any size group).  In that case folks write
their session topic as they announce it and take the sign with them;
they had been instructed at the point after the announcement of topics
to walk to the wall and post their session and stand by it and groups
would form all around the room, same as any village marketplace.  The
group reconvened for a short closing circle.

As with all OS's, I'd push for bringing the greatest diversity of people
into the room - the whole system / whole ecology of the situation.  So
doctors, elders, family members, receptionists, whomever you can invite.
A much better picture of the issues and opportunities.

My two scents (sniff)

Lisa


L i s a   H e f t
Consultant, facilitator, educator
O p e n i n g  S p a c e
2325 Oregon
Berkeley, California
94705-1106   USA
(+01) 510 548-8449
lisaheft at pacbell.net
www.openspaceworld.com


-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Douglas D. Germann, Sr.
Sent: Saturday, October 12, 2002 11:07 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: What are the unstated assumptions and aims of OS?

Lisa--

 << My dos rubles

Hmmm.... Is this mixing metaphors? For instance, what does your disk
operating system sound like when it rubles? <grin>

 << And on a more event design note, shorter OSs are perfectly fabulous,
 << I've found.  Thanks to dear Jeff Aitken for first stretching my mind
on

Might you or Jeff or someone else stretch my mind on this one?

Part of what raises this question is the opportunity I am being given to
help a local Senior Independent Living facility open space in a series
of
events.

The sponsor is a wonderful group of people who really care about seniors
in
our community. They have noticed that elders don't get much respect in
the
medical waiting rooms (they are allowed to sit while others coming later
go
in ahead of them) and in the medical examining rooms (the Drs. often
only
have a few moments to spend with each person, and if they cannot
articulate
their problem that quickly, nothing much is done for them).

So they want to have 3 1/2 Open Spaces. The subject will be
approximately
"How good can senior healthcare become?"

My contact wants to have an expert from afar come in for a 1 hour
segment,
then break up into open space for the rest of that session, and 3 more.

Currently, she wants to have each session 2 hours long, and with a month
between sessions.

The two hour sessions might be a concession to the energy levels of the
seniors (although I could from experience say that it energizes people).
I
think maybe I want to see if we can move them closer together, like say
a
week apart (it might be a problem of having the space already
committed).

The hope is that medical people and seniors will talk together and also
come up with some practical things they could do to help each other make
healthcare for seniors better (such as elders teaming up to go with each
other to their exams so that one who is more articulate, for instance,
might help another less so, etc.).

So this sounds a little like your "swirling of ideas" and "noticing what
works"--a good instance for a "shorter" OS.

So if you were to do it, would you do the 2 hour sessions on this topic?
How would you arrange the schedule?

                              :-Doug.

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