OS and strategic planning

Tue Apr 8 15:44:50 PDT 2003

Jamie,

OST not working in a strategic planning environment is not my experience.
I've used it in large and small organizations with success.

The Mental Health Foundation in New Zealand, engaged all of there staff,
board and a number of stakeholders in the beginning of the strategic
planning process.  It was an interactive way to complete and environmental
scan, internal assessment and to set the key development areas for the
Foundation.

Similarly the Housing Corporation of New Zealand invited all of the staff -
they thought they would get fifty people they got 1/3 of the total staff
number 200 to a open space event early in the strategic planning process.
In this event I reopened the space for convergence to get people to work on
the bits of the strategic plan that interested them - so we had a group on
vision, another on culture, another group on the asset programme etc etc.

OST certainly gave the process a kick start!

Cheers

Anne

Anne Pattillo
Anne Pattillo Consulting

Phone 64 4 473 2702
Fax 64 4 4732703

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Peggy
Holman
Sent: Wednesday, 9 April 2003 10:25 a.m.
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: OS and strategic planning

Jaime,

I did a strategic planning process with the Washington State Arts Commission
(WSAC) a few years back using 20 open space gatherings.  The first and last
were state-wide.  The ones in the middle were held throughout the state,
ranging from 5 to 75 people.  In all, about 1,200 people participated.

The second state-wide meeting was essentially a convergence of the whole
series of meetings.  It began with passing out the proceedings of all the
meetings, organized loosely by subject areas.  The question was "what is
essential for the arts in our state?"  The sessions named there formed the
key strategies of the plan.

What we found was that WSAC, as convening agent, provided the invitation for
many arts organizations to talk together, often for the first time.  They
took from the meeting their own plans and ideas and a new appreciation for
WSAC as a convening agent.  WSAC took responsibility for creating a plan
that married their expertise and mission with the needs that were expressed.

The story is at http://www.opencirclecompany.com/OSWSACStory.htm

Greetings from windy, sunny Seattle,
Peggy

_______________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA  98006
425.746.6274
www.opencirclecompany.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jaime Pedreros Fitzgerald" <jpedrerosf at yahoo.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 2:46 PM
Subject: OS and strategic planning

> Hello dear colleagues,
>
> Most of the OS literature I have reviewed mention that
> OS is not useful (or would not work) in strategic
> planning gatherings. I would like to mention that my
> first experience (november 2000) with OS with an
> business education institution consisted of "ways to
> enrich our strategic planning approach". This was
> conducted in two different brief gatherings, the first
> one with staff (5 people, 3 hour) members and the
> second one with selected (11 people, 4 hour)
> instructors. Actually, the second workshop was a
> suggestion of the person in charge of correspondence
> delivery (a kind of post man). Despite the manager's
> "eager to control everything" some useful perspectives
> were developed:
> First meeting:
> Investigate the competence
> Improve ways to face the future
> To take advantage of the institution's best resource
> (instructors)
> Second
> A SWOT matrix
> List of suggestions to strength the organization
>
> My doubts and needs of additional information arouse
> because the tax authority in Bolivia (to whom I have
> already submitted a proposal to complement new staff
> members' induction process by using a half-day
> conventional training and half-day OS meeting) asked
> me to elaborate a "consensus" for the strategic
> planning of the organization (by using alternative
> methodologies). Later on, I (in case the contract is
> awarded to me) will organize three workshop in the
> corresponding major cities. These workshop will serve
> to discuss the draft of the harmonized document as
> well as to select participants for a "main event" in
> which the final document would be elaborated.
>
> MY questions are as follows:
>
> To what extent can OS be used in this case
> Is there any former (and of course, successful)
> experience about OS and strategic planning
>
> Your kind assistance is highly (and obligedly)
> appreciated.
>
> Warm regards from La Paz
>
> Jaime
>
> _________________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Información de Estados Unidos y América Latina, en Yahoo! Noticias.
> Visítanos en http://noticias.espanol.yahoo.com
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> 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

*
*
==========================================================
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

*
*
==========================================================
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