AW: outcomes

Mon Dec 1 03:13:03 PST 2003

hello all,
Chris , you got me again, like several times before.

I was thinking of leaving this list serve, because  since months I got bored
more and more . I felt to be in the wrong group. a group more and more
interested in talking again and again about all the little steps of the
method, and more and more meeting oneselves in OsonOsonOssses, and then to
show the family pictures around. Sorry, I don't  want to offend someone. But
I remember a time when I was curious every morning to look at the incoming
mails from the OS list, and learned a lot from the freshness of your mails.

I never was leading a OS session myself, so I always looked at your
discussions somehow from the outside. From this point of view I felt,
already some years ago,  that this beautiful method has two weak points.
Maybe you are interested in this view from an outsider with a little bit of
insight from about 12  OS I could participate in, so I tell you my opinion:

One weak point as I see it is the way you gather the outcome in hand- or pc
written protocolls, documents of the same low quality as in most of the
traditional meetings. I never opened one of the books that sometimes were
produced.  Since I am a Visual Facilitator, you won't wonder that I
recommend strongly to produce handdrawn notes of the outcome, as I did in a
dozen or so of Open Space conferences, to the great pleasure of the
participants, as a group memory and base for next steps. Since everybody is
walking from group to group without an overeview, such a sample of drawings
could bring the whole scene into everybodys sight.

And since rather often it will be too expensive to engage another person
(Graphic Recorder, Visual Facilitator) to produce images during the
conference, the emphasis should be layed on images the participants draw
themselves. I see a huge possibility to develop something beautiful here.

The second weak point, as I feel it, is the next stage after the conference.
I see that Birgit Williams is doing a lot there. I felt from the first OS I
took part that this next step was a very important condition for success.
Several times I made the proposal, that the owner of the process should in
advance declare his support for the following stage. For example the people
standing up with a theme could be encouraged, could be given time and maybe
money, and official support to continue with their theme in the organisation
afterwards, and meet again after some weeks to report, hopefully together
with the person leading the OS.

The image document I mentioned before could give a real good base for this
process.

I remember making this proposal to Harrison Owen some four or fife years
ago, but he only told me I should trust the process.

So I am looking forward whether there will be discussion in your group about
these items, and whether I will get inflamed again.

Greetings

Reinhard

Mit freundlichen Gruessen
Best regards

VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE
Kuchenmueller & Dr. Stifel

Munich Germany

Tel: +49-89-202 447 48

www.visuelle-protokolle.de

 Re: the flash in the pan thing.

I'm concentrating a lot right now on what happens afterwards with clients.
I'm growing increasingly reluctant to stage one off OST meetings unless we
have really dealt with post-event follow-up to support what gets opened in
the organization or community.  I'm focusing my efforts on working with
clients to find ways to support the responsibility part of OST, which is the
challenge.  Without it, passion is all you have and that's fine, but not
usually enough to make things happen.  OST invites responsibility and
passion and so we need to create outlets to take that flow in the
organization or community or we cut short many of the benefits of the
process, and especially those benefits that the cynics might find most
attractive.

Think of it as releasing the storage of water in a reservoir.  If you have
not properly dug irrigation channels and prepared for how the water will be
used, much of it will simply run away to the sea.  I'd rather carefully
prepare irrigation channels for the amount and quality of the energy
released in OST than to simply open space and hope the organization or
community catches on to what's happening.

This is certainly not to say that I am in the business of determining
outcomes.  It's more like shining a light on the really powerful potential
outcomes, like organizational and personal transformation and ensuring that
the leadership is prepared to support these should they arise.  Resourcing
action plans is easy.  What happens if everyone in your team suddenly gets
passionate and decides to take the whole enterprise in a new direction?
Saying "no" or "maybe we'll look at that" is sometimes not the best answer.

Chris

---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Bowen Island, BC, Canada
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
chris at chriscorrigan.com
(604) 947-9236

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Mike
Copeland
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2003 2:29 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: outcomes

G'day Chris
I get this cynical stuff a bit myself:  "OST is just another theory or
gimmicky facilitation method."
I believe OST is not just a process or a new theory but possibly the way
humans work best when they tap into their inner most being and work from
there.  When one gets use to working from one's core (passion,
response-ability) after a while there seems no other way to be! Strange
thing is, because this way of being is soooooo... foreign to most people
they will say and do anything to avoid working from their inner self.  Its
part of the human journey:  "to slay the dragon upon whose every scale are
the words 'thou shalt!'" (Joseph Campbell)
I've come to realise resistance, criticism and cynicism are reflections more
of the people's relationship to themselves than any inherent flaws in OST.
My response is usually to accept their complaints and realise this is where
they are at and "the space is always open."(Helen Patterson)
I must admit to feeling that whenever people say there are faults in open
space they are still fixed in a "Thou Shalt" mode, still waiting for someone
to come up with the one, right, true way.  There is no such thing! "The way"
is within each of us.  There is nothing in open space that will tell you
what to do. The limitations are only as limited as your imagination.
I also here you about the one off nature of an OST meeting. I felt this
after our initial team meeting back in August.  No sooner had we finished
what was a memorable two days of talking and meeting, like I have never
experienced in our team before, than we all ferreted back into our little
cubby holes to get back to the 'real' work.
This "flash in the pan" experience is why we are trying OST as an
organisation wide practise. Some people want it, others are open, others see
it as some wacko gimmick. I'd say we are all at different levels of slaying
that dragon, and that's fine.  Whoever comes are the right people, Whatever
happens is the only thing that could have.

If open space is singing you as much as it has me, a one off meeting will
not suffice. Get out out of the frying pan and into the fire!
All the best
Mike Copeland

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