A Bold Idea...

[Birgitt Williams]

Dear David,
I too would like to express my appreciation of your offer and give you
encouragement to follow your dream. I agree that OST is a modern incarnation
of ancient ways, as are other processes such as “calling the circle”,
Appreciative Inquiry, Quaker worship, and so on. All are focus points for
focusing the energy of Spirit. All are windows to remind us of the infinite
intelligence and love that is there for us to tap into, and all are learning
“tools” to learn how to tap into working with Spirit, ever present. Like
taking our baby steps to remember what we all once knew. Is there room in
your dream to address the great Open Space that is created by the Creator
and free for all? And to acknowledge that OST is a window into what is? My
perspective, as one who works with OST a lot, in accordance with my
perspective of it, is one of humility of recognizing it as a “tool” to help
us work with a much greater gift of the Creator. And to take care that I
acknowledge other equally helpful tools to do the same.

Since my initial work with OST more than a decade ago, I have had very
little interest in the meeting itself. There are highs and lows, there is
usually great feeling of success at some point during the meeting by all
involved, and the comments in most closing circles are enough to bring tears
of joy to the eyes of participants and facilitators alike. That is all good,
I am sure. I just simply have little interest in it. What I have great great
interest in is what happens as a RESULT of the meeting, during the next week
and the next months. I have found that there is a relationship to that and
to the level of preparedness of the “sponsor” that the OST meeting will
actually produce results and that the results of the meeting may require a
lot of changes to take place. Sponsors and participants who are not
prepared, usually do not follow up from the meeting, often end up in states
of shock, betrayal, anger, withdrawal, and there are repercussions that have
happened including disciplinary action for what took place during the OST
meeting, people quitting their jobs, or increased levels of dissatisfaction
in the organization due to unmet expectations. There are almost never, to my
knowledge, unmet feelings of expectation about the meeting itself, but there
are quite often such feelings about the follow up, when the preparatory work
is not done well. In my experience, when the preparatory work is done well,
there is quite often as much as 100% follow up from the meeting in terms of
action with results.

There is a research paper that has concluded that the results from an OST
meeting over the longer term are not high. I think that this research could
be redone by dividing OST meetings that have a good prework process and
those that do not.

If you should choose to focus on what really happens as a result of OST, I
would be pleased to participate, to connect you with clients who
participated in meetings a few years ago, to tell their stories of what
happened as a result of even a single meeting.

My primary work with OST has been the development of the Open Space
Organization. Over the past decade we have learned a lot about the conscious
Open Space Organization. I begin with the premise that every organization is
an Open Space Organization and is in-spired. This is the opposite end of the
spectrum of what I learned from Harrison in which he taught that
organizations went from reactive to responsive to proactive to interactive
and then to inspired. He taught that using OST brought Spirit in. I teach
that Spirit is always, always present and that the task at hand is simply to
clear away the clutter to work with what is present. Using OST is an
incredible window/tool to assist with this clearing and
awareness/consciousness development, to the extent that the organization
chooses to do so. If there is room in your video for this perspective, I
will be happy to make arrangements for you to participate in at least one
such organization and to hear the stories. We did a video last year in which
three organizations gave generously of their time to get their stories on
tape, but unfortunately, there were technical difficulties with the sound
and the sound would have required too too much editing (more than I chose to
pay for) to get the few clear pieces. I can pass that on to you and you
might find some useful clips if you like. I cannot commit to all three again
being willing, but I know one may be---because it does take a commitment of
time/energy from the organization to participate.

The primary location would be in southern Ontario, Canada in the Niagara
area. I can arrange no-cost to you food and accommodation with friends
there. I am located in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA and would welcome you
here if you wish. I am willing to make a financial contribution once I know
a little more about what you intend your story line to be.

Best wishes,
Birgitt Williams



-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]On Behalf Of David Smith
Sent: Monday, January 06, 2003 10:02 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: A Bold Idea...

Dear Open Space Community
Since videoing the OSonOSinOZ last November I have evolved a bold idea
which, with encouragement from many people, I now have the confidence to
present to you.

My Plan
I would like to make a round-the-world film trip, videoing the wide
diversity of ways in which Open Space is used around the planet. This will
result in several ‘products’:

1. a video or videos designed to be useful to OS practitioners in
illustrating how OS works in practice in diverse situations (this may also
form the basis of an interactive CD-ROM)

2. a television documentary or series to be sold to networks/cable TV in
regions around the world

Why do this?
I believe Open Space, a modern incarnation of an ancient process, is
intriguing and important, at many levels.
I believe many people who could benefit from OS have never heard of it.
I now understand OS is being used in a very wide range of situations around
the planet, from small focused groups right through to very large
corporations.
I believe the full potential of OS has yet to be realised.
I believe my videos may help.
I believe this would be a fantastic resource for OS itself, plus a
fascinating glimpse of a positive organisation in action.

How will I fund this?
The major production costs will include air and surface travel,
accommodation and post-production. I have my own camera and digital edit
suite, so most post-production costs will be for my time. Colour grading and
online editing using high-end equipment may be necessary for broadcast and
this will be a significant cost, depending on how many program/s are to be
produced.

I will shortly apply for a Churchill fellowship which would certainly help
defray the travel costs. The deadline for submission is Feb 28 and they need
a detailed itinerary as part of the application, which is why I need to move
fast.

I will also seek funds from the Royal Society for the Arts, of which I am a
Fellow. Obviously neither of these funding sources is guaranteed,
therefore...

What I need
I need two things:

1. an indication from people that they would like themselves and their work
included. Obviously I can't go 'everywhere', but in typical OS fashion, this
list will distill down to become my itinerary.

2. a commitment of some funds from any who care to - and are in a position
to - contribute.

For example, if 100 people contributed US$200 each, this would pretty much
guarantee success. This investment should be seen as an investment in OS
itself, and I guarantee to produce a professional-quality video for your own
use.

(I mentioned this as a possible strategy to Fr Brian Bainbridge in Melbourne
and to Peggy Holman in Seattle. Peggy recommended it Anne Stadler in Seattle
and – to my astonishment and delight - each responded immediately with a
commitment of US$200 each to get things rolling!  They also, along with
Michael Pannwitz in Berlin, committed assistance with some travel and
accommodation in their respective cities. What an amazing group of people!)

Why me?
Obviously I won’t clog up OSLIST with a CV etc, but if anyone would like
more information about my credentials as a film maker I would be happy to
supply them to you individually.

In essence I have worked hard over the years to develop a filming style that
allows me to work alone, with no other crew, no big lighting rigs, no
rehearsals, no “take two”s, just good ole cinema verite style doco-making.
You will be able to sample my wares when the CD-ROM of OSonOSinOZ is
released (very soon now...).

I established my company, imaginACTION, in 1988 as a company devoted to
taking imaginative ideas and making them happen.


I look forward very much to hearing from those of you who may be in a
position to help the Bold Idea happen.

Best regards, and special thanks to those who have offered support so far!

David
Dr David Smith
BSc(Hons) PhD FRSA
Director, imaginACTION pty ltd
bringing ideas to life... & life to ideas

t / f +613 9857 8688
m 0411 444 048
imaginac at bigpond.net.au <mailto:imaginac at bigpond.net.au>
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