outcomes

[Chris Corrigan]

Hi Chris:

I'll take a different tack on this question.  I would start by asking my
inquisitor to explain himself a little more clearly, like for example,
give me an example of ANY process that has led directly from A to B to C
to the outcomes he describes.

After I know what he means by "outcomes" I can help him understand what
Open Space does.  Your cynic doesn't appear to want an answer.

When confronted with sponsors about "results" we can expect from Open
Space I am careful to point out that "results" will arise if the
invitation and the event is supported appropriately and well by the
sponsor.  Passion and responsibility.  The sponsor can WANT an OST
meeting, but not taking responsibility for supporting follow-up will
impede on the results.  We cannot not expect everyone else to take
responsibility, and not support their agency and still expect great
things.  OST is both an event and a shift in being.  In many examples
where great things have happened in OST meetings, I would be maybe even
wary to say that the process itself led to the good result.  In fact
what led to the good result was that people were able to connect more
deeply and work together better and so some quality arose in their
relationship or partnership that resulted in that wing getting made, the
sewage treatment plant getting situated, or the pavilion getting built.
The deeper connections foster and nurture the outcomes.  The process has
the potential to initiate this transformation in relationships,
leadership, management and community to facilitate "good outcomes."

I have been thinking a lot about this type of cynical question lately,
questions posed by those who want "results" and don't trust that OST
will lead to results.  I have been increasingly seeing this kind of
question as an opportunity to deconstruct the notions of "results" and
"control" and to suggest that value comes from loosening up our
expectations of processes and each other.  The image of the hand holding
the coin palm up as a way of embodying "letting go" and "holding" comes
to mind.

No process I know will answer your cynic's question satisfactorily once
the premises of the question are understood.

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
chris
> macrae
> Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 12:47 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: outcomes
>
> I was asked by a cynic what's the greatest outcome an Open Space has
> directly led to ... I wouldn't mind having some verbatims the next
time
> I come across one of those of his ilk
> Sincerely, Chris Macrae
>
> In fact this how he worded his question:
> " Can anyone point me to Open Space projects where something positive
> happened, a factory or plant got safer, a school got saved, a city got
> out of blight or decay, a community was brought back to life?...i
would
> like to see examples of how this process goes in actions from A to Z."
>
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