SV: is it still open?

[Thomas Herrmann]

Dear friends
Thanks all of you for sharing in this rich thread.
As some of you know I work with OST in "the Genuine Contact way".
Before every OST-event I always facilitate a four hour pre-meeting with the
sponsoring group, mostly including other key people such as employee
representatives (Union). The purpose of this meeting is to create the best
possible condition for the planned activity to be successful. Usually we are
already on the road to OST but on occasions the road has led elsewhere.
I use a circle and do not use any tables for these meetings.

The meetings typically include:
Transfer in, hopes and fears for this day, brief info about OST (if needed),
what happened before, how´s it going now and expectations for after the
activity, working out a theme and givens, follow-up activities,
practicalities.

The concept of "givens" is important to me, although I use different words
in Swedish. To me the givens "specify" the space that is being opened. Of
course it differs quite a bit depending on circumstances but especially when
working in companies I find it of great importance. Mainly as has been
pointed out, to free everyone from assumptions about "givens" that may not
be.

The first reaction is often that "we don´t want to build any boundaries - we
want the space to be fully open". Well, that´s fine as long as this is
really the case. I find though, that the sponsor is not prepared to open up
everything. Usually there are some boundaries such as strategic, budget and
so on. Another could be that leadership is prepared to look at whatever may
arise outside these givens, but there is no guarantee that it can be moved
forward at this point. I usually say that it´s vital that the space being
opened is "honest" from the sponsors point of view.

I often exemplify how difficult this is by telling a story about a ship that
is being built right now here in west Sweden - a copy of the east indiaman
"Götheborg" that sunk just outside the harbour of Gothenburg in 1745. Some
funny people got this crazy idea more that a decade ago and now its almost
built! Would this have been an OST about how to make Gothenburg more known
to the world, this just might have been outside the givens! If there is
passion, wonders can happen. Have a look at www.soic.se if you are curious
and want to know more about the story.

Another thought that has been with me for a while. We often compare
phenomenons, concepts, projects or methods and judge them as if they are
static. I find that the big thing mostly is HOW the work is being done. I
think that goes for the "givens" as well.
Warmest regards
Thomas
> -----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
> Från: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]För Chris Weaver
> Skickat: den 9 april 2004 17:02
> Till: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Ämne: Re: is it still open?
>
>
> larry,
>
> thanks for this description.  over time, there is a lot of
> subtlety in how an
> organization honors, relies on, tethers to certain givens, while
> transcending
> others.  it also seems to me that the use of language about givens does
> something deeper than defining specific parameters for an OST meeting - it
> provides common language and a conceptual framework.  in the
> organization where
> i now work, the word "given" is used as a way of talking about
> current reality
> for meetings & gatherings large & small.  interestingly, we never
> start with
> them - we do a transfer-in exercise first, in order to start wide open and
> invite the whole in. then we briefly establish the givens as the
> container in
> which the specific work is to be done.
>
> chris
>
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