Pro bono work

Sun Aug 15 02:48:38 PDT 2004

Thank you for initiating and building this  pro bono thread, friends

much good stuff already - thank you for your story Michael - very
inspiring.

I have done pro bono work for a long time - here are a few learnings
that I can offer, many are similar to what others have already shared.

- I LISTEN TO THE AUTHENTICITY AND REAL NEED OF THE INVITATION - if it
feels good i go on the exploration with the person who "calls" me - or
say no up front!

- por bono work deserves to be honored as much as "money paid" work -
it is a matter of giving, honor and respect
- If I say yes to it I give it my best - there is no "left hand" job
for me...

- it is pro bono or sometime I call it sponsored work
- and I let the client know how much it would have cost so they know
and can appreciate what I offer / sponsor
- it hightens the respect and co creation space that must be established

- I do not call it free work any longer because that is not true -
everything in life has a price - we just pay it differently

- it is the Art of the larger economical equilibrium over time - and
with a long view for our small company / family
- a wonderful and challenging dance that keep us on our toes to be in
this work as servants of the common good

- everyone who participates / benefits must contribute something - the
best they can at this moment in time: much money, little money, food,
services, time, materials, etc

- We practise and invite others to practise the principle:
IF YOU CANNOT PAY THE FULL PRICE - OFFER WHAT YOU CAN AND A LITTLE BIT
MORE - FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR EFFORT!

  - on a deeper level it may be about opening the natural system of
giving and receiving inate everywhere

- I offer my work consciously and from the heart for purposes that has
meaning for me/ us to further - money or other payment no matter - in
most cases my expences are being paid -  always in Europe and North
America

- Sometimes I speak this to my clients:
- I do not work for money - but need to be paid somewhere for my bread
and butter - and I am not afraid to be paid well where ever that is
natural and possible
- money is energy - a means not a goal for me
-I say I have "Robin Hood prices" - I can offer to sponsor my work for
you it is because others pay me well - I sometimes tell them who

- I offer Pro bone / sponsored work in Zimbabwe - eastern europe - poor
new younger networks, friends and family - but only once the same
solution - next time some more value must flow between us...

AND these questions surfaced for me in writing this....

What is the connectedness between pro bone work and servant leadership ?

What happens to my perception of money and payment when my work has
become my life ?

  What will I charge when I have enough for my bread and butter ?

Whom do I serve ?

*******    a morning stroke:

giving as a flow
receiving as I go
trusting - I grow!

- toke

Den 11/8-2004, kl. 10.36, skrev Pannwitz, Michael M:

> Dear Phil,
> thanks for your questions re pro bono and what we charge for
> facilitation.
> My own approach is similar to that of Lisa's.
> There is one pitfall that I think is pretty well addressed using
> Lisa's approach.
> When I am really enamoured with a particular issue or organisation I
> start getting involved along the line of "attached to content" (which
> is a little different from "attached to outcome").
> That kind of "attachment" can and has led to cutting corners or
> agreeing quickly to compromises (you dont have markers, dont worry, I
> have lots of those in my basement supply stash) or "working harder
> than I have to", or working harder than the "client/customer/sponsor"
> or not allowing the "system" to selforganise its ressources.
> Being aware of that pitfall has opened amazing ressources in systems
> to a degree that everyone was perplexed.
> My most recent experience was the Self-Organized Open Space Training
> (also been called the SOS-Training).
> During the first Open Space on Open Space for practitioners living
> and working in Berlin one issue was Training.
> As it turned out, about a dozen people were intensely interested
> getting trained (have a weeklong, regular Open Space Technology
> Training).
> As they were calculating the cost and were told by us that the
> "standard" fee we ask for a weeklong training is 15.000 Euros (2
> people) they quickly discovered that they could not afford the
> resulting fee.
> We then told them if they were to organize the training (invitation,
> recruiting, space, equippment, material, catering, etc.) we would not
> charge anything.
> Well, in about 6 months they had gotten 59 participants, set up a
> sliding fee structure (this is what we need minimum, 390 Euros, this
> is what it would really cost, 890 Euros, you pay what you can afford,
> if you cant afford the 390, talk to us and we will find a way...that
> eventually evolved into a system of rainchecks on a miriad of
> interesting service, like a weekend in someones appartment in his
> hometown in the blackforest, editing of text, being a helper at an
> event, etc.), found space, arranged the catering, got the equippment
> and material, etc.
> They eventually had an average far beyond the 390 per participant and
> when we turned down their offer, created an Open Space Foundation
> using their "profit" as a start.
> Here are the benefits that we did not observe in other trainings we
> had been associated in:
> 1. The Planning and Organizing Group of about 12 people had an
> experience of an "InterActive Organization" that created not only
> first class results but also community and follow up projects
> 2. The participants selforganized much more quickly (after a while
> they pretty much ignored the "Trainers") and a number of  subgroups
> organized themselves during the training for various projects in
> which they are now collaborating
> 3. Jo and I as trainers had a great time with a group of participants
> pretty different from those we had experienced in previous events:
> VERY high Learning, VERY high fun (they installed a group that spend
> half an hour at a time simply laughing: Hilarious) and we had to work
> less, far less than in previous trainings
> 4. We learned a lot about how we would approach future trainings (I
> suggested that a training scheduled for September be cancelled
> because very little of what is described above was present)
> 5. An unusually large numer of people from backgrounds and into
> things where money is an endemic problem got trained ... openeing up
> all kinds of new venues.
> ......
> This is just one of a number of "pro bono" events I have been
> involved in.
>
> Re the charge for facilitation...got to run but would like to keep
> that string to continue.
> greetings from Berlin
> mmp
>
>
>
>
> Michael M Pannwitz
> boscop
> Draisweg 1
> 12209 Berlin, Germany
> FON +49 - 30-772 8000     FAX +49 - 30-773 92 464
> www.michaelmpannwitz.de
>
> 123 Berliner open space-Veranstaltungen von 12 BegleiterInnen in 16
> verschiedenen Bereichen:
> www.openspace-landschaft.de
>
> An der 153-köpfigen E-Gruppe "openspacedeutsch" interessiert? Enfach
> eine mail an mich.
>
> *
> *
> ==========================================================
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> ------------------------------
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
> view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
>
> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
>
>
*******
Toke Paludan Møller, InterChange Aps
INDIVIDUAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
THROUGH HOSTING MEANINGFUL CONVERSATIONS
Phone +45 702013 35  - Mobile  +45 2616 6919
http://www.interchange.dk
Stengaardsvej 5 A,   8600 Silkeborg, Denmark

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist