True Open Space....no givens!

Fri Nov 19 14:55:26 PST 2004

Hi Viv and Everyone,
I'm a newbie at OS.  My first taste of OS was in India this September, first
at a conference in Panchagani and then at the OSonOS in Goa and some others
thereafter..  Have been reading with eyes peeled,  digesting all the info on
the List - and its a series of WOW factors for me everytime.

Reading Viv's approach made with smile (jump) with joy because it is right
up my alley - that is, truly living an Open Space life.  I spent two months
in India, traveling a great deal from Goa to Gangotri (in the Himalyas) and
honestly it was all 'open space living'.  No grand plans, agendas,
itineraries just doing what was (or felt) right at the right time and
getting results!.  For me the idea of Open Space is way above and beyond the
needs for only organizational development.  It is a dynamic way to LIVE.
Imagine if we could and would, take responsibilty for all our passions and
walk the talk of the 'law of two feet' and encourage, teach, help, empower
others to do the same - whether in organizations or not!   Perhaps I'm
preaching to the converted - most OS practitioners do perhaps share this
view !

I love the way Viv, you open space with your clients in the true sense of
the word 'open'.  Why talk about Open Space in a way that may close it
(albeit in a subtle way) by drawing boundaries, and 'givens' and to do's
etc....  I have been wondering how I would approach a client with Open Space
without having to 'box' it and still make this concept credible and
feasible.  I've gotten some idea on how you have done it but I would love to
hear more on how you 'sold' this idea (without explaining what OS is) to
academics for them to invest their time and energy in this forum.  As well
how long, in terms of days was this get-together.  Can you give us more
details, Viv, please.

Another questions for all you OS pros out there.
How would you introduce the idea and the power of OS to this situation:  a
department of about 100people, headed by an individual who is liked but not
truly trusted (too much history of political wranglings) and respect going
south, strong 'business culture' issues (north american and asian) years of
great success (sales) now facing tough competition, low morale, staff
turnover ~ 30%.  History indicates main issue here is leadership.

If they do accept the idea of an OS forum to address these issues, how would
you deal with:
1.  participants who want to address leadership issues - remember fingers
may point to the top guy? Would you encourage a total opening of space and
let it all come out or would you try to contain it for the sake of
sensitivity and avoiding potential conflict?
2. If issues of negative leadership is very likely to emerge (if the space
is truly kept open) would you advise the top guy to be a participant or be
absent from the proceedings?

I have many more questions on AI and OS (next time) but for now if I can
have the benefit of your combined wisdom and decades of experience  - that
would be great.....
Thanks

Anu Parmar
SCA Strategies Inc
Toronto, Canada
(905) 457 8623
anuparmar at scastrategies.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Viv McWaters" <viv at thereef.com.au>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 11:38 PM
Subject: [SPAM] Re: Givens -- Again

> Hi all
>
> The other day I opened space and broke most of the rules - I didn't
> tell my client I was going to use open space, there was no mention of
> open space in the pre-workshop material that went out to participants
> and I didn't even mention open space technology when opening space.
> There was no discussion about givens (by me anyway). This was a bunch
> of academics (about 60 people) who had been thrown together from
> various institutes and campuses under a new umbrella, without any
> consultation (of course) and with an ongoing process to appoint a new
> head of school. They sat in a circle, we had a theme, some times and
> spaces, no stickies, the principles and the law, and reporting sheets.
> The convergence session used Chris's non-convergence convergence
> (thanks Chris!) around the theme of implementing their ideas. About
> seven action teams emerged with a range of projects and they were
> stunned at how well the whole event met their needs, blah blah blah -
> you know the rest.
>
> And here's why I did this. It was a bit of an experiment. I've always
> been bemused why the process of Open Space is discussed so much with
> clients (sponsors) when it's the outcomes they're looking for and they
> usually don't care too much about the process (as long as it's legal,
> ethical and safe :-) In situations where I can't or it's not
> appropriate to use OS, I rarely discuss or divulge anything about
> process - mainly because I tend to improvise anyway, and I usually
> don't know until I get in the room what processes I'll use! One
> memorable event I planned meticulously all the way on the two-hour
> flight, to get in the room and decide at the last minute to do a mini
> (three hour) open space.
>
> So to add to Harrison's missive (or is it mis-givings?) about givens, i
> haven't talked about givens with a group for years - and I think I'll
> even experiment a bit more about not telling them anything at all about
> OS. Just a few Friday afternoon thoughts from a sunny, but showery, and
> windy, Bells Beach.
>
> Cheers
>
> Viv
>
>
> ***************************
> Viv McWaters
> Beyond the Edge Pty Ltd
> PO Box 665 Torquay 3228
> Australia
> (03) 5261 9498
> 0417 135 406
>
> "Thus the task is not so much to see what no one yet has seen, but to
> think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees. "
> Schopenhauer
>
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