MG Taylor and DesignShop Events - a step on the OS continuum or something completely different?

Mon Nov 15 12:53:07 PST 2004

I have never actually gone through a session, but I knew them (Matt et al)
reasonably well some long time ago(20 years maybe). So my information and
impressions could well be totally out of date. At the time I didn't see
anything that was going on that a comparable group in Open space couldn't do
just as well at significantly less cost. It ain't cheap -- but then again in
the corporate market if you don't charge an outrageous price some presume
you are getting nothing. The knowledge workers (then and presumably now)
were there to do just what you say -- but in any technically oriented Open
space where folks had the need of particular information I have never seen
any hesitance on the part of participants to pick up the phone, hit a handy
database, or send an email. From where I sit, that is all part of the taking
responsibility business. So yes it looks gorgeous and I am sure colors etc
stimulate creative thinking -- but I have also seen some OS's that were past
wild in that department. Bottom line? I have no question that some good
things happen in a DesignShop but I just found a surfeit of extras that
didn't seem to add much. More to the point I think they may well have
detracted from what I take to be the core gift received by the individual in
Open Space -- a sense of my personal power and responsibility. In terms of
the immediate product, I am sure they deliver quite well, but I doubt
anybody would ever think about working towards a "Designshop Organization".
By the same token, I am not sure that many would find the DesignShop
Principles being useful in every day living, as some of our more
enthusiastic Spac-niks (myself included) seem to.

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20845
Phone 301-365-2093

Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Phil
Culhane
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 3:07 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: MG Taylor and DesignShop Events - a step on the OS continuum or
something completely different?

Hi Harrison, and thank you for the note.

Have you been through a session or more with Mat and Gale? I'm curious about
the
environment and the role of the knowledge workers. A bright, colourful
environment filled
with colourful toys and relevant literature, walls covered with recent
useful
information, "radiant walls" that are like reverse-post-it notes (already
lightly sticky
so the paper doesn't have to be) seem as though they would enhance the OS
experience.
Now, whether they would add 5% to the experience or 50%, less or more, would
be an
interesting question, but additional useful information available would seem
to open
space?

Additionally, if the knowledge workers were there primarily as information
sources
(someone to look up the necessary bylaw to ascertain whether a project can
go ahead on
designated wetlands, for instance), it would seem that they would enable
more people to
be virtually in the room - obviously not the people who had the passion to
be there, but
perhaps subject matter experts who can provide critical information to
direct the flow of
action planning. If the KreW (as they call them) were intermediaries,
facilitators of
knowledge flow into the room and questions out of the room, it would seem
that that would
further "open" the space.

Perhaps there are some really good ideas in DesignShops, and MG & Co. just
went down the
wrong alley? Is there nothing there worth saving? No way that OS can be
informed by DS
events?

Glad to know you've looked into them - hopefully you've been to one or
several and know
the benefits/fatal flaws. I'd be very curious to hear more.

Kind regards,
Phil

On Nov 15, Harrison Owen <hhowen at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> Been there -- done that. Unless Mat and Gale have re-designed the Design
> Process, it is about as open as a clam. Great folks, interesting ideas,
but
> emergent organization it ain't. Also used to be real hi-techie with all
> sorts of bells and whistles run from a "Control Room". Get the picture?
>
> Harrison
>
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Drive
> Potomac, Maryland   20845
> Phone 301-365-2093
>
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
> Personal website <a
href='http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm'>http://mywebpages.comc
ast.net/hhowen
/index.htm</a>
> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit:
> <a
href='http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html'>http://listserv.b
oisestate.edu/
archives/oslist.html</a>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Phil
> Culhane
> Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 12:41 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: MG Taylor and DesignShop Events - a step on the OS continuum or
> something completely different?
>
> Greetings - are any list members aware of the DesignShop process developed
> by MG Taylor
> Corp? From the reading I've done, in some ways they look like OST gone to
> graduate
> school, in other ways they look like something that's just completely
> different.
>
> Anyone been there, done that?
>
> Thanks for any thoughts you care to offer.
>
> Phil Culhane
>
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>From  Mon Nov 15 19:47:19 2004
Message-Id: <MON.15.NOV.2004.194719.0800.>
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 19:47:19 -0800
Reply-To: chris at chriscorrigan.com
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Chris Corrigan <chris.corrigan at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: newbie delurking
In-Reply-To: <4198B74F.2050806 at sympatico.ca>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
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Hey...welcome to the list!

You have a lot of skilled practitioners of OST who know a lot about
spirituality right in your own neighbourhood there in the Golden
Horseshoe (the area around the Western end of Lake Ontario, for those
outside the region!).  Perhaps they too will delurk and you can meet
somewhere...the ones I know like to eat!

Of course, Harrison and Father Brian Bainbridge know a thing or two
about spirituality and OST, as do many others on the list.  Harrison's
books would give you some good starting points.

As for getting the posts in digest form, the links at the bottom of
this email will take you to a settings page where you can customize to
your heart's content.

Welcome again!

Chris

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 09:03:59 -0500, david mckay <dwmckay at sympatico.ca> wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I have had an on-off interest in Open Space ever since I attended a
> religious conference which used OS to structure some of the time. I'm
> attending a local networking event for trainers in a week and someone
> there will be talking OS but I don't believe they will be doing OS.
>
> My knowledge of OS is just what I've pulled off from the WWW and my one
> experience in that religious based OS event which is now 5 years old.
>
> I live in Canada (Oshawa Ontario more specifically). I'm especially
> interested in folk's perception of OS and spirituality. How they mesh
> and may work together.
>
> I also have a question about list mechanics -- is it possible to adjust
> my settings to daily digest?
>
> I'll return to lurking now.
>
> --
> David William McKay
>
> My mother told me, she said, "Elwood, to make it in this world you either have to be oh, so clever or oh, so pleasant." Well, for years I was clever; I recommend pleasant.
>
> -- Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) in the film Harvey (1950)
>
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>

--
-------------------------
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot
Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com

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