Reprise: halfway measures

Harrison Owen hhowen at comcast.net
Thu Sep 16 15:30:13 PDT 2004


Lurkers are great -- here on the LIST and in OS. I think of it as pure
potential. Something waiting to happen. And ordinarily it does. But rarely
matching the expectations of the organizers. But they should have been
warned: Be Prepared to be surprised! As for translations back to the work
place -- No doubt there are often disconnects. But I find it worth while to
ask: What is disconnected from what? Presumption might be that OS is a
"dream" and work is "reality." Then again, it might just be the other way
around, in which case "work" would definitely be a bad dream -- maybe even
nightmare. I have no hard data on all this -- but I have received a whole
mess of phone calls the "day after" -- which basically said, "I don't really
know what happened in the OS, but I do know that I was connected, focused,
productive, and creative. It felt really good! I also know that I never felt
that way at "work" -- or at least I can't remember when. Maybe I need a
change?"

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



-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Aart
Groothuis
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 7:06 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Reprise: halfway measures

Doug,

You raise an interesting question for which I don't have ready answers.
But your question plays into a space that is occupying my mind at the
moment.  I have organised some thirty Open Spaces (all for the corporate
world) in the last 14 months and I am always struck by the way that
people come together in the discussion groups.  As I keep space open I
butterfly and sense how the groups are going.  And again I am always
struck by the comfortable intensity of those discussions.  And yes there
are always people sitting back in those groups.  Perhaps they are the
ones who are wondering how all of this will translate back to work.  And
that is also the space that occupies my mind.

In another life I conducted morale and satisfaction surveys and the
principle that was always expressed to the client who was commissioning
the work was that the very fact that the survey was being conducted
would increase the expectation for change and if that change didn't
occur, in a way the situation would potentially go backwards.

I wonder whether the same applies to OS in the organisational
environment.  Certainly I have had clients report to me later that the
group has found it hard to maintain the level of open and constructive
conversation that was achieved in space.  And sometimes there is the
comment that 'we're not sure what to do next with the results of our
discussions'.

So for me there are three challenges in this process.  First there is
the challenge to find and engage the client.  Not so hard but not that
easy either.  The recent thread on 'who we would work for' resonated to
an extent.  When working with a prospect my concern is whether the group
or organisation can 'cope' with the downstream turbulence of open space.
The second challenge is conducting open space well.  To an extent that
is becoming less of a challenge although I have much to learn.  And
finally there is the challenge of managing the downstream turmoil that
open space inevitably creates.  As a 20 year+ consultant it's very easy
to go into that mode which, in the main, is counterproductive.  On the
other hand clients often ask for guidance as to what they might do or
how they might act.

I can't help noting that conversational quality is central to all three
challenges.

I am working hard on this third challenge and am looking forward to
raising it at the 'coffee break' at Goa next week.

Aart Groothuis
dialogue architect and open space facilitator
telling the story

PO Box 3266 | Manuka ACT 2603 | AUSTRALIA
m: 0419 42 68 80 | f: 02 6291-1348
i: aart.groothuis at tellingthestory.net | www.tellingthestory.net
. . . working with teams to regain focus and momentum . . .


-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
Douglas D. Germann, Sr.
Sent: Wednesday, 15 September 2004 01:12
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Reprise: halfway measures


Hi--

A few conversations ago, Harrison raised the question of whether history
will eventually record that OST was a halfway measure on the road to
something more open, more inclusive, better for humanity.

Might the question be What do we do once we are in OST?

We need to evolve better ways to meet each other. How do we encourage
meeting cor ad cor, good heart and good mind to good heart and good
mind? How do we go about increasing contact and conflict, without
causing a severing? How do we grow together, even though we have rough
edges? How do we learn to deal with discord in a way that produces
symphony? And do all this consciously?

But how do we get there? I think we can learn some techniques to help
us. Nonviolent communication, Fran Peavey's techniques. The methods for
bringing people together are simply that. Once we are together, how do
we use that togetherness to foster togetherness? An understanding, such
as Michael Herman's is useful, too.

Throwing the people together, like we do in OST is good and useful, but
it does not tell us what to do once we are together.

That is, perhaps, the halfway place where OST stops. It leads people to
the cliff but does not show them how to get down or up from there. It
leads people to water, but does not tell them how to drink or which
water is safe to drink.

Some will do a check in around their little group, some will do a
speech, some will interview the people who came. Some will tell stories.
All useful strategies. But do we know when one works and another
doesn't? Or are we going on guess work? We need to be thinking some of
these things through, so that we can help grow us together.

What contributes, what does not contribute so much? How do we find out
if we fit together, and how do we know when to encourage each other to
leave when the fit here is not so good or not yet right? How do we know
such things so we can recognize it faster? What experiments of ways of
throwing people together (that is, choosing whom to invite) are apt to
help the evolution along faster, or better?

What are the ways out there that you have seen people use to bring the
breakout groups together? What brings the group together, what doesn't,
what has the best long-term effects?

                              :-Doug. Germann
                              Seeking people making community change.

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>From  Thu Sep 16 18:33:47 2004
Message-Id: <THU.16.SEP.2004.183347.0400.>
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 18:33:47 -0400
Reply-To: pculhane at magma.ca
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Phil Culhane <pculhane at magma.ca>
Subject: Re: Reprise: halfway measures
In-Reply-To: <000001c49c3c$bc5def20$6401a8c0 at harrison>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Amen to that, Harrison. I get the same feedback very often.

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Harrison
Owen
Sent: September 16, 2004 6:30 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Reprise: halfway measures


Lurkers are great -- here on the LIST and in OS. I think of it as pure
potential. Something waiting to happen. And ordinarily it does. But rarely
matching the expectations of the organizers. But they should have been
warned: Be Prepared to be surprised! As for translations back to the work
place -- No doubt there are often disconnects. But I find it worth while to
ask: What is disconnected from what? Presumption might be that OS is a
"dream" and work is "reality." Then again, it might just be the other way
around, in which case "work" would definitely be a bad dream -- maybe even
nightmare. I have no hard data on all this -- but I have received a whole
mess of phone calls the "day after" -- which basically said, "I don't really
know what happened in the OS, but I do know that I was connected, focused,
productive, and creative. It felt really good! I also know that I never felt
that way at "work" -- or at least I can't remember when. Maybe I need a
change?"

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



-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Aart
Groothuis
Sent: Tuesday, September 14, 2004 7:06 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Reprise: halfway measures

Doug,

You raise an interesting question for which I don't have ready answers. But
your question plays into a space that is occupying my mind at the moment.  I
have organised some thirty Open Spaces (all for the corporate
world) in the last 14 months and I am always struck by the way that people
come together in the discussion groups.  As I keep space open I butterfly
and sense how the groups are going.  And again I am always struck by the
comfortable intensity of those discussions.  And yes there are always people
sitting back in those groups.  Perhaps they are the ones who are wondering
how all of this will translate back to work.  And that is also the space
that occupies my mind.

In another life I conducted morale and satisfaction surveys and the
principle that was always expressed to the client who was commissioning the
work was that the very fact that the survey was being conducted would
increase the expectation for change and if that change didn't occur, in a
way the situation would potentially go backwards.

I wonder whether the same applies to OS in the organisational environment.
Certainly I have had clients report to me later that the group has found it
hard to maintain the level of open and constructive conversation that was
achieved in space.  And sometimes there is the comment that 'we're not sure
what to do next with the results of our discussions'.

So for me there are three challenges in this process.  First there is the
challenge to find and engage the client.  Not so hard but not that easy
either.  The recent thread on 'who we would work for' resonated to an
extent.  When working with a prospect my concern is whether the group or
organisation can 'cope' with the downstream turbulence of open space. The
second challenge is conducting open space well.  To an extent that is
becoming less of a challenge although I have much to learn.  And finally
there is the challenge of managing the downstream turmoil that open space
inevitably creates.  As a 20 year+ consultant it's very easy to go into that
mode which, in the main, is counterproductive.  On the other hand clients
often ask for guidance as to what they might do or how they might act.

I can't help noting that conversational quality is central to all three
challenges.

I am working hard on this third challenge and am looking forward to raising
it at the 'coffee break' at Goa next week.

Aart Groothuis
dialogue architect and open space facilitator
telling the story

PO Box 3266 | Manuka ACT 2603 | AUSTRALIA
m: 0419 42 68 80 | f: 02 6291-1348
i: aart.groothuis at tellingthestory.net | www.tellingthestory.net . . .
working with teams to regain focus and momentum . . .


-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Douglas D.
Germann, Sr.
Sent: Wednesday, 15 September 2004 01:12
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Reprise: halfway measures


Hi--

A few conversations ago, Harrison raised the question of whether history
will eventually record that OST was a halfway measure on the road to
something more open, more inclusive, better for humanity.

Might the question be What do we do once we are in OST?

We need to evolve better ways to meet each other. How do we encourage
meeting cor ad cor, good heart and good mind to good heart and good mind?
How do we go about increasing contact and conflict, without causing a
severing? How do we grow together, even though we have rough edges? How do
we learn to deal with discord in a way that produces symphony? And do all
this consciously?

But how do we get there? I think we can learn some techniques to help us.
Nonviolent communication, Fran Peavey's techniques. The methods for bringing
people together are simply that. Once we are together, how do we use that
togetherness to foster togetherness? An understanding, such as Michael
Herman's is useful, too.

Throwing the people together, like we do in OST is good and useful, but it
does not tell us what to do once we are together.

That is, perhaps, the halfway place where OST stops. It leads people to the
cliff but does not show them how to get down or up from there. It leads
people to water, but does not tell them how to drink or which water is safe
to drink.

Some will do a check in around their little group, some will do a speech,
some will interview the people who came. Some will tell stories. All useful
strategies. But do we know when one works and another doesn't? Or are we
going on guess work? We need to be thinking some of these things through, so
that we can help grow us together.

What contributes, what does not contribute so much? How do we find out if we
fit together, and how do we know when to encourage each other to leave when
the fit here is not so good or not yet right? How do we know such things so
we can recognize it faster? What experiments of ways of throwing people
together (that is, choosing whom to invite) are apt to help the evolution
along faster, or better?

What are the ways out there that you have seen people use to bring the
breakout groups together? What brings the group together, what doesn't, what
has the best long-term effects?

                              :-Doug. Germann
                              Seeking people making community change.

*
*
==========================================================
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------------------------------
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http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

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==========================================================
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------------------------------
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http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html

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http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

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------------------------------
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