FW: contracts/letters of agreement etc

Larry Peterson larry at spiritedorg.com
Tue Feb 22 13:02:26 PST 2005


I just sent this to John, when I meant the whole list.  So here it is.

Larry



John:

I do spell out my "contract" with every client, usually in a letter of
agreement if it is not a formal response to a Request for
Proposal/Resource.  Some clients have their own contract forms.  Even
so, I still usually send a letter that includes my understanding of
their situation that sets the context for my involvement, the planning
they have done to date and the outcomes they seem to be seeking, my
assumptions about what is required, the approach I propose (or to which
we have agreed in initial conversation) and the planning process for
moving forward.

I usually include a statement of the planning framework that is on my
web site under Preparing for Open Space in the initial statement of what
I think is required.  Although, in some cases that is too much for a
given sponsor.

You can also see on that site in the same section an initial list of
logistics needs for an OS event.   I usually make it more inclusive of
the whole event (if it is not all in Open Space) and have two or three
columns to state "who" will be providing "what".  For example, some
sponsors do all the signs and grids and with others I bring them.
Usually the sponsor brings the computers if they are used.  In the
recent 14 Open Space events in 2.5 weeks we had a logistics company who
worked for the client.  We tried hard to help them understand before the
event their role and that of the facilitators.  However, there was a lot
of emergent learning required as they began to "see" what this really
was.

Larry

Larry Peterson
Associates in Transformation
Toronto, ON, Canada
416.653.4829

larry at spiritedorg.com
www.spiritedorg.com

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>From  Tue Feb 22 21:30:29 2005
Message-Id: <TUE.22.FEB.2005.213029.0000.>
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 21:30:29 +0000
Reply-To: mherman at globalchicago.net
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: Michael Herman <mjherman at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Help for my manager, resend (Crazy like a fox)
In-Reply-To: <002001c518f7$3da06e00$6501a8c0 at harrison>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
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here's one bit, harrison...

a year or so ago i was talking with a big oilfield services outfit.
they were having a big conference and it was some poor managers' job
to work in a little open space, if only because they'd tried it once
(sort of) and it worked (well enough) that many said "again."  trouble
is they cut the time in half and said "this time it has to get
results."  oh, yes, and the ceo and 150 top folks were coming, so it
mattered to them.

i talked round this a bit with these managers turned conference
planners.  i asked what qualified as a "result" and it was quite clear
they weren't sure themselves, given the murkiness of their charge,
except that it definitely included a document.  that's easy of course.

finally, after circling the results bit again, this time under the
guise of "it can't be just talk..." i said somethinkg like "look,
guys, let's be clear about one thing -- nobody's going to find any oil
under the hotel.  it's all just talk.  it's a conference."  and that
seemed to do the trick.

christopher c. calls this holding the traditional parts of the org to
the same standards as the new opening parts.  if we really look into
what's happening in os, rasing issues, addressing, documenting,
prioritizing, next steps, repeating... it's all very much "getting
stuff done."  and when we look in to the usual rhetoric, i find that
lots of folks just can't defend or explain it.  often folks end up
using the empty standards as if they were true.

m


On Tue, 22 Feb 2005 10:57:36 -0500, Harrison Owen <hhowen at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi Paul – Welcome back from the Black Hole. I guess I should come clean. The
> "Young Manager" is in fact a figment of my imagination, although he seems to
> have taken on flesh and blood here on OSLIST. Which all goes to prove that

--
Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
http://www.michaelherman.com
...inviting people and whole organizations into movement

Small Change News Network
http://www.smallchangenews.org
...linking active givers and gifted activists to make a bigger difference

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