Fw: The World Cafe meets Open Space

Sun Jun 12 20:32:51 PDT 2005

Here's a bit more on World Cafe and OS from Tom Atlee, who just returned
from a conference "downunder".

Peggy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Atlee" <cii at igc.org>
To: "Peggy Holman" <peggy at opencirclecompany.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 09, 2005 10:15 PM
Subject: Re: The World Cafe meets Open Space

> Thanks, Peggy.  Good insights, especially re WC as prep via relationship
> building.
>
> Another variant that came up with a conversation yesterday with an Aussie
> and a Canadian is to have a sheet of paper that a group can post its
> "topic" on, and change it, as that topic evolves, so that two-footers can
> browse the topics before joining a group that appeals to them.
>
> A couple of points on the OS/WC experiment:
>
> It was explicitly noted that the groups could become more or less than 4
> (the ideal WC size); this is not significant to OSers, but is definitely
> significant to WCers.
>
> Re "the second group doing what was on the first group's card" -- I was in
> the second group.  The fact is that the card arrived within seconds of one
> of our group saying the words on the card.  It was more synchronicity than
> a following-a-suggestion phenomenon.
>
> Coheartedly,
> Tom
>
>
>>You've seen Tom Atlee's description of the recent "Evolutionary Salon".
>>Here are my reflections, mostly on the partnership between TWC and OS.
>>
>>
>>We began our first evening in a circle with a check in, people speaking to
>>what attracted them to the Evolutionary Salon.  We described the process
>>that we'd be using for the conference as a living experiment in being an
>>evolutionary social system.  This let us use our real time experience as a
>>mirror for our learning.
>>
>>The next morning, Juanita Brown took us into a World Cafe.  I got to
>>participate.  We focused on a question about our burning questions. I
>>think I had the honor of experiencing TWC at its very best. Juanita is a
>>master of her craft.  When reflections were harvested at the end of the
>>session, people said they were touched by the experience, discovering the
>>feeling of connection to each other, the synergy among their burning
>>questions.  They expressed excitement at the sense of intimacy and kinship
>>they felt.
>>I have to admit that as a participant, I felt as I did the last time I
>>experienced TWC: constrained by the expectation of staying at the table.
>>It was quite a contrast for me to hear the excitement of others in the
>>room!
>>
>>We began the Open Space in the afternoon.  Of course, people jumped in
>>with their sessions.  They seemed to be doing just fine.  Come the closing
>>circle, several people expressed distress at their experience.  One went
>>so far as to ask if we could go back to the comfort and intimacy of a
>>cafe-like format.  I thought to myself, "freedom shock" is alive and well.
>>The mix of people at the conference included scientists and people of
>>spirit.  It seems there was something of a clash of cultures going on in
>>many of the sessions.  I just listened -- no defending, no fixing.
>>
>>As is my practice in multiple day events (learned from Spirited Work), the
>>convening group met to reflect on how things were going after the evening
>>circle.  The meeting was open to any who wished to join us.  A few people
>>did.  One wondered if we needed to do something to "push the group" in the
>>direction we wished them to go (as if we knew what direction that was!).
>>We discussed the fact that the discomfort people experienced wasn't
>>necessarily a bad thing, that it provided an opportunity for something new
>>to emerge. I encouraged my nervous sponsors to trust that things were
>>going just fine.
>>
>>That evening I found myself in a butterfly conversation with a couple of
>>people distressed by the "yang" energy they ran into, feeling unsafe to
>>express their "yin" selves.  We talked at length about what it means to
>>take responsibility for what you love.  They left the conversation
>>thinking about how to come fully present tomorrow in all their "yin"
>>glory.
>>The next morning, someone announced 3 new "yin" meeting spaces.  There was
>>much laughter as people bantered about yin-ness and yang-ness and its
>>intersection.  Turns out there had been LOTS of butterfly conversations
>>and those who had felt distressed, found their way, dissipating the angst
>>before it became a real issue.  In fact, from that point forward, the OS
>>just flowed.
>>
>>
>>A reflection on how TWC affected the dynamic.
>>It was clear that people had a felt sense of community very quickly
>>through TWC.  I think that the move into OS created that condition that
>>Harrison calls "freedom shock".  It's possible that the contrast
>>heightened the shock.  That said, I believe the sense of connection
>>created during TWC enabled those who were distressed to seek out the
>>friends they had made rather than completely check out (of course, being
>>in a remote location would have made it difficult to leave!).  I wonder if
>>that is a benefit of a cafe prior to OS --
>>to create relationships that might support people to stay engaged if they
>>have a tendency towards freedom shock?
>>
>>
>>THE TWC MEETS OS EXPERIMENT
>>The OS continued as usual over the next couple days.  During our
>>preparation for the conference, the planning team (Tom Atlee, Michael Dowd
>>and myself) discussed the possibility of convening evening sessions on
>>"what are we learning?"  On the third evening, Tom and I decided that it
>>would be useful to do so and that we'd do it using "TWC meets the law of
>>two feet".
>>
>>Our session question: what patterns do you see emerging?  About 12 people
>>came.  We started in groups of 4 with an agreement that we'd come together
>>as a whole to see what we'd uncovered in about an hour.  In the meantime,
>>people were invited to stay or move as they wished.  As context, I said
>>that we knew from the cafe experience that patterns become visible quickly
>>when people move around periodically, so moving is useful.  At Juanita's
>>suggestion, we had blank cards in the clusters so that groups could send
>>an idea to another group if they wanted.  They could also send an
>>emissary.
>>That was it.  Basically, it was OS with groups of four discussing the
>>session topic.  What happened was a kick.  Two groups were quite intent in
>>their conversations, clearly not moving, just going deeper and deeper.
>>The third group eventually dissipated, a couple people going to sleep, the
>>others joining the two hot groups.  And then others started arriving.
>>They just opted for one or the other of the groups.  The conversations
>>were animated and intense.  At one point, the group I was in sent a card
>>with an idea to the other group.  In all, I think about 20 people were
>>there by the end of the evening.
>>
>>After about an hour, we came together as one.  First one group described
>>what they'd learned, then the other group did the same. The second group
>>mentioned that they used the idea they'd received on the card.  The
>>remains of the original third group added their thoughts into the mix.
>>Llyn Peabody, new to graphic recording, but clearly in her element, took
>>notes, drawing an incredible visual map of the weave of our stories.  The
>>result was electrifying and became the basis for some breakthrough ideas
>>the last day!
>>
>>One side note -- someone said during the session that they often looked
>>for what was missing to understand a situation.  I pointed out that the
>>yin/yang laughter in the morning signaled something rather remarkable that
>>was missing from our living experiment of an evolving social system:
>>angst.  Rather than fragmenting into conflict, people had transcended it.
>>That drew a raised eyebrow or two as people digested how the space had
>>made room for conflict to be embraced with grace.
>>
>>
>>A reflection on the TWC meets OS experiment
>>Next time I'm a participant in an OS and have a large group, I'd likely
>>split up again in this way.  It was a great way to reflect on our question
>>when the group was large.
>>
>>
>>THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE
>>Juanita and I talked the next morning about our impressions of the
>>intersection of TWC and OS.  We discussed several strengths of TWC --
>>creating a sense of community and uncovering patterns quickly.
>>Given my own biases, I wouldn't use TWC as an opener unless the client had
>>some specific situation that moved things that way.
>>I can imagine experimenting with doing an evening reflection with people
>>beginning in small groups.  I can see this as a natural flow of the energy
>>as people wander in, talking together before coming into a single circle.
>>I think this could be a low key transition that actually makes it easier
>>to convene the evening circle.  By following the energy of people arriving
>>for the close, inviting them into reflection as they arrive rather than
>>waiting for everyone before beginning, I think something simple and useful
>>could occur.
>>
>>Juanita suggested explicitly encouraging people post their sessions in the
>>form of questions.  It made me smile when Harrison recently posted:
>>I  think of every Open Space gathering as a (potentially) question rich
>>environment. That is why I always suggest to people that they phrase the
>>theme as a question, as opposed to a statement.
>>
>>Questions are certainly a place of coming together.
>>
>>So, that's about all of my musings on this subject.
>>
>>yours, on a warm evening in Seattle,
>>Peggy
>>
>>
>>________________________________
>>Peggy Holman
>>The Open Circle Company
>>15347 SE 49th Place
>>Bellevue, WA  98006
>>(425) 746-6274
>>
>><http://www.opencirclecompany.com>www.opencirclecompany.com
>
>
> --
>
> ________________________________
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> Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * PO Box 493 * Eugene, OR 97440
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