Fwd: [OSLIST]: World Cafe meets Open Space

Juanita Brown juanita at theworldcafe.com
Tue May 31 21:40:01 PDT 2005


Sorry...I forgot to put a subject line and it came back to me...here it 
is again.
>
> Hi everyone...
>
> I've been "listening" to the conversation intently as it has unfolded, 
> both the earlier conversation on the Open Space Listserv which several 
> European folks referred us to, as well as to the most recent sequence 
> following the wonderful Evolutionary Salon that Peggy and I (and 
> others) helped to host.  I'm hopeful, Harrison, that you have by now 
> received the gift copy of our recent book (also published by Berrett 
> Koehler!)  which helps to frame the living systems underpinnings of 
> the World Cafe and honors the incredible contribution that Open Space 
> has made over the last two decades. I offer these reflections in the 
> spirit of learning with and from others on this listserv about the 
> unique individual and combined contributions of the World Cafe and 
> Open Space.
>
> I think, as do many of our other colleagues who use a variety of 
> conversational and collaborative learning approaches, that the World 
> Cafe and Open Space are extremely compatible.  I completely understand 
> Harrison's concerns with "structure" and "control"--wanting to offer 
> participants the full freedom to self-organize from the get go.  At 
> the same time, even self-organization requires "initiatiing 
> conditions" to be successful, which, as I have seen with Open Space 
> over the years, are extremely carefully set and followed throughout an 
> Open Space gathering.  Peggy Holman beautifully exercised these during 
> the Evolutionary Salon, creating both the physical spaces, the 
> expectations, the sign-ups, the clarity of the "laws/principles," and 
> the discipline of the reporting  processes (both written in terms of 
> the report back sheets and oral in the reflection circles).
>
> Each of these processes, as well as others which have been discussed 
> on the list, have their strengths and limitations, depending on their 
> purpose.  The World Cafe is especially useful when:
>
> 1) you have a limited amount of time (ie as little as 1 1/2 to 2 hours)
> 2) a lot of people (we've worked with 1200)
> 3) questions that matter to the people gathered, that they either they 
> frame themselves or that a representative sub-group has helped to 
> shape (at least initially)
> 4)  the intention to build community, strengthen relationships and 
> engage everyone's unique contribution and voice using both verbal and 
> visual modalities (even the timid or less verbal ones).
> 5) you want to access collective intelligence based on discovering 
> patterns of meaning in emergent, unexpected ways that come from the 
> intentional rapid cross-pollination of diverse perspectives and ideas.
>
> While World Cafe and Open Space share many, although not all, of these 
> intentions in common, the design of the World Cafe creates what we'd 
> call a "conversational greenhouse" focused on the  extremely rapid 
> propagation of actionable knowledge (we consider inquiry as integral 
> to actionable knowledge ).  The World Cafe design intentionally 
> fosters people's rapid capacity to see patterns and  "sense the whole" 
> rather than be focused primarily on the part of the whole that their 
> personal passion initially leads them to.    Once people have this 
> awareness, they begin so see how their own passion (taking 
> responsibility for what you love) might connect to the larger whole in 
> a very embodied way. We find that the World Cafe intentionally creates 
> an  "inquiring system"  through the disciplined use of questions (not 
> topics or issues) as well as creatively cross-pollinating ideas in 
> varied ways that enable people to feel, literally, the "whole system 
> thinking together" in a very short period of time.
>
> We find that World Cafe helps to ease the "freedom shock" that 
> Harrison and others describe, while still giving the space for 
> emergence and surprise.  I have to admit that perhaps my "nurturing 
> side" welcomes the opportunity to support people in feeling 
> comfortable in the early phases of a gathering, which is why we create 
> the Cafe ambiance when that is possible and appropriate.   We find 
> that the combination of focus (carefully setting the context, the 
> disciplined use of questions and  the intentional patterns of 
> cross-pollination) create a different (not better, just different) 
> type of collaborative learning that many people seem to find useful as 
> they enter this world of emergence--and even more useful when combined 
> with complimentary approaches like Open Space and an appreciative 
> stance.
>
> Our goal in Cafe conversations is for people to experience themselves 
> being an integral part of a living web/network of relational thinking 
> and of experiencing conversation itself as a co-evolutionary force for 
> accessing co-intelligence on behalf of life affirming futures and the 
> conscious evolution of social systems.  So, perhaps the key learning 
> goals of World Cafe and Open Space are somewhat different....but still 
> complimentary in my humble opinion.
>
> I'd love to learn about others experiences when they've designed 
> meetings or gatherings in which both Open Space and the World Cafe 
> were effectively engaged together to create generative outcomes.
>
> I've responded to Alan's questions below in caps...and welcome our 
> exploring  these questions together among colleagues who are using 
> both approaches and want to learn with and from each other.
>
> Fondly,
> Juanita
>
>
> On May 31, 2005, at 5:08 PM, Alan Stewart wrote:
>
>> G'day Peggy and All
>>  
>> It's wonderful indeed to have the comprehensive account of your 
>> observations and experience to complement Tom's enthralling report.  
>> Maybe Juanita would wish to add her's too ...
>>  
>> Several queries for you Peggy:
>>  
>> . At what stage were the OS principles and law introduced to the 
>> participants? Was this at the first evening circle or at the Open 
>> Space the following afternoon?   AT THE OPEN SPACE THE FOLLOWING 
>> AFTERNOON
>>  
>> . Did you have any sense that issues/questions posted in Open Space 
>> were related to those which emerged in the opening Cafe session? I 
>> THINK THE WORLD CAFE SET A BROAD "FRAME" FOR THE INQUIRY IN A 
>> MUTUALLY COMPASSIONATE WAY WHICH HONORED ALL OF THE DISCIPLINES AND 
>> PERSPECTIVES BEING BROUGHT INTO THE ROOM--WHICH THEN ENABLED WHAT WE 
>> CALL THE "MAGIC" TO BEGIN RIGHT FROM THE START AND "HOLD" THROUGHOUT 
>> THE THREE DAYS.  SINCE WE DID IT THE WAY WE DID, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER 
>> THAT WOULD OR WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AS EASILY IN A SOLEY OPEN SPACE 
>> FORMAT.
>>   
>> . You mentioned that you got to participate in the Cafe. I wonder if 
>> Juanita did likewise in the Open Space?  (I CERTAINLY DID AND LOVED 
>> IT!)
>>   
>> . I wonder too if what you interpreted as 'freedom shock' was related 
>> to the fact that participants did not know each other, whether or not 
>> they came from different backgrounds.  I ACTUALLY DIDN'T EXPERIENCE 
>> THE PARTICIPANTS AS HAVING THE INTENSITY OF FREEDOM SHOCK I'VE 
>> EXPERIENCED IN OTHER SETTINGS WHERE A NEW AND DIVERSE GROUP SIMPLY 
>> JUMPED INTO AN OPEN SPACE EXPEERIENCE-USUALLY THE MORE LOUD OR 
>> OUTGOING FOLKS ARE THE ONES WHO JUMP OUT FIRST IN OPEN SPACE--BUT 
>> WHEN WE'VE COMBINED WORLD CAFE WITH OPEN SPACE THERE SEEMS TO BE A 
>> MORE EVEN DISTRIBUTION IN THIS REGARD WHICH HAPPENS QUITE 
>> NATURALLY--AND MAY (I'M NOT SURE) TAKE A SOMEWHAT LONGER TIME (FOR 
>> THE LESS TALKATIVE/OUTGOING FOLKS WHO ARE RETICENT IN LARGE 
>> GROUPS--PARTICULARLY IN OTHER CULTURES)  IN OTHER OPEN SPACE SETTINGS 
>> WHERE THE COMBINATION IS NOT USED.
>
>>   
>> I ask this because I have used the two processes in combination - in 
>> the same order - with people from very diverse backgrounds and who 
>> had encountered each other previously (they were members of a 
>> leadership program). They did not manifest this kind of distress, at 
>> least in my observation. Mind you some of them were quite taken aback 
>> initially by the very notion of turning to face each other rather 
>> than their accustomed experience of someone speaking to them!
>>   
>> With love
>>  
>> Alan
>>  Hong Kong
>>  ----- Original Message -----
>>  From: Peggy Holman
>> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
>> Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 2:04 PM
>> Subject: The World Cafe meets Open Space
>>
>> 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
>>  
>>  
>
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