SV: The Pros and Cons of OST? with a long "attachment" story

[Zelle Nelson]

Hello Allison, Lise,

Lise, I appreciate your post. Your excellent idea sparked an idea of my own.

You can put up the different asssumptions at to different slides - 
presenting one way of seing the world - and another way.. - and then it 
is up to the participants to decide their attitude...

Allison, if you first write the paper about pros/cons looking at an OST 
conference compared with a traditional conference, using Lise's 
methodology. Then as your invitation in the 10 minute sessions:  What 
works and what doesn't work at conferences OST and otherwise? What would 
you change, what would you keep? And your participants can document 
their conclusions and provide that as a post-event-paper.

A couple of other things come to mind -

Wow, what a challenge shrinking OST into a 10 minute experience - how 
open is that invitation? How does the type of invitation limit, filter, 
color what is received by the person accepting the invitation? When we 
assume how others best experience gathering information, coming together 
at a conference, what do we lose and what do we gain?

Even if the conference organizer says that everyone has already 
experienced OST it doesn't mean he's right, or that the statement is 
true. I can't count the number of people who I've talked to about Open 
Space or who've attended an Open Space that I'm hosting who said: "I 
thought I knew what Open Space was and had experienced it, but I was 
wrong. What you're doing/describing is so much different (and better) 
than what I did, that I had been called Open Space." - For me the 
conference organizer seems to be making another big assumption about 
other people's experiences - and is limiting what is possible. (Maybe 
the organizer has given a survey and has more information than you or I 
- I can't know until I've asked.)

Leading to another comment - if you don't believe something is possible, 
you will most likely realize your own prophecy.

Is there a possibility to open space outside of the scheduled conference 
times, perhaps in the evening? That way people could get a bigger taste 
of OST.

The last thing I'll add here (very long - for email) story that my wife 
Maureen McCarthy (a lovely woman with whom I do all my work with) wrote 
called "No More Conferences". Allison, I'll send you a separate email 
with a Word attachment.

No More Conferences
by Maureen McCarthy

I flipped by an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation the other 
night. In the opening, a group of officers are returning to the ship 
after spending a week at a space conference. They were complaining that 
Dr. Florck (not his real name) bored them to tears with his monotonous 
lecture on the theory transpectoral anomolies. And I thought, "This show 
is supposed to take place, what, 3000 years from now? Life will not be 
worth living if we're still holding conferences in the same old style 
that far into the future!"

There is an assumption about meetings and gatherings that's so old it's 
almost genetic. Conferences ask people to come as passive information 
gatherers. We're drawn by big name speakers and then sit and wait for 
information to flow downwards. Yet when you ask people where they 
learned and contributed the most, they'll inevitably say it was dinner 
with Tom or a passionate discussion over drinks with Katie and Jack. We 
need to re-evaluate how we create large group events to take advantage 
of the way we're beginning to see, create and connect the world today. 
Our old style hierarchical models just aren't as effective anymore, and 
current conferences are still based on them.

When we sit in classroom or theater-style seating, the premise says the 
person at the front of the room has the most knowledge and power, he's 
the leader. And once we're there, we're stuck listening to the boring 
lecture of Dr. Florck ...no escape.

Take a look at our definitions of leadership over time. Two thousand 
years before Christ, leadership was characterized by physical 
domination. "If I conquer you, you follow me." Then we moved into the 
last 2000 years up till today, which has largely been leadership through 
intellectual domination. "I have the information and I'll let you know 
when it's time for you to know." It's what our corporations, religious 
institutions and governments are based on. The hierarchical business 
models all stem from this thought process and hence our conferences.

But, like it or not, we're moving into a new model of leadership and 
interaction. It is one based on what I call a Wisdom Web. We're 
currently living in an age of information overload. If I want to 
continue to be a hierarchical leader, I'm fooling myself to believe I 
can contain and control all the information and decision-making that is 
required to run a business today. I need to know when to lead and when 
to step back and encourage others to lead. And the only way for me to do 
this is to better know myself and where my strengths and passions lie, 
and then to ask the pertinent questions to better know and understand 
others. My knowledge is no longer contained in my head, but in the web 
of people I connect with as well. That's true power.

It's the difference between giving a classroom of 10-year-olds three 
weeks to do a paper on Martin Luther King in 1975 versus today. In 1975 
we went to the library, combed through the encyclopedias, Reader's Guide 
to Periodical Literature and the card file and used the last few days to 
write the paper. Today a kid goes home the first night, logs onto the 
internet and suddenly has 575,000 entries on Martin Luther King. She now 
has three weeks to sift through the information, which is a different 
skill altogether than the gathering of information we grew up with. 
Classroom style learning is hierarchical and says the teacher knows the 
most. Imagine if the teacher of today discounted the email that a 
student received from Martin Luther King's great grandson because it was 
a piece of information she didn't possess? Business is no different. 
Leaving someone out of the mix because they don't sit high enough on the 
hierarchical org chart will only hurt you and the organization. There's 
way too much information out there to sift through all of it yourself.

 

Four areas to consider to better harness the Wisdom Web in large group 
settings

INVITE     Start with the invitation. Rather than invite and entice by 
publicizing the names of "important" speakers or workshop facilitators, 
we need to show every person the entire participant list. Similar to the 
way www.evite.com  works, share the invite list electronically so people 
can know who's coming. Like a high school reunion, the catalyst to come 
is often someone you want to see. People can be asked to answer 
questions in the RSVP about issues that are top of mind, areas of 
discussion that would be beneficial, and stories to tell in relation to 
the purpose of the gathering. That way if I'm trying to decide whether 
or not to come, the entire knowledge base available can be considered. I 
may see that Mary, whom I've never met before, is passionate about or 
frustrated by the same thing and it's important for me to meet her. Or 
maybe Daniel is someone I know and trust and if I see that he's coming I 
might be more apt to join in.

The traditional "big name" speakers become "one of the guys" in the 
invite list. Promote everyone as the expert, because we are. That's 
certainly been the power of the internet. Let's now use that power to 
create face-to-face conversations that throw status out the window and 
create a level playing field according to knowledge and passions. There 
is a wealth of knowledge within all of us and we miss out when we 
believe only a chosen few have something significant to say. Now I might 
be enticed to attend because an industry thought leader or favorite 
author will be there, but it's not the sole reason. It also helps me to 
come prepared to give rather than just receive.

INVOLVE     Storytelling v. Keynote Speaking. A lecture or keynote 
speech is interesting when someone is sharing knowledge you don't 
already possess or your mind is opened to something new. Rather than an 
individual or committee choosing speakers for the gathering, create a 
Storytelling Arena. Designate a particular area of the gathering for 
people to sit in theater style seating. It becomes the stage that anyone 
can take by signing up to an allotted time. People come and go as their 
interest is piqued, so the audience ebbs and flows, but it offers an 
opportunity for anyone to share in a one-way form of communication. We 
need storytellers, researchers, cutting edge thinkers to inspire our 
conversations. Set aside time to hear the latest research or innovative 
idea, but use it as a way to spark conversation and action among the 
rest of the participants. The room may be overflowing when the industry 
leader speaks, certain people do draw a crowd, but everyone has the 
opportunity to be the "keynote speaker" if they choose. Tell us about 
what you're currently working on; what works for you; your latest book, 
workshop, or paper; sing a song, share a poem, tell a tale . . . 
whatever will get the juices flowing. Then we can weave it back into the 
rest of the gathering and use it as a conversation starter for even more 
momentum.

COMMUNICATE     Creating multiple , organic discussion. Have you ever 
heard an author or speaker talking about something you're really 
interested in? Chances are there's a lot of other people in the audience 
who share the same passion. Yet we walk out of the speech without 
sharing what's going on in our heads or connecting with one or many 
people present to build off the initial ideas. The friend who came with 
us might hear how inspired we are, but it's not the same as 10, 25 or 
500 of those people in the room beginning a passionate discussion while 
it's top of mind. When these conversations start, the dividing line 
between who's leading and who's following is quite blurred and the 
speaker can take part to whatever level he or she is interested as well. 
The speaker becomes the catalyst for the rest to do the dance of leader 
and follower.

Open Space Technology and The World Café are two examples of large group 
conversation approaches that address this. Open Space Technology ( 
www.openspaceworld.org ) begins with an invitation drawing people to 
talk about an over arching topic; like what is the future of our 
industry or innovation in technology. In other words, whatever you want 
the conference theme to be. After that, no agenda is set till the people 
arrive and create it themselves. Five to a thousand people are seated in 
concentric circles because no one is at the head or foot of this 
gathering. Participants are asked to take flipchart paper and marker to 
post discussion topics regarding their thoughts, ideas, conversations, 
solutions, frustrations etc. they have related to the theme of the 
invitation. In a matter of 20 minutes, an entire 5-day conference agenda 
is on the wall and has become the Marketplace of Ideas. Meeting place 
and time are arranged via Post-it Note on the flipchart page, so anyone 
can join the discussion at any time. When you post a topic you don't 
have to be an expert or give a speech, you just open the conversation 
and make sure notes are taken. Notes from all conversations are shared 
with all participants at the end of each day. The power of Open Space 
comes from the Law of Two Feet. It states that if you're not learning 
and/or contributing in a conversation, use your two feet and go 
elsewhere. Sit in on another conversation, have coffee with Sue or make 
a phone call. Never stay where you don't want to be because it drains 
the energy of people wanting to be present. Open Space is passion 
bounded by responsibility. You're responsible for your own experience, 
so if something you want to talk about never gets talked about, you only 
have yourself to blame.

The World Café ( www.theworldcafe.com ) is similar to Open Space 
Technology, but is a little more structured. People are invited to the 
large group conversation based on a theme or invitation. This time the 
room is set up like a café. Tables seating no more than 4 or 5 are 
covered with tablecloths and flowers. Music is playing, people come in, 
grab a drink or a snack, sit down wherever they like and conversation 
naturally begins. There's a familiarity about the café setting that 
makes facilitation virtually unnecessary. You begin by asking an 
overarching question related to the invitation, allow people talk for 45 
minutes or an hour and then ask them to switch tables. One person 
remains at each table, and as new people sit down, they take a few 
minutes to relay what each of the other tables talked about. Now you ask 
a deeper level question and let people chat again and so on and so on 
depending on the amount of time you have. There are also large sheets of 
paper and markers on the tables for people to draw and write colorful 
notes as they go along. I often place a stack of 5x7 index cards on each 
table and ask people to capture one thought per card as the conversation 
is taking place. These cards are then tacked to a large white poster 
paper mural on the wall so everyone can see the threads of the 
conversations. Sometimes we group

CONNECT     Electronically connecting follow-up and on-going 
conversation. Have you noticed that the energy of a conference dies down 
when we get home? But when you encourage people to take responsibility 
for their learning and contribution, they inevitably take responsibility 
for their follow-up and action. When you use Open Space Technology or 
World Café there is an element of conversation capturing that rarely 
goes on at traditional conferences. The conversation topics, 
bullet-pointed notes and list of participants are shared online or via 
email. This gives us an open line for further communication and a way to 
take part in something we missed, even at a later date. It's also 
important to share the contact information of everyone who attended. We 
often exchange business cards with a few people at a conference, but 
what about the people we didn't get a chance to connect with, or the 
contact info we misplace? Gone are the days when people hide behind a 
secretary as a sign of power. The Wisdom Web insists that we are 
accessible and open to sharing. As an example, I like the way Fast 
Company Magazine has the contact information of the writer and the 
subject matter and the end of every article. It takes the reading 
experience to a new level because you can contact someone for further 
conversation.

We can keep the momentum of large group gatherings going after we've 
boarded the plane when we invite, involve, communicate and connect 
without the ties of hierarchical structure. I'm ready to reinvent the 
conference, so much so that it's not even called a conference anymore. 
The term conference, which comes from the root "to confer," means to 
bestow information, as in a parent teacher conference. I believe that if 
we start gathering instead of conferring, maybe, just maybe, we can 
rewrite the future. And the next generation of Star Trek won't have to 
be subjected to the ho-hum of the conference.

by Maureen McCarthy

Zelle here - thanks so much for listening:

with grace and love,

Zelle

************
Zelle Nelson
Engaging the Soul at Work/Know Place Like Home/State of Grace Document

www.stateofgracedocument.com

zelle at maureenandzelle.com

office - 001.828.693.0802
mobile - 001.847.951.7030

Isle of Skye
2021 Greenville Hwy
Flat Rock, NC 28731
USA

Allison & Jim Baensch wrote:

> Hi Lise,
> You are right, it is a challenge for me.
> I do enjoy variety and new opportunities.
>
> In your email you said:
>
>> You have only 90 minutes: - the assumption is: The speaker transfer 
>> her knowledge to the participants by giving a paper and a speach
>> OST-assumption: We all (also participants) have lot of knowledge, 
>> what we need is to sort it out - meaning relating to our one 
>> knowledge, deciding our attitude.
>
>
> In fact, I have up to 10 minutes with each new group, so I need to say 
> as little as possible and then get feedback from the group members.
> That may be good experience for me - to describe OST and open a new 
> space all within maybe 3 or 4 minutes, to a mixed group... 
> then get feedback recorded in the remaining 5 minutes before one group 
> leaves and the next group meanders in.
> Cheers to you in clouded, cold Copenhagen,
> from 
> Allison.
> (Crisp dark evening now - 9pm)
>
> On 22/11/2005, at 8:34 PM, Lise Damkjar wrote:
>
>> Hello Allison and everybody on the list!
>>  
>> You really put yourself into a challenge! And it is very interesting 
>> because everyone of us (my guess) meet these requirements for 
>> conferences and reservations about OST. It tells us something 
>> important about the possibilities in OST!
>>  
>> If I found myself in that position (I hope not, but...) I would put 
>> up some assumptions/beliefs - some leading to the traditional 
>> conference (as the one, you are attending) and some leading to OST. I 
>> would find the beliefs from thinking about this actual conference: 
>> why do we do stuff like this? (and here the difficulty could be to be 
>> appreciative, but that's important!)
>>  
>> I have tried a little here...
>>  
>> - Groups rotating... - the assumption: it is more important to hear a 
>> something about everything (and then you can always search more 
>> information  afterwards) 
>> OST-assumption: You learn the most from being in dialogue about what 
>> you are really passionated about
>>  
>> You have only 90 minutes: - the assumption is: The speaker transfer 
>> her knowledge to the participants by giving a paper and a speach
>> OST-assumption: We all (also participants) have lot of knowledge, 
>> what we need is to sort it out - meaning relating to our one 
>> knowledge, deciding our attitude.
>>  
>> Organizers assumption: Participants have tried OST before and already 
>> know about it 
>> OST-assumption: The participant's who already tried OST would love to 
>> do it once more and the more they know about it, the more they know 
>> that they now have the possibility of learning even more.
>>  
>> Organizers: Some people don't want to speak in public
>> OST: You don't need to - and if you are passionated about something 
>> it's easier to talk about it
>>  
>> You can put up the different asssumptions at to different slides - 
>> presenting one way of seing the world - and another way.. - and then 
>> it is up to the participants to decide their attitude...
>>  
>> Have a nice conferece!
>>  
>> Lise
>> Clouded and cold Copenhagen..
>>
>>
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