Larry's question

[Larry Peterson]

Ralph & All: 
 
Thanks for the reply.  I'll try to explain my last sentence shortly.  I
agree with Joelle and you that some clients are only or primarily
concerned about results.  Some want "concrete" results - 10 work groups
with specific outcomes by December.  Some realize that new relationships
or new patterns of communication (social networks) are also important
"results".  Shifts is culture, or felt sense, of the organization are
also results.   What the client "sees" and wants depends on the client's
awareness.  
 
I also believe that Open Space Technology is a particular technique or
approach to collective conversation and emergent leadership that can
lead to surprising results at many levels.  I think "opening a space"
can be done in many ways without the technology even though the same
Principles and Law seem to work.   Just as "Future Search" is a
particular approach developed/discovered by somebody, I think OST is as
well only it is not "controlled" in the same way.  I think "opening
space" is much bigger and the world view and the Principles and Law of
OST help us to practice "opening space"
 
Thus, when I use OST I acknowledge the source of that "technology" , at
least by naming OST, at some point in the event and the work process
with the client.  Otherwise the clients believe that I discovered it, my
ego gets stroked, for what just happened.  I know that Harrison "gave it
away" - a wonderful gift to us all.  It is also true that some of my
"clients" or some groups I work with (such as those on collective
consciousness journeys) want to know what it is and what its roots are.
One client call all (and there have been many) Open Space Events - he
sees the value in that with his front line mechanics and construction
workers.
 
I designed and used for 17 years, when I was doing organizing around
homeless in Canada, participatory processes very similar to Future
Search at gathers across the country.   They were guided, focused on
issues and they worked.  When I have been in involved in Future Search,
similar but different,  I call it that.
 
Does this help clarify my thoughts?
 
Larry
 
 
Larry Peterson
Associates in Transformation
Toronto, ON, Canada
416.653.4829
 
 <mailto:larry at spiritedorg.com> larry at spiritedorg.com  
 <http://www.spiritedorg.com> www.spiritedorg.com 
 

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

To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20061203/74f8a7a2/attachment-0016.htm>