goal or tool

[Harrison Owen]

Art -- you have it right. If I am working with a group (like ODN) I might
tend to go on a bit with some brief stuff on history etc -- but with a real
live client in a working situation, I am all business and business as soon
as possible. As far as I am concerned the real point is to get the folks to
work, and there is really no reason for them to know a thing about Open
Space. Of course, if they want to talk about it afterwards, I am quite happy
to do that. So ordinarily my "solo face time" is 15 min. or less. Might go
to 20 min if there is a need for translation -- but even that is kept to a
minimum. After 20 years I can say that the less I say, the better it goes.

Harrison

Harrison Owen
7808 River Falls Drive
Potomac, Maryland   20854
Phone 301-365-2093
Skype hhowen
Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com 
Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org
Personal website www.ho-image.com 
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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Alan Klein
Sent: Thursday, January 19, 2006 4:54 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: goal or tool

Harrison,

My experience of you opening space is that you do give a bit of history and
tell a few success stories about OS as you begin. I have found them settling
and useful as people contemplate entering into what is for many unfamiliar
territory.

Is it possible that I have only seen you opening space in the context of an
ODN or similar event and that you have added such touches as these only
because you were in partial teaching mode about OS in such events? Do you
not tell those stories when you are opening space for a client system?

~Alan Klein

-----Original Message-----
From: Harrison Owen
For whatever it is worth -- when I am facilitating an Open Space I say just
as little as I possibly can and virtually nothing about Open Space. I find
OS speaks very well for itself, and there is nothing I can add.

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