Key Personalities

[Zelle Nelson]

Hi Diana and everyone who has contributed,

My wife and I have sponsored an open space where we opened up the  
marketplace to include traditional one-way topics (where someone  
would present an idea or paper, and leave time open for discussion)  
along with "regular" os topics which are simply topics run  
simultaneously. The presentation topics are given special post-it  
notes to identify them as primarily one-way communication. People  
weave in and out between topics and presentations.

Another option is to split the conference between traditional  
conference and OS either having two days of presentations and a day  
or two of OS, or have presentations in the mornings and OS in the  
afternoons.

And one thought I had about academics and conferences. When I was  
getting my advanced degree, it was important to present papers and  
research at conferences. Researching and presenting papers/books is  
part of the merit and advancement system in academia. Publish or  
Perish - meaning their careers depend on producing and presenting  
research, as much or more than teaching. If you take out the  
opportunity to advance their careers (as well as interact with  
peers), other conferences will be a bigger draw for their time and  
energy, especially if they have never actually experienced an Open  
Space.

with grace and love,

Zelle

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

www.knowplacelikehome.com
www.engagingthesoulatwork.com
www.stateofgracedocument.com

zelle at knowplacelikehome.com

work/home: (001) 828.693.0802
mobile: (001) 847.951.7030

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






On Jun 29, 2006, at 12:54 PM, Diana Larsen wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I'm working with two or three conference planning groups who want  
> to hold conferences completely in Open Space next year. They all  
> have a little concern about whether they can attract the kind of  
> participation they'd like without well-known KeyNote or Invited  
> Speakers - the folks whose presence justifies the participants'  
> attendance to bosses, etc.
>
> One planning group came up with the idea of inviting Key  
> Personalities and offering them honoraria and help with travel  
> expenses as if it were a regular conference - but asking them /not/  
> to give keynote speeches. Their names would be included on the  
> invitations to others as having committed to attend, possibly along  
> with some topics they consider proposing for the marketplace.
>
> Has anyone tried this before? What do you all think about inviting  
> "key personalities" to an Open Space conference? Has anyone done  
> this? What benefits/pitfalls do you see, did you experience? I have  
> mixed thoughts and emotions, and would like some further data to  
> offer the planning groups. What effect on "Whoever comes are the  
> right people" happens when some folks receive compensation for  
> attendance and others don't?
>
> Thanks,
> Diana
>
>
> Diana Larsen
> www.futureworksconsulting.com
> 503-288-3550
>
> Watch for:
> "Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great" by Esther Derby &  
> Diana Larsen, available Summer 2006! Published by Pragmatic  
> Bookshelf (new title!)
> http://www.pragmaticprogrammer.com/titles/dlret/index.html
>
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