Building an Open Space Organization - LONG

[The Owen Group]

Greetings folks,

I am working through the implementation/accountability phase for the retreat
I facilitated last week and have been writing in my blog as we go . . .
Below is my accounting of this process thus far . . . Apologize for the
length.

I am approaching this from the stand-point of creating a "411" for each
"department" as well as the entire organization. This means identifying
any/all issues and opportunities that can be scheduled into weekly
time-frames (4) . . . Those that can be identified as Monthly "Projects" (1)
. . . and those which can be defined as longer range "goals" (1) . . . And
rather than pre-scheduling the next "retreat" (and Assuming an annual
cycle), we will do again when the time is right . .  . could be 6 months -
could be 18 months .  . . just whenever we need a refresh of the 411.

Below are my "facilitator thoughts" copied from my blog @
www.creatingspaces.blogspot.com - The first section (November 8-9) is a
repeat here - I repost just to put it all together.

Best,

b 


Facilitator Report
November 8-9, 2006
Opening Space for Keller Williams . . . Today, we did the Open Space retreat
for our office in our new office space completely devoid of furniture so the
invitation read: "BYOC - Bring your own chair." Unbelievably, 65 of our 99
members showed up . . . each carrying a chair. I say this is unbelievable
because these are all independent contractors - Real estate sales people. A
stark reality hit me this morning. Opening space for these folks is a
completely different animal than Opening space for the typical organization.
Typically, the organization is wound into a tight (Top down) bundle, and
Open Space is used to unwind the bundle a bit so as to define new
directions. With these folks, we begin with a diverged group and use the
Open Space in search of convergence of ideas, passion, commitment &
responsibility from a group of people who have no formal accountability for
the results. This is a vast difference. These people are each operating
their own independent businesses and have by all outward appearances little
to gain from optimizing the business of the Brokerage firm. The reality that
comes to light is that those who help the company grow share in the
ever-increasing profits thus making this a more than worthwhile pursuit.

Recognizing this, I saw the real need for good, solid, quantifiable results
from this Open Space Retreat. I did the classic Opening - offered 2 covers
of a book and said that our job was to fill the book by the end of our time
together. I had pared the time matrix down to 2 morning sessions, lunch, 2
afternoon sessions . . . then the closing followed by a party.

We were packed like sardines in the main space (Future Training room sans
furniture) for the opening - 2 concentric circles . . . I had @ 10 foot
diameter interior circle for my walking space. The opening was the smoothest
I've ever done. I flowed through it without any hitches - I guess my
grounding and centering this morning was enough to carry me through. My
initial trepidation about facilitating this retreat for my own organization
proved to be not such a big deal. I was true to the process - Opened the
space and got out of the way immediately . . . The group shifted into gear
and cruised along magnificently.

The group looked at me with panic in their eyes when I sat down and said it
was now time to post their issues and opportunities - They asked me for
examples . . . they begged for me to enable them - I held fast and true -
didn't budge . . . and finally someone came forward. Within 10 minutes,
there were 25 issues posted - using nearly all of the 28 time/place slots
available. THIS was the true test for me. I felt that if I wavered here, it
would tip the scales in a dangerous direction for the results of the entire
event. A few folks acknowledged later that they were grateful I had left the
group to their devices to figure these things out.

I immediately opened the Market place and observed the entire group swing
into action. EXACTLY 52 minutes after the beginning of the opening, all 65
of the participants were in sessions in passionate dialogue - The main
circle was empty if not for me wandering around picking up coffee cups -
most of the chairs had gone with the human they arrived with . . . I found
humor in the fact that any time a person moved to a different space he/she
was carrying a chair. As the day progressed, the chairs became more
stationary as people tired of carrying them about the place.

The closing was phenomenal ... 50 folks stayed to the end. I am accustomed
to seeing more "fall-out" than that . . . so I was feeling that this event
was a good one. The comments in the closing were SO validating for the
group. This group of independent contractors was speaking as ONE. There was
a solidarity I have never witnessed in a real estate environment . . . and
the party that ensued was unbridled passion.

Reports are due to me in the morning - I will compile them and distribute
them mid-day along with a set of dots for prioritizing . . . Our intent is
to consider this prioritized list of issues FIRST as we formulate our plans
for Productivity, profitability, Growth, and culture for the 2007 year.

Our Operating Partner and City Manager for the Nashville area Keller
Williams Realty market showed up at 5. They had missed the meeting because
at 4:40 the group had declared the time to "now be 5:00" thus giving the
green light to the opening of the wine and beer. Someone said:: "It's 5
o'clock somewhere!" and so the party was well under way. We had our new
Public Relations person present and the environment was as festive as it
could get. The OP asked the question: "Could this happen for other market
centers in our area? How can we make this happen for everyone in the city,
the region, the nation?" I replied: "ABSOLUTELY!"

In a post on my BLOG a few months ago, I laid out a plan to do just that . .
. host a retreat in each of the market centers in the city . . . then do a
full city-wide Open Space . . . and let the results speak for themselves. If
our PPGC (Productivity, Profit, Growth, & Culture) do what I think they'll
do given that scenario, the Regional folks will notice . . . If Region
notices, the International office will notice . . .

November 10, 2006
Keller Williams & The Owen Group . . . Our path has been very clear here.
Interesting that Deb & I would affiliate with Keller Williams when we did
because we joined at EXACTLY the right time . . . Just at the Tipping
Point
When the company was on the edge of exponential growth. Deb and I both
have invested HUGE amounts of time, energy, money, resources . . . heart and
soul . . . This birth of the Keller Williams presence in middle Tennessee
has strained every fabric of our lives. We have continued moving forward
with a clear vision of what we were "building." Simply put - "Creating the
future with and for EVERY member of our Keller Williams family. We knew that
if we succeeded, it would result in a lasting and positive change in MANY
lives. It has taken these 5 years for the company to grow to the point that
it realizes it might need something like Open Space . . . and it has taken
the same 5 years for us to prepare ourselves (Personally and
professionally). It gave us the time we needed to learn and implement the
models and systems necessary for a successful real estate practice AND a
successful Market Center simultaneously.

I am very excited now that some great things will happen with this 5 year
journey.

Last night, I cleared the remainder of my personal items from my office and
loaded them into my car in preparation for today’s move into the NEW OFFICE.
I could not carry them right over there because there is still some
“build-out” in progress 
 Our goal is to be moved in and fully operational
by NOON today.

Without question, our open Space Retreat “Christened” that new office space
in the minds of virtually every member of our organization. Yesterday, I saw
people simply bubbling with excitement as they packed boxes for the move.
When I left the building @ 5:30, virtually everything was boxed and ready.

One “unpleasantry” during the day was the discovery that one of our key
staff members was to be removed from her position that morning. The
infraction was simply: “Not adhering to Keller Williams Realty Belief
system, the WI4C2TS” 
 She had been unhappy for some time and was creating
dissention. We all love her dearly, so this happening was not fun. There was
much angst in the leadership doing this on the day after such a buoyant
retreat and on the day of packing to move to our new space. Would this
affect the momentum? As it happened, I believe it was exactly what
“could/should have happened” given the circumstances. EVERYONE (including
our departing team member) did some quick grieving . . . realized the
validity and necessity of this action . . . and moved forward knowing that
the organization will be better without a “negative influence” humming along
in the background . . . and the departing member can use her 2 feet and find
a place where she can be happier . . . Wherever she lands, she will make
great impact because she is a very passionate, hard working person – Add a
dose of happiness, and she will be unstoppable. We have several folks in our
group already helping her find a new “work home.” J

November 14, 2006
Tuesday morning . . . We got moved into the office on Friday. The move was
smooth as silk. Movers got everything moved from the old office to the new
one by mid-afternoon, and there was quite a buzz of excitement as folks
scurried around trading tools and tips to assemble new furniture that
arrived with "some assembly required." Yesterday by all appearances, people
were settling in nicely and getting back to the business of real estate. I
was very impressed by the speed at which it all came together.

The general energy of the place is nothing short of "bubbling." This office
is 3 times the size of the other. I have heard a murmur that "It is SO far
to walk from my office to yours . . . I miss you!" In a sense, this is
pretty cool. People have found new bonds/relationships . . . and the
combination of the move and the retreat seem to have created an environment
that fosters community.

For my part, my office is coming together slowly but surely. I decided that
I needed to pay a little attention to my clients after the hiatus last week
necessitated by the coordination of the retreat and the move. It felt good
to be in my new, fancy chair connecting with people all day. All through the
day, people were cycling through my office to pick up their copy of the
retreat proceedings. I had completed them early in the morning and had sent
out an email to let them know.

The Prioritization Process morphed into a "balloting" process because our
bulletin board was destructed before we could do the dot prioritization . .
. a casualty of the move. All is well. I simply listed the 26 topics on a
single sheet of paper and distributed it with the proceedings with the
request that folks select the TOP 5 Issues and opportunities - rate those
top 5 with 5 being the most important and 1 the least - and return the
ballot to me by end of day Thursday.

Friday, we have our monthly Agent Leadership counsel" (ALC meeting). Armed
with the full proceedings of the retreat as well as the prioritization of
the issues, our Team Leader's plan is to structure the necessary "pods"
(committees) to begin implementing everything that came out of the retreat
in the order of importance to the membership.

We have resolved that when the time is right, we will have another retreat
and repeat the entire process. My suspicion is that this time will come
sooner than most expect because we have such a degree of fine-tuned focus on
the goals and aspirations for the market center - our collective brain is
assimilated and ALL ON! There is a tremendous self-organizational energy
abuzz that makes this group virtually unstoppable. In the Keller Williams
model what this will create is a strong culture . . . Strong culture yields
higher productivity . . . which brings more profit . . . which leaves in its
wake a whole slew of ecstatic member associates (because we all share in the
profits) . . . and the net result is GROWTH (more agent members) . . . More
growth (higher volume) leverages the profit exponentially . . . THIS is what
it's all about!

I am not a believer that Open Space Technology "created" this success. More
likely, the Keller Williams Realty models and systems were already present
and sitting there waiting for some clean burning fuel to launch. One analogy
that surfaced for me was that of the Space ship. It takes a tremendous
amount of energy to push a space ship off the ground and through our
atmosphere . . . but once it's up there, there are no limits. Keller
Williams Realty's models and systems are the structure - the engine and the
vessel . . . the passion and responsibility of the membership (the people)
are the fuel . . . and the creation of community through permissive
self-organization (Open Space) is the high octane boost needed to BLAST
through the stratosphere.

Anyone can take a model/system and implement it. Few can actually achieve
stratospheric success with it . . . What differentiates 2 groups who
implement the same models and systems equally yet one reaches altitudes the
other only dreams about? I believe the real difference is "permission for
freedom" to move about the system for all members on a level playing field.
It is this arrangement that provides an "appropriate" environment for
self-organization of the membership. When folks feel unrestricted from
crossing what I can only think to call the "discipline barrier" . . . That
is, the natural (human created barrier) between Staff and Sales,
Administrative and Executive, production and accounting etc etc etc. . . .
Great things can happen. Issues and opportunities can more easily be
resolved when direct relationships exist that transcend these discipline
barriers . . . WITHOUT having to "go to committee."

This creates a fluid, natural organization . . . one that FLOWS . . . one
that encounters an obstacle and nimbly goes under, over, or through the
obstacle with ease. I believe this type of Organization can be coined to be
an "Open Space Organization" - It runs along as a community. As issues
arise, the membership handles them in mini-conferences around the coffee pot
or in the lunch room or around the community bulletin board . . . When
something arises that necessitates attention by the group as a whole, the
whole village is invited to meet to tackle it - in Open Space . . . and
ANYONE can call such a meeting. Market shifts, sudden aggressive
competitors, economic shifts, internal issues . . . anything goes . . . and
the group has faith that the knowledge is in the room to handle whatever it
is . . . Life is good :-)

One final thought - For all of this to work, there MUST be a community
Bulletin Board that is alive and well. This board would need to be in a
central location - Easily accessible - Unrestricted - The perfect example of
such that comes to mind is on most college campuses. Strolling through a
campus, invariably you'll see a "Totem Pole" with cork sides for the posting
of miscellany . . . and usually, these boards are surrounded by comfortable
(group friendly) places to sit to encourage collection of people . . . The
net result is that people accumulate in that space frequently , and the
issues of the day are discussed . . . and resolved.

How can all of this be created in a work environment . . . and who will do
it?

The answer is quite simple . . . The collective membership of the
organization . . .

November 18, 2006
The Ballots are IN! Yesterday, I arrived at the office as usual. We had
already received @ 25 ballots for the retreat prioritization and had
sub-totaled those. I knew that the ALC meeting was to be at noon. This is
the first ALC meeting for the new members to the ALC. The agenda was to
"Form The Committees" (Productivity, Profit/Finance, Growth, & Culture). I
had previously agreed to continue as Productivity Committee Chair.

One final prompt via email to our group stimulated the return of 10 more
ballots. We had over 50% of the participants in the event voting, so we feel
good that the results are a good representation of the priorities of the
group as a whole.

The day prior, we had a "Book Club" meeting . . . The book was my Father's
newest book about "Achieving High Performance in Organizations" . . . Sort
of a good intro to creating a Self-organizing Open Space Organization. In
that meeting, the participants resolved to create a community bulletin board
in a central location at the office and to move forward on engaging our
entire membership in the daily development of the market center through the
use of this "Marketplace."

Things appear to be moving quickly towards some fast, effective change.

The ALC meeting was a good one - somewhat lightly attended but useful. I was
scrambling to get the report ready from the retreat and was able to present
the top 20 issues and opportunities for the Market Center as defined by the
membership ranked in order of importance . . . We now have a road map . . .
Our realization was that each issue/opportunity had components which
would/could be addressed by more than one of the committees, so we resolved
that each committee would meet independently (within the next 2 weeks) with
the proceedings and extract a prioritized list of 1) Immediate action items
2) mid-range projects (monthly) to be projected/scheduled throughout 2007
and 3) long range goals. . . hmmm - follows the 411 model to a "T" . . . At
the next ALC meeting (December), the committees will each present their 411
. . . and each of these will be compared to be certain that there is no
duplication . . . In the event of duplication, the committees will either
decide to hand the issue off to ONE committee or they may agree to
"co-tackle" the issue.

I will report as things progress . . . I can't think of anything more
exciting than a step by step accounting of the creation of an Open Space
Organization . . . so far so good :-)

Best,

b
Barry Owen
www.theowengroup.net
Simply Living the FOURFOLD Way in Open Space!

Also . . . if you know of anyone (friend, family, work associate) in need of
help with real estate, please give me a call. I LOVE referrals and treat
them like royalty :-)
 
Website www.theowengroup.net
Visit my BLOG @ http://creatingspaces.blogspot.com/

Barry Owen
Principal Broker
The Owen Group
Keller Williams Realty - Green Hills Market Center
30 Burton Hills Blvd Ste 175
Nashville, TN 37215
Direct - 615.568.2123
Toll Free 866.375.0965
Fax - 615.523.2462
 
Keller Williams Realty is a learning-based Training & Consulting Company
supporting our Real Estate Professionals by offering business models,
systems, tools, & support to Build Careers Worth Having, Businesses Worth
Owning, and Lives worth living . . . We are THE fastest growing, most
innovative real estate company in America. Check us out @
www.theowengroup.net OR www.homselrs.com 


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