Just Do It / Make it Happen - Story of an Open Space
Communications Esther Matte
ematte at excellence.ca
Fri Nov 23 09:15:49 PST 2007
Great, great story Judy! Thanks for sharing it.
You made me laugh too with the high heels and the pantyhose :-)
Esther
At 11:33 2007-11-23, you wrote:
>In keeping with the vein of ‘Just Do It and
>resources will appear’ (formerly Finding Funding
>for Community Work), this is a report on an Open
>Space event I facilitated this week wherein, I
>‘Just Did It’ and
resources appeared (or will appear).
>
> <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
>
>The title of this story and the theme of the OS
>event is (was); “Making It Happen”.
>
>
>
>
>
>Background on me (for context):
>
>
>
>My life was forever altered the week of May 27 –
>31, 1996 when I took the Open Space Train the
>Trainer at St. Ignatius College (a monastery in
>Guelph, Ontario) with the Man with the Hat,
>Larry Peterson and Birgitt Williams. At the
>time, I was an Organizational
>Development/Training and Development type
>working for a large prestigious (at the time) multinational corporation.
>
>
>
>I had just spent a year of my life working for a
>Type A micromanager (who was located in
>Australia) planning, organization and
>implementing a series of conferences for the
>senior level executives outside of North
>American. It was a huge and cumbersome project.
>I was on the phone 24-7. I spent thousands of
>company dollars – doing a detailed needs
>assessment, designing workshops, hiring
>facilitators around the world, and managing the
>onsite logistics in four international
>locations. All while playing the role of group
>psychologist and attempting to manage the
>emotional roller coaster inherent in a
>micromanaged, remote team. While the hotels were
>nice and the food was good, at the end of the
>day (or month or year), most people involved
>(participants, sponsors, organizing team) would
>say (provided they were guaranteed
>confidentiality) that we did not get a good return on the investment.
>
>
>
>If it weren’t red, I would have grey hair as a
>result of this experience. After that, unless I
>found a better way, I swore I would never get
>involved in planning large group events
>again. Fortunately, at St. Ignatius College, I found ‘the better way’.
>
>
>
>After that I introduced the approach to my
>company. While I had considerable success at
>the lower levels, my inroads with the executives were limited.
>
>
>
>I was let go from this company several years
>ago. Since then, as an external Organizational
>Development/Training and Development type, I
>have had several opportunities to Open Space
>with organizations and sponsors who ‘get it’ as
>I do. I also had child number two.
>
>
>
>This past spring, as both kids would be in
>school in September and our finances were
>faltering, my husband and I agreed that it was
>time for me to seek full time employment
>again. To help me learn ‘how to get a job’, I
>joined a local networking group comprised of ‘Executives in Transition’.
>
>
>
>This is where my story begins.
>
>
>
>The Story – ‘Making It Happen’
>
>
>
>The first session I attended, I felt a bit
>awkward. The group, about 60 ‘Executives in
>Transition’, were mostly 40-60 year old men in
>suits and white shirts The few women attendees
>were wearing dressy suits, high heels and
>pantyhose (not attire this mother of young
>children is familiar with). I tried not to
>feel too self-conscious, as I stood up in my
>Birkenstock equivalents and corduroy pants to
>introduce myself and give my ‘30 second
>commercial’. (I had failed to read on the
>website that the dress code for these meetings is ‘first interview’).
>
>
>
>However, it appeared like a group where I could
>work on my 30 second commercial, interviewing
>skills, and, network to make connections to
>those who might hire me. So I dusted off my
>‘professional woman’ jackets and pants (no
>pantyhose for me
) and showed up at the second
>meeting better ‘suited’ to fit in.
>
>
>
>The format of the group was conventional. The
>first half hour was “Good News’ – reports from
>people who had interviews or had landed, and
>then new members were asked to give their 30
>second commercial (aka ‘You never get an second
>chance to make a first good impression.). Then
>a keynote speaker, followed by 1 ½ hours of
>table team ‘networking’. For networking we were
>numbered off and asked to go to the
>appropriate table. In a round robin fashion,
>each person at the table talks about their
>career background and direction, practices their
>commercial, and the group supports with suggestions and advice.
>
>
>
>At the first networking session I ended up with
>a group of men (mostly in white shirts), most of
>who were in the Food Packaging industry. I
>learned a bit about this industry and asked some
>relevant questions, and they were polite and
>worked to understand my field and come up with
>appropriate suggestions and advice for me.
>
>
>
>Of course, I know that this process would be
>much more valuable (and fun) if we did it in
>Open Space. To me, it is a ‘no brainer’
>application. So I suggest it to the Man in
>Charge. He was intrigued, and amongst other
>questions asked me how he would ‘measure the
>success’ of such a session. I told him that we
>would measure it by the number of people who
>showed up (there are about 1500 members of this
>group, but only 100 – 150 show up for the weekly
>meetings at three locations) and the formal and
>anecdotal feedback from the attendees of the
>session. He agrees that it might be a good idea
>to ‘try something new’ and says he will fit me into the schedule.
>
>
>
>Several months later, after numerous exchanges
>of emails and conversations (discussing Open
>Space and agreeing on the theme and invitation),
>the Man in Charge schedules the session for
>November 20th. In the announcement on the
>organization’s website and in the local paper,
>and at the November 13th meeting, the session is
>announced as “Open Space Technology – The Next
>Generation of Networking” by expert speaker –
>Judy Gast. (Wow
. an Open Space and a Networking
>expert
if only...life would be beautiful
) I
>raise my hand and clarify that I am not an
>expert on networking and will be ‘facilitating’
>a session where participants have an opportunity
>to get into conversations about whatever they
>have passion for. I say our theme will be
>“Successful Career Transitions – Making it
>Happen”. The boss of the Man in Charge (i.e.
>the founding father of the organization)
>interrupts me and says curtly, “Oh, I didn’t know, no one told me about that”.
>
>
>
>Weeks before the event, I discuss the set up for
>the room with the Event coordinator for the
>facility. I give her a hand drawn diagram. She
>sends me back a computer diagram with 60 chairs
>in a square. I email her back that the chairs
>need to be in a circle. We go back and
>forth. She sends me a terse email and says that
>the square is the best her software can do. I
>explain how once before I showed up early in the
>morning before an Open Space and had to
>rearrange 200 chairs into a circle. She
>reassures me that her staff will understand the
>concept of a circle. (They didn’t.)
>
>
>
>I patiently wait for the Man in Charge to send
>out the short, pithy, intriguing announcement
>(as we had agreed) to the entire group (all 1500
>members). He doesn’t. I call him a couple days
>before the event and politely tell him that if
>members think that a speaker named Judy Gast
>(i.e. an unknown person who hasn’t written a
>book) is going to talk about ‘Open Space – The
>Next Generation of Networking’, then he will get
>less than the normal number of attendees. He
>sees my point and emails the announcement to the entire group.
>
>
>
>The day before the event I am shopping in my
>local drug store and I see a cute little
>battery-operated massager in the shape of a
>bee. I think this will be cute to use when I
>describe the bumblebees. At 25 dollars it is
>overpriced, but I fork over my grocery money for
>the week and buy it nevertheless.
>
>
>
>I show up for the event early, concerned about
>whether the facility staff understands the
>concept of a circle. Forty five minutes later,
>after having rearranged chairs, put the bee and
>the pens and paper in the centre, put up the
>posters and garnered flipcharts for the
>breakouts, I am ready and confident that
>everything is going to work just fine. After
>all, The Man with the Hat’s number one mantra
>is: “Anyone with a good head and a good heart
>can do it”. I had loving parents who sent me to
>good schools, so I should qualify.
>
>
>
>About 75 people show up by 8:30, the scheduled
>start time. A different Man in Charge welcomes
>everyone and announces the ‘workshop’
>agenda. First he says we will have ‘Good News’
>and ‘Introduction of New Members’. That will be
>followed by Part One of the Open Space Workshop,
>followed by a 15 minute break, after which comes
>Part Two of the Workshop. Obviously, he didn’t
>know and no one told him either. I don’t say anything.
>
>
>
>We have about 20 new members (the average for
>any previous meeting I attended was 6). It
>takes forever for them to get through their ’30
>second commercials’ per the required formula,
>which is projected on the wall. (I couldn’t
>convince them that an overhead projector was
>really not required for this piece.) The group
>patiently and politely listens.
>
>
>
>The original Man in Charge is handed the mike to
>introduce me. I had emailed him a short, pithy
>biography. Since I hadn’t written a book, I
>thought the group would need some information
>about me to let them know they were not going to
>be turned over to a complete incompetent (this
>group is particularly sceptical of touchy feely
>HR/OD types). He doesn’t read it. He says
>something to the effect of “At this group, we
>are always willing to try something
>different. After all, if you always do what
>you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you
>always got. Judy Gast, a member of this group,
>twisted my arm to try this new process for our
>networking. It is called Open Source
>Technology. Please be sure to give us your
>feedback at the end so we know whether to do it
>again. Please welcome Judy Gast.”
>
>
>
>I sigh, under my breath, but loudly. The man
>sitting next to me notices. I stand up, thank
>the Man in Charge for the opportunity to present
>something new to the group, and start walking
>the circle. I breathe. They are all staring
>at me, sceptically, with their arms crossed. Or
>so it appears to me. In the interest of time, or
>perhaps because I was nervous, I don’t say half
>the things I had planned. Actually, I cut it
>short because...at the last moment..I remember
>the words of the Man in the Hat. His second
>mantra is ‘Think of one more thing not to say
>or was it not to do?’ Whatever, it
>works. (That, by the way, is the Man in the
>Hat’s third mantra: ‘It always works’.)
>
>
>
>I didn’t forget to give tribute to the Man in
>the Hat – even told the group about the Utube
>video wherein he does a 30 second elevator
>speech on Open Space in the back of a
>cab. (They were not interested, probably should have left that piece out.)
>
>
>
>When I get to the part about bumblebees and
>butterflies I turn on the battery operated
>bumblebee. It makes a loud racket on the wood
>floor as it buzzes around. People laugh. I am
>glad I spent my grocery money on the bee
I know
>I have plenty of oatmeal and peanut butter in the cupboard.
>
>
>
>When I say ‘Go for it’ and point to the paper in
>the centre, half a dozen folks rush to the
>centre. Others are amazed. After several
>periods of silence, wherein people and potential
>topics lurk, twelve sheets of paper are posted
>on the wall - six for each time slot. Perfect –
>just what the grid allocated (there were more
>stickies/spaces if needed). I invite everyone
>to go to the wall and get to work. Everybody
>goes to the wall. The mingling, shuffling and
>buzzing starts. Several ask me questions about
>what they are supposed to do. I think; perhaps
>I left out too much. Oh well, they get it and go to work.
>
>
>
>A couple minutes later I go to the wall to
>peruse the topics. There are only four topics
>posted for the first session and numerous people
>are still hanging out deciding where to
>go. Where are the missing topics? I look
>around. The initiators took their papers and
>posted them on the walls next to their
>flipcharts. I scurry around and collect them
>and retape them to the agenda wall.
>
>
>
>A woman wearing a dressy suit, high heels and
>pantyhose comes up to me. She tells me that she
>would have posted a topic but she didn’t want to
>get down on the floor in her skirt and
>heels. I smile apologetically and tell her
>that I am sorry I didn’t think of that. I hand
>her a piece of paper and encourage her to post
>her topic. She carefully writes her topic on
>the paper and tapes it on the wall. I’m glad
>that I don’t own a dressy suit, high heels or a pair of pantyhose.
>
>
>
>When it is about 10 minutes past the time for
>the second session to start, people are all over
>
mingling and talking to each other (being
>butterflies). Two people come up to me, plainly
>worried. “Aren’t you going to ring a bell and
>ask people to move to the next session?”, they
>ask. “Whenever it starts is the right time”, I
>reply politely. Turns out, they were topic
>initiators - worried that no one would show up
>for their sessions. They returned to their
>flipcharts, people showed up, and the discussions flowed.
>
>
>
>The boss of the Man in Charge is concerned as
>one group has about 20 people, and one person
>appears to be dominating. He tells me a story
>about how for a while they ‘had’ to put an
>external ‘person in charge’ at each of the
>networking table teams to make sure that
>everyone got equal air time. I smile and make
>an inane comment noting that; ‘if you treat
>people like adults, they are more likely to act
>like adults’. He doesn’t get it.
>
>
>
>When it is time for the closing circle, I do
>ring my bell. Every seat is occupied. I
>explain that this time is for comments,
>reflections, insights on what they learned
>whatever people feel like saying. I walk the
>circle with the mike. Numerous comments are
>made about how much fun it was, how people
>really opened up and shared what was important
>to them. There are several poignant comments
>about new insights, new connections and actions
>planned as a result of the conversations. A man
>volunteers to write up the session, include all
>the Reports and post a consolidated document on
>the website. A woman asks me how often this
>group plans to use this approach for our
>meetings. I carefully deflect the question and
>turn to the Man in Charge to answer it. He
>smiles (at me) and asks the group; “How many
>people would like to see us use this approach
>again?”. Everyone raises his/her hand
>enthusiastically. He says that they will for
>sure use it (and me, if I am available) again.
>
>
>
>When it is over, numerous people come up to me
>and thank me for the great session. Several
>people want to talk to me about potential
>applications for their not-for-profit or other
>group. One person asks me to be a speaker at a
>course that she is organizing. I am happy the ‘trial’ worked.
>
>
>
>After cleaning up, the Man in Charge comes over
>to thank me. He says he wants me to do it for
>the other two locations and he will deem those
>sessions ‘workshops’ (vs. speakers). I tell
>him I don’t really care what it is called (after
>all this one was announced in the beginning as a
>‘workshop’). He tells me; “We pay people to run
>the workshops.” I reply, “Fine, make it a workshop”.
>
>
>
>After all, I need money to buy groceries for my family.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Postlude and thanks
>
>
>
>I want to thank Larry Peterson for encouraging
>me to write up this story. He has been my
>colleague, friend and mentor ever since I met
>him at St. Ignatius College in May 1996.
>
>Judy Gast
>
>
>__________ Information NOD32 2682 (20071123) __________
>
>Ce message a ete verifie par NOD32 Antivirus System.
><http://www.nod32.com>http://www.nod32.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
*
*
==========================================================
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/20071123/43499469/attachment-0016.htm>
More information about the OSList
mailing list