Thoughts on a Town Crier

TYASTO tyasto at sapa.nsk.su
Tue Jan 15 06:42:27 PST 2008


Dear Koos,

I'm reading all this discussion with great interest. And I totally agree
with Tova and Tree that open space 
facilitators work as cultural capacity shamans and it is total magic how it
works. Every time it works differently and I'm prepared to be surprised. And
each time I learn something new. I am speaking now about short open space
time within very short OST events when they are not by invitation but
included into the refresher course or conference, when people come to it not
knowing what to expect. And we use OST not for demonstration of method but
for special goal - to provide opportunity to exchange experience and to find
new ways of improvement the work of people involved. I'm talking about civil
servants coming to our Academy for 2 weeks refresher courses from different
corners of Siberia and often Far East of Russia.
They come for two weeks and they are treated as pupils, sitting in the
amphitheatre rooms, looking at the speaker - the expert, teaching them what
and how they should do. Often those experts can't answer the questions of
their students as they don't know all the details of their real work.
So, at the end of their two weeks they come to our OST for 2 or 3 hours to
think how they could use all this new knowledge and bring it home to
implement in their work.
The problem is that after two weeks of being pupils they have reflex to
listen the expert and write it down and totally unprepared to think on their
own or do something. So, everything that happened with them in the OST
session is a shock and "is an 
amazing thing, that is the whole point, that is 
evolution unfolding". Many times some participant came to me before the
class asking Can we finish earlier as we are leaving tomorrow and have lots
to do. And sometimes we finish earlier doing all things faster and it's OK.
Once I told to the group that we will meet again at such and such time for
closing - I came back to the room and they were sitting again at the tables
waiting for me. It was a surprise!  For closing we stand in the circle in
the space near the blackboard not to move chairs again.
 I believe OS time is different. We start almost always 5-15 minutes later
because participants are coming from another class later. Then they move the
tables and chairs creating the space by themselves as we don't have a
special room and use regular classrooms. Introduction takes time and I came
to understanding that it is the place where the magic starts as the
participants probably even don't listen what facilitator is saying. They are
afraid that we will do something bad with them. They normally don't believe
that they are able to do anything like suggest an issue to discuss. That is
why they normally like to hear abut butterflies- seeing the opportunity to
avoid doing anything they don't want to.
 But then somehow they start writing the issues - it takes time to put them
on the blackboard. So, normally we use sometime from the first session and
they have even less than 30 minutes for it. Sometimes I even change time on
the schedule for sessions making them less, saying When it starts is the
right time. That is why they continue to talk and not looking at the
schedule and sometimes miss the change for the second session.
 Often the group seeing many interesting issues on the bulletin board wants
to stay together and discuss all of them one by one. I let them do it. But
soon they see themselves sitting in subgroups talking about different
things. Then they could agree that it is better to go to different groups. 
I agree it is the matter of trust in people. The problem is that our people
don't trust themselves. They still belive that somebody has to do something
for them. At the closing circle they often say - It's good we discussed
these hot issues, now we hope that you (me as facilitator) will move it
forward (up to their bosses, to Moscow etc.). And it is amazing and great
unfolding when some people say " I learnt that I can do it" or " We all
think the same so we can do something together" or "It's great feeling to be
a leader".
Everytime participants say that it was the best class, they learnt more than
ever and they would prefer to have it at the beginning of the course.
Everytime they say that until this class they didn't know each other names,
that only after this two hours they feel as a team, they want to continue to
work with each other but have to go home. They say they will call each other
for support. They say they would behave themselves differently at the other
classes with the experts. And Harrison knows when he says that OST is
dangerous at the beginning as then after it people wouldn't like the normal
classes. But we try to change the situation and bring OST earlier. Last fall
I had several times OST at the end of the first week. But people said it
should be on the first day. I agree with them. But the Bosses of the
refresher courses don't. So, we ( me and Elena Marchuk) try to do our best
in our own ways. Changes are coming very fast. Sometimes only two hours is
enough.
 Come to open space here with us, you are welcome to this part of the world.
With best regards,

Marina Tyasto
Novosibirsk

-----Original Message-----
From: Koos de Heer [mailto:koos at auryn.nl]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 4:02 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: Thoughts on a Town Crier


Dear friends,

Interesting to see that out of the original 
message by Peggy, two different discussions 
develop. On the one hand, it is great to see that 
different viewpoints can coexist peacefully next 
to each other - very much like Open Space. On the 
other hand I find it a little disturbing that 
these two discussions seem to look the other way 
where it comes to fundamental differences. A few questions come to mind.

I am wondering about this German arrow above the 
agenda wall. I tend to think that it is an 
example of keeping time and organizing the 
conference for the participants where they would 
be better off organizing it for themselves. I 
never have an arrow like that and I have never 
missed it. I want to quote a little bit of the beautiful mail that Tree
wrote:
>mostly, I guess I think of  open space 
>facilitators as cultural capacity shamans. The 
>human race urgently needs to learn how to trust 
>that all is well and to trust our inner 
>inklings/guidance and the best way for the human 
>race to develop these skills is to spend time in 
>openly-acknowledged open space.  If someone 
>comes to an OS event and 'all' they get out of 
>the event is that moment when they noticed an 
>inner click that said to them 'it is time to 
>move to another session', well, that is an 
>amazing thing, that is the whole point, that is 
>evolution unfolding.  If someone calls the time, 
>we are depriving participants from knowing for 
>their own self what time it is, where they 
>should be, what they should be doing. What an 
>awesome gift to give someone. I will never 
>forget the first moment I got that click when I 
>was in an OS event and I perceived within myself 
>that I was in the wrong room and hey I could 
>follow that inkling until I stood in the place 
>just right. That is os facilitation, if you ask me.
It seems to me that the arrow that Michael 
Pannwitz describes stands in the way of people 
finding their own way. I know that Tree has also 
written that there is no right or wrong, and I 
agree. But still I find it interesting what 
people's thoughts are on these differences. What do you think Michael?

I am also wondering what Elena and Marina think 
about this, having read the posts of Tova and 
Tree. Is it really true that people in certain 
parts of the world need timekeeping and people in 
other parts of the world don't? I tend not to 
think so, but I have never been there so maybe I am wrong.

With love from rainy Utrecht,

Koos

At 09:40 15-1-2008, Michael M Pannwitz wrote:
>Dear Elena,
>if I have a say in it and usually I do all 
>os-related stuff (planning meeting, event, next 
>meeting, etc.) start with a break. The official 
>beginning time is lets say 9 then the time from 
>9 to 9:15 or even 9:30 is a break for people to 
>mull around, have a cup of coffee, go to the 
>bathroom, chat...all the interesting and 
>important things people are accustomed to do to 
>approach the state of "whenever it starts is the 
>right time" (in German it is:Es fängt an, wenn die Zeit reif ist).
>Of course, beginning with a break, and it 
>actually being part of the schedule, gives 
>notice to everyone that there is something 
>different here and that open space emerged out 
>of reflections (the guy with the hat)on the 
>energy, creativity, fun, great company etc. experienced in breaks.
>Have a great day and take a break
>mmp
>
>Elena Marchuk wrote:
>>Hi Michael,
>>thank you for the letter and especially for the 
>>reminding me about adhesive tape rolled 
>>together .... which I saw, when Marina used it, 
>>but ususlly did not use myself. My thoughts 
>>went only to magnets as a possible way out 
>>(need to work more on my brains - to train them  :)
>>and thank you for the picture, I like it. and 
>>arrow ... and especially I like a new item in 
>>the agenda - pause, which is from 8:30 to 9:00. 
>>I will never dream of such an item in an 
>>agenda! Do you mean coffee-break by that?
>>it is also interesting, how different people 
>>organize their 'seeing materials'
>>I really enjoyed that!
>>thank you very much
>>warm hugs from cold Siberia
>>Elena
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael M Pannwitz"
<mmpanne at boscop.org>
>>To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
>>Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 12:51 PM
>>Subject: Re: Thoughts on a Town Crier
>>
>>>Dear Elena,
>>>oh, this arrow is very hightech, of course.
>>>It is made of 160g red heavy paper, cut with a scissor.
>>>It is attached to the schedule either with a 
>>>pin in case the surface permits that or with a 
>>>short piece of adhesive tape rolled together 
>>>and stuck to the backside (a chewing gum might 
>>>do the trick, too)...the point is, it needs to be movable.
>>>Constructing this time arrow is one of the 
>>>tasks in setting up an open space as described 
>>>in the set of task cards...usually team 
>>>members get into a fight over who gets to do 
>>>that task. The word "now" (in German "jetzt", 
>>>which by the way is a wonderful old word 
>>>containing both the roots for "now" and 
>>>"eternity", a real open space word)is written 
>>>on both sides of the arrow so that the arrow 
>>>can point either to the right or to the left. As I said, hi tech.
>>>In the following link you see the time arrow 
>>>being used in a German/Russian open space with 
>>>both languages shown on the time arrow
>>>>http://www.boscop.org/page/show/100
>>>
>>>Have fun
>>>mmp
>>>
>>>Elena Marchuk wrote:
>>>>Hi Michael, thank you for the idea,
>>>>I love it and will think, how to do it on my  time/place schedule
>>>>and wonder, what do you mean by cardboard arrow?
>>>>is it magnetic?
>>>>as usually I have just space near the 
>>>>blackboard, which I use to be free for 
>>>>posters, and it is just for one flip-chart 
>>>>paper and no space for a sort of one-arrow 
>>>>watch, which I thought first of... so it 
>>>>could be an arrow just over the words : 
>>>>session1, session 2 - which would need a big 
>>>>arrow....sorry, and happy, I have fun with thinking about this
>>>>take care
>>>>and best wishes in a Happy New Year, today in 
>>>>Russia is an OLD (ortodox) Happy New Year, so 
>>>>we have 2 of them and very happy to celibrate 
>>>>everything twice (our Christas was on January, 7:)
>>>>elena marchuk
>>>>novosibirsk
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael M 
>>>>Pannwitz" <mmpanne at boscop.org>
>>>>To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
>>>>Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 1:14 AM
>>>>Subject: Re: Thoughts on a Town Crier
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Dear Peggy,
>>>>>I have never seen anybody in these parts do what Jon does.
>>>>>That might have different reasons such as 
>>>>>the many training events and local OSonOS people have participated
in...
>>>>>What is done here a lot and I always do it, 
>>>>>is to have a detailed schedule posted on a 
>>>>>large flipchart complete with a time arrow 
>>>>>(a little red cardboard arrow with the word 
>>>>>"now" written on it). When introducing the 
>>>>>schedule to the group I also point out the 
>>>>>function of the arrow...me or another team 
>>>>>member and often participants themselves 
>>>>>move the arrow as the event progresses. My 
>>>>>line is: In case you lose track of time or 
>>>>>wonder what is next just walk up to the schedule and have a look at the
arrow.
>>>>>Of course, sometimes people come up to me 
>>>>>and ask about beginning times, my response 
>>>>>is to just point to the schedule...I would 
>>>>>hate to add a town crier to my repertoire 
>>>>>seems it would be one more thing to do and 
>>>>>one chance for selforganisation and selfmanagement taken away.
>>>>>Here is a few links to show examples of schedules with the time arrow
>>>>>>http://www.boscop.org/page/show/102
>>>>>>http://www.boscop.org/page/show/99
>>>>>>http://www.boscop.org/page/show/100
>>>>>>http://www.boscop.org/page/show/101
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Have a great day in Seattle!
>>>>>Greetings from Berlin
>>>>>mmp
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Peggy Holman wrote:
>>>>>>Has anyone noticed more milling about before people move into
>>>>>>sessions over the last few years?  I'd been noticing enough of a
>>>>>>trend this way that I always intend to explicitly tell people that
>>>>>>there won't be anyone telling them when to move, that it is up to
>>>>>>them to follow their own rhythms and interests.  I haven't quite
>>>>>>internalized this yet, so I usually forget.  Anyway, I think I may
>>>>>>have figured out what is going on.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I just did an OS for a friend for a group of about 50.  He uses OS a
>>>>>>lot but wanted to be able to really participate in this one.   He
>>>>>>told me that he was a little surprised when the first round of
>>>>>>breakout sessions was starting that I didn't tell people it was time
>>>>>>to get started.  He came to me when the first round after lunch were
>>>>>>scheduled to start and asked me wasn't I going to ring a bell and let
>>>>>>people know?  I basically told him that I never did that.  The
>>>>>>participants were adults and could figure it out for themselves.  He
>>>>>>was floored and a little upset.  He said he always lets people know.
>>>>>>And then it dawned on me:  there are more and more people who have
>>>>>>experienced OS.  Perhaps there are many practitioners doing what Jon
>>>>>>does - telling people when it is time to start the next session.  I
>>>>>>realized that since most of these folks came at Jon's invitation,
>>>>>>they were probably enculturated to responding to a bell.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>So I took what seemed a middle ground to me and rang a bell, saying,
>>>>>>"It's 1:30 and all's well."  I figured a town crier was a minimalist
>>>>>>thing to do -- providing information without attachment to how people
>>>>>>used it.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I then spoke more with Jon because I wanted to understand his
>>>>>>perspective.  He said that to him, what is posted, like the session
>>>>>>start times, are part of the commons and when he is holding the
>>>>>>space, that is part of his contract with the group, to give them the
>>>>>>information.  He doesn't care what they do once they hear it.  So, it
>>>>>>strikes me that Town Crier is a good description of what he does.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Given the trend I mentioned, I suspect Jon isn't the only one doing
>>>>>>something like this.  I'd love to hear other thoughts on providing
>>>>>>information that marks the passage of time.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>from sunny (for a change) Seattle, Peggy
>>>>>>
>>>>>>________________________________ Peggy Holman The Open Circle Company
>>>>>>  15347 SE 49th Place Bellevue, WA  98006 (425) 746-6274
>>>>>>
>>>>>>www.opencirclecompany.com
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>For the new edition of The Change Handbook, 
>>>>>>go to: www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook
>>>>>>
>>>>>>"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get
>>>>>>burnt, is to become the fire". -- Drew Dellinger
>>>>>>
>>>>>>* * 
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>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
>>>>>Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
>>>>>++49-30-772 8000
>>>>>www.boscop.org   www.michaelmpannwitz.de
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Check out the Open Space World Map presently 
>>>>>showing 472 resident Open Space Workers in 
>>>>>76 countries (working in a total of 132 countries worldwide)
>>>>>www.openspaceworldmap.org
>>>>>
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>--
>
>
>
>
>Michael M Pannwitz, boscop eg
>Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
>++49-30-772 8000
>www.boscop.org   www.michaelmpannwitz.de
>
>
>Check out the Open Space World Map presently 
>showing 472 resident Open Space Workers in 76 
>countries (working in a total of 132 countries worldwide)
>www.openspaceworldmap.org
>
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