My Microsoft experience
Steven "Doc" List
doc at anotherthought.com
Fri Nov 21 23:00:18 PST 2008
Hello, my friends.
I've just finished an interesting couple of days.
As you may or may not know, Microsoft has a highly tarnished
reputation when it comes to Open Space. They've tried, and pretty
much botched it a couple of highly visible times.
This week was their Strategic Architect Forum, put on by the same
fellow who had me do their Open Space in Redmond in April.
284 software architects and managers from 34 countries and 190
different organizations/companies.
Roughly 260 of them had no idea what Open Space was about, many of
them being skeptical (as usual :-)).
I had faith, as always, that it would all come together, and it did.
I'm learning, each time, the importance of what I refer to as the set-
up. Walking the circle, explaining why they're there and what they
have a chance to do and then how they're going to do it - that's the
"set-up", combined with the process of crafting the invitation
(thanks, Michael!).
This was my largest event to date. Three concentric circles of chairs
in the opening and closing circles. Some reluctance on the part of
many of them to propose topics. A microphone as the talking stick/
token in the closing circle, passed as often as used to speak.
And afterward, the energy and excitement.
But between the beginning of the closing circle and the "afterward", I
achieved something important for the first time.
I recall Harrison saying something along the lines of "if they thank
you at the end, you haven't done the job of facilitation right."
Always before, someone - or several someones - has thanked me in the
closing circle, praising me, recognizing me. I admit that I was
skeptical about the whole idea of not being thanked, since it has
always seemed that they're all so aware of me, even as I have worked
to be invisibly present.
Today, at the end of the closing circle, I realized that no one had
mentioned my name, thanked me, recognized me in any way.
And I realized that my contribution was in enabling them to have a
unique and meaningful experience, and that by doing so effectively, I
had achieved something new. I had finally become only a part of the
overall experience, contributing and enabling, but taking a back seat
to the community and its experience.
And along the way, I helped to introduce a wider group to the
pleasures of Open Space Technology, and might get to do so again with
some of them.
Wow.
Thanks, Harrison.
..Doc
--
Steven "Doc" List, Principal Consultant, ThoughtWorks NA
Mobile: +1 (512) 924-9248 | Skype: steven.list | Yahoo: dadjester
email: doc at thoughtworks.com | doc at anotherthought.com | web: www.thoughtworks.com
Watch me being interviewed about Open Space Technology: http://www.infoq.com/interviews/Open-Spaces-Steven-List
Everyone should know it's the month of Movember! Please donate to the
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