"Trouble-makers" in Open Space/OS-magic / X-posted OS-GC-lists

Sun Sep 14 02:49:49 PDT 2008

Hi Thomas (and all)

Your story made me think of a delightful thing that happened at Belfast City
Council. The council had held a large celebration in the main hall and
several balloons had got loose and floated up to the high ceiling. This
posed them with a significant problem and the officials were at the point of
hiring some very expensive scaffolding to get them down. Until, that is, a
cleaner worked out a simple method. Get another balloon on a piece of
string, attach some masking tape to it in a loop – so that there is some
stickiness facing outwards, and then float this near the wayward balloons.
They attach themselves to the ‘sticky balloon’ and you can bring them down
again. I am not sure if the cleaner concerned was rewarded for this cost
saving measure – but he/she should have been! I now always use this method
when I lose balloons in my Open Space events!

Glad to hear that you made sure that the show went on, Thomas! I presume you
are now fully recovered.

Very best wishes

Jon

___________________________________________________

Jon Harvey

www.jonharveyassociates.co.uk

07771 537535

01280 822585

Bridge.jpg.png

Helping you connect the prose and the passion 

to deliver superlative results

From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Thomas
Herrmann
Sent: 13 September 2008 21:56
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: "Trouble-makers" in Open Space/OS-magic / X-posted OS-GC-lists

Dear friends in Open Space/GC

The passed days I opened space for 2 full days for a +300 group (as
mentioned in an earlier record-announcement). 

Before the event my sponsors were quite nervous because two of the expected
participants were well known from several other occasions for disturbing and
even going to personal (verbal) aggression. I calmed them down sharing that
OST allows space for people to do what they need to without letting anyone
taking over the space – and that people usually treat each other well.

Before starting one of them came up to me asking where we were going to show
pictures/powerpoints – and I, of course, said there would be none. 

During the event these two persons raised two topics (one each I think) and
both were very well visited, about 20-40 participants, lively discussions,
and as I heard very respectful and good ones. The first afternoon one of
them spent a quite long time at the computer station writing the first
report. He was not so used to writing on computers so it took quite some
effort. The next day they were writing the report together, very thoroughly.

In the late afternoon of the first day quite a few of the participants had
left early, but they remained. After evening news they stayed on a little to
help the sponsors 

with some minor practicalities.

In the prioritization process one of their topic were on 4th place.

At the closing circle on day two they shared the following: Person one: This
is the first conference where I haven’t seen people going to sleep. Person
two: At first I thought, what is this consultant (paid lots of money) going
to try to do to us? But then...this was such a great way of working
together....

During the Medicine Wheel reflection one of them shared thoughts regarding
vision – she thought that the visions where already there, but this was a
great way to agree on common visions. 

One of the sponsors came up to me afterwards quite moved and shared some of
her thoughts regarding the magic of what had happened to these persons – AND
to others who all of a sudden showed them respect and treated them as fellow
humans...

Open Space Technology works in many magic ways – and I am fortunate and
honored to open space to wonderful people like this.

Thanks for being on this journey with me

Warmly

Thomas Herrmann Phone +46 (0)709-98 97 81
Open Space Consulting
Pensévägen 4
434 46 Kungsbacka, Sweden
Email:  <mailto:thomas at openspaceconsulting.com>
thomas at openspaceconsulting.com 

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