Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Tue Aug 4 08:41:03 PDT 2009

I've done it every which way, depending on the size of the event,  
timeframes and the group itself.  If the group is small enough, I like  
to do the grid with the post-its on it.

At the 2005 Girl Scout convention, I was worried that with nearly  
2,000 participants, it would take too much time to have the typical  
bulletin board.  Harrison and Peggy assured me that it wouldn't take  
more time to have everyone "go to the wall".  So, we set up 17 sticky  
walls that corresponded with the breakout session times and opened the  
space.  We also had some "wall stewards" who helped orient the  
participants when they were posting their session topic sheets, which  
was a very good thing given what happened.

As it turns out, my microphone went out part way through opening the  
space.  I was getting feedback that large portions of the 1,800 people  
couldn't hear me.  I've never been so happy to see that rush to the  
wall!

Even those who could not hear me figured out that they needed to take  
their session topic to the wall where the stewards (who had been  
immersed in the philosophy of being invisible) were able to offer  
quick and minimal support.  As Larry says, there were tremendous  
benefits to being at the edge of chaos!

Christine

Christine Whitney Sanchez
Collaborative Wisdom & Strategy
480.759.0262
www.christinewhitneysanchez.com
Skype: christinewhitneysanchez
http://www.facebook.com/ChristineWhitneySanchez

On Aug 4, 2009, at 6:58 AM, Larry Peterson wrote:

The only "grid" I use is the one I put the post-its on.  I prefer the  
free
form posting of topics on the wall, and maybe some splitting of Day 1  
and
Day 2.  For me, the chaos at the wall is intentional and if its not  
there,
then the benefits of being at the "edge of chaos" are not achieved.   
People
have to use their intuition as well as logic when deciding what topic to
pursue. It is clearly not a traditional agenda.

Larry

Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
larry at spiritedorg.com   416.653.4829 http://www.spiritedorg.com

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Jon  
Harvey
Sent: August-04-09 4:48 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Erik

I have mostly created grids using making tape which certainly looks more
like a 'standard' agenda - rows for time slots and columns for places.  
That
is their main value I think...

However I have experienced several difficulties:

1) Merging and combining discussions becomes a bit constrained
2) You need a big wall - which is often not available
3) I was always left wondering why we had the post-it notes and the
scheduled box on the grid - as they duplicated each other - in effect.
4) If a balloon popped (or escaped - see by blog for a pic!
http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/ ) all the sheets for that  
session
had to be moved.

So now I favour the freeform - but slightly organised - approach. I  
choose X
wall spaces (where X is the number of time slots) and ask people to post
their discussions there - attaching the appropriate sticky note  
(11.00ish
and balloon G). People can consult the wall space at any time and see  
laid
out, the various sessions that are happening at that time. This can  
apply to
new people also - if they helped, as need be, to understand what it all
means - which takes 10 seconds in my experience. Merging discussions  
is also
far easier with this method. It also does not give any spurious  
'order' to
the ideas - because they are arranged higgledy-piggledy.

For finding the discussions - I usually opt for large letter shaped  
balloons
suspended 2m from the floor. If you are sponsoring session D - you go  
and
get the D balloon and a flip chart and see who turns up. (see
http://www.classiccelebrations.com/images/categories/alphabetletteraballooni
mage.jpg for an example)

Hope this helps...

Very best wishes

Jon
___________________________________________________

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-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Erik
Fabian
Sent: 04 August 2009 05:08
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: [OSLIST] Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Hello,

I have been thinking about the bulletin board and the debate that  
happened a
while back on this
list about whether a totally free collage of session postings is somehow
better than OS style events
that use a grid layout that notes time/locations.

I agree that the complete free flowing collage approach has an elegant
appeal but I have been
asking myself a different question...why do some OS style events even  
use a
grid?

I wonder how did the use of the grid evolve at these events? What is  
their
value?

I can only speculate on how these event evolved into using a grid (or if
that is how they started out
perhaps) but I have realize one advantage...they allow new  
participants to
easily to join in with an
event that is already in progress.

When someone shows up late to a public event and encounters a messy  
session
board it is hard,
without further explanation, for them to understand what is going on,  
where
it is happening, if it
is happening, and if so when.

The original OS literature I have read usually emphasizes that  
participants
are present start to
finish. There are many obvious benefits to this but the relevant one  
here is
that everyone is
present during the original board making. They have some sense of how it
evolved into whatever
mess that it becomes and how it changes as people go about the  
experience.

It makes sense if the original OS literature isn't accounting late  
arrivals
that it doesn't need
something like a grid to help late arrivals get oriented quickly.

Thoughts?

Cheerio,
Erik

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