Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Lisa Heft lisaheft at openingspace.net
Tue Aug 4 17:32:20 PDT 2009


Hi, all.
I love this sharing of experiences about grid versus zero grid versus  
things in-between.

I tried out a grid some years ago and used it for a few times,  
thinking it reduced a step (zero post-its - you simply bring your  
topic sheet up to the wall and place it).  And then I stopped because  
of a few impressions:  It implied a finite number of topics (when in  
my further experience I know now to always have a few additional  
discussion spaces 'in my back pocket' to pull out if the wall fills up  
- I like the 'no limits to the number of topics possible' idea).  I  
noticed also that if a very few number of topics went up sometimes  
that would make a group feel 'we didn't do enough' - and we all know  
that creativity and passionate discussion need not be measured by 'how  
many'.  And: and here is something I also do when working with groups  
not in Open Space - a grid / lines have people thinking a bit more on  
a linear basis, and often it can be very useful / help the brain think  
in different ways if everything is not on straight lines. They see  
relationships and patterns differently - as Harrison would say, they  
feel it differently, too.

So I thought about how to help those visual learners who seek  
patterns.  Without intervening in their process at the wall.  I went  
back to zero grid, and instead, I used colors.

Imagine the 'blank' agenda wall has across it, way up high on the  
wall, the discussion time zone signs (10:00-11:00) - let's say that  
one is on *pink* paper.
The post-its that match that time zone (yes, i'm back to post-its  
because it engages folks in interaction and thought) are also in pink,  
to match.

The 11-12:00 time zone sign is in blue. And so are the corresponding  
post-its.

All folks have to do is place the corresponding topic / color under  
the time zone color. And the wall fills up - not linear, but  
clustered, and you can see what's happening in each session time -  
either by color or by the writing.

So as the groups go through their discussions - after the 10-11:00  
discussion is over, the newsroom coordinator or I pull all the  
10-11:00 topic signs off the wall. It's a great way to help the  
newsroom coordinator organize / track which notes are coming into the  
Newsroom, things like that.  Participants - including new participants  
- can always see what discussions are currently in session, just by  
looking at the wall. In fact participants say things to newly-arrived  
folks like "we're currently in the orange discussion session" just as  
much as pointing to the time. And yes: they help each other.

So, to me, this inclusion of color helps those visually-oriented  
people, while at the same time keeps the non-linear nature.  And  
brings some more lovely color into the room, which is an additional  
benefit in the 'not like your normal meeting' environment.

Okay. So having said all this, I invite you, dear colleagues, to  
experiment to see how you feel about the two approaches, if you have  
not already done so.  Or note your experience when you participate in  
another facilitator's Open Space with a different set-up than yours.  
See what you notice.

My hope is that any variations, adjustments or changes in the tools we  
use (Open Space and otherwise) are done with thoughtfulness about who  
we are serving, and what our adjustment does to the living system,  
what it affects, improves or impacts - rather than a projection of our  
own anxiety ("will the chaos unsettle them?""will this group be unlike  
other groups of humans?").

By the way - a few years ago I consulted with some international teams  
doing conflict transformation work using Open Space in Northern Iraq,  
East Timor, Lebanon... exploring how this tool can be used in such hot  
zone situations.  My dear colleague Dr. Zach Metz feels that using a  
grid - when literally, bombs are exploding right outside the doorway -  
can give people a sense that - at least in this room, in this time we  
are together - there is a frame - a container, bringing down the  
exterior chaos by just a notch, as we create a safe space together.


Lisa

Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net
www.openingspace.net

Join me for the Open Space Learning Workshops
August 5-7 and December 9-11, San Francisco


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