Why is a grid sometimes useful?

Wed Aug 5 09:29:15 PDT 2009

Hi, all

Thank you all for this practical-theoretical discussion.
I always have done it with grid.
Why? No reason, I had not even thought about it.
It seemed "natural" to me. I am a physicist by my original academic  
training.
So this not-thinking seems to have been triggered by that (secondary )  
"nature" of mine.
So I started thinking now and I will myself do the step from  
"rectangular grid order" towards "letting the pattern emerge".
In two weeks I'll do my next os-facilitation in Bruxelles ...

Bernd

Bernd Weber
weberb at gmx.at / skypename: syswitz//Austria landline +431 5968657/  
mobile +43 664 1354828//Sri Lanka landline +94 11 2799081/mobile +94  
71 6090838

Am 05.08.2009 um 02:32 schrieb Lisa Heft:

> 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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