OS & Open Conferences - "experts"

Wed Jan 12 08:06:46 PST 2011

I am never quite sure how you would measure "experts" - by the pound, erg,
decibel? But in the average crowd at the average conference (however you
define "average") I would be willing to bet my last peso that that the level
of expertise present in that crowd is so vastly in excess of that offered by
the so called "experts" as to not even be on the same scale. Knowing a
little bit about the Agile world, of which Harold speaks, I think that might
be especially true. Given 300-400 geeks sitting in a room over against an
"expert" or two - where is the contest? I grant you there are always
exceptions, and should that expert carry the name, "Einstein" - or the cyber
equivalent - New game. But I think that would be a very rare and exceptional
game, and I would love to be there, at the feet so to speak. But for all
other situations I think the real issue is how to access and aggregate the
expertise in the room. Access, in the sense of making it manifest. And
"aggregate" in the sense that the complementary bits and pieces are brought
together in new and useful ways - which are always emergent. The point is -
the new confections of plans, ideas, theories, hunches, and gut feelings
never existed before. 

Now back to our "experts." By definition we know, or at least we think we
know, what the expert will bring to the table. It's been said before, it's
in his/her books. In a word - it is all yesterdays news. I confess to total
mystification as to why intelligent sponsors/clients would choose yesterdays
news over the emergent cutting edge. After you have gone to all the effort,
time, and expense bringing the folks (your employees) together why subject
them to something which they could just as well find online or between two
covers?

Most clients/sponsors doubtless would not choose the words I will use - But
the usual excuse, at least as I have heard it - is that the people are too
dumb, lazy, or uninspired to make the effort. Assuming for a moment that
this is all true should bring up the question, "Why do you (client/sponsor)
think the situation will be any different should you force them in a room to
be buried in expertise?" And the usual experience is - No difference.

And there is a nastier question if all the folks sitting in the room are the
employees of the client/sponsor. "If they really are as dumb, uninspired and
lazy as you presume -what does that say about your recruitment and
employment practices?"

Doubtless there are infinitely more diplomatic ways of phrasing all of this,
but in my practice, the core message/question is an essential part of the
conversations I have with my clients. I grant that it may sound like a
suicide mission, but my experience is that if you do it well and with
sensitivity, the client will thank you for opening their eyes to new and
powerful possibilities, all the while helping them to understand why their
efforts to date have been less that efficacious. Granted it can be a little
dicey, but nobody ever suggested that opening space for peoples' lives comes
without risk. But it is worth it, I think J And it surely beats having to
organize another boring meeting, no matter what the fee.

Harrison

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

Phone 301-365-2093

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of Harold
Shinsato
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 12:49 PM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: Re: OS & Open Conferences

Hi Jon,

There's been a lot of great responses so far. I'll just add a couple
experience points. I've attended several of the Agile Open software
conferences held in beautiful Open Space where there are numerous "Talking
Head" experts who get paid to present and talk in front of crowds that
propose sessions, along with those who just had a good question or hot
topic. At these open space tech conferences, often times the presenters will
be trying out new ideas, and other times they'll be doing the same song and
dance they normally do.

One advantage of the "experts" in the Agile software development field -
they've all had it drilled in them pretty darn hard that unless a talk is
interactive it's unlikely to be successful. But I'd still call them "talking
head" sessions when the "expert" is clearly in charge of the session room
and is talking at least 90% of the time. I still tend to prefer the smaller
more interactive sessions that go around in a circle - but there was one
expert at one of the Agile Open conferences in San Francisco that definitely
held myself and the rest of the audience spell bound at their feet - kind of
like Harrison mentioned in one of his replies. I was very glad I showed up
for that talk!

The other data point that is inspired by Peggy Holman's Journalism That
Matters conferences - and by the Leadership in a Self-Organizing World
conference in 2009. At Missoula BarCamp (an OST facilitated event) we
actually flew in a professional artists coach from New Jersey. We let the
artists coach talk (along with two others - including the Mayor) for 5
minutes before the OST formally started. After the OST opening, this artists
coach posted a couple sessions onto the wall like all the other proposed
sessions, and she held a couple a very successful sessions held in parallel
with other sessions. It definitely works.

One thing I will say - it takes a very confident and comfortable "expert" to
jump into the fray like this. The expert could find themselves rather
humbled if some novice offered more spaciousness and opportunity for
learning than they did, and no one came to their expert session - or people
came and then quickly exited! But I think such "experts" capable of
succeeding in an OST conference are probably the only ones worth their salt.

    Harold

On 1/10/11 5:09 AM, Jon Harvey wrote: 

Dear all

I think I have managed to persuade a public conference producer to run (and
charge for) one of their conferences using Open Space. I debated with her
that the 'talking heads' type of conference with a smattering of workshops
(which are usually mini plenary sessions too) could be so much more valuable
and productive if OS was used. I said I would enquire if anyone else had
done this - how did it go - what lessons did you draw?

This is something of a gamble I recognise, as this will not be quite the
kind of issue that has to be solved yesterday kind of context. (Although
given the current austerity measures which are sweeping across the UK public
services right now - a lot of things have to be solved yesterday!) Also the
people gathered will be a community of interest (ie they will all have
signed up to come to the topic in questions) but not a community / group in
any other way...

So what do people think - can this work - has this worked?

Many thanks

Very best wishes

Jon

____________________________________________________________________________
___

-- 
Harold Shinsato
harold at shinsato.com
http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush> 

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