[OSList] Open Space with some off-limits -- Individual Sessions

[Harold Shinsato]

Doug,

By successful I would mean that I enjoyed myself! And that usually 
happens when there's good information exchange. Where there are ample 
"AHA" moments. Where people have fun. Where new friendships and 
partnerships are forged. Where there's less posturing and pronouncing 
and more learning.

A not so secret secret of Open Space is that often happens outside of 
sessions - but I like to think of them simply as butterfly sessions... 
Just another kind of session.

Arlo Belshee gave some advice about what works for him - which is not to 
plan his sessions before hand, but instead to see and feel where the 
energy is at in the room. It seems like a mix of inspiration and 
presence. He didn't talk about his purpose or intentions, nor did we 
ask. I don't think Arlo is aiming at high attendance, but just what 
works. But he does gets good attendance. Most people have a good time, 
and learn things. It helps that he's really smart and respected, and is 
good at dialog and humor.

     Harold

On 7/19/11 8:05 PM, doug wrote:
> Harold--
>
> "How can I get better at convening successful sessions at OST
> conferences?" That of course depends on what you intend by
> "successful."
>
> I do like your listing of what other people do to get folks to their
> sessions, but I do not understand. Does Arlo use this method to get
> people to attend, or simply to get the conversation started in his
> breakout?
>
> 			:- Doug.
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, 2011-07-18 at 00:12 -0600, Harold Shinsato wrote:
>> Harrison and Suzanne,
>>
>> Thanks for attending my session on how to improve individual session
>> facilitation!
>>
>> I totally agree that the "whatever happens" helps deal with the
>> results of hosting a session, Suzanne. And I also completely agree
>> that the process of the Open Space itself should not be interfered
>> with. I'm not looking for an OST intervention!!! Wandering
>> facilitation trainers - ugh!
>>
>> My wondering isn't about improving Open Space - it's about improving
>> myself - and maybe making that learning available to others also
>> interested in improving their own participation.
>>
>> For myself, hosting an Open Space conference has been weirdly more
>> simple than getting people to come to my sessions! Part of it is that
>> there is so much help for how to host an Open Space. Lisa Heft's
>> training was indispensable for me. Attending other people's Open Space
>> events was also incredibly powerful. There's the manual, there's
>> OSList. And actually hosting and facilitating them was the biggest
>> training ground of them all. In a way, that's also true for convening
>> successful OST sessions. Practice. Do it. Learn from doing. Do it
>> again. What I sense is that there's a lot of the "learn from doing"
>> that we don't really have to be doing alone. That could be shared.
>> There's a wealth of experience to get to the learning faster!
>>
>> Interestingly, the one particular challenge I had with getting the
>> Open Space to work was the same challenge I had with my sessions.
>> Getting people to come. It's nice saying "whatever happens" and
>> "whoever comes" but I think more guidance could be made available (but
>> again, not in the Open Space). One of the best advice I heard about
>> this is that it's just about inviting people into the circle and doing
>> it again and again. But again, I think more could be uncovered. One
>> thing I just had a sense for myself was to reach out to already
>> existing communities and participate. The way to reach out is
>> something I'm still learning. The book "Made to Stick" has helped with
>> the wording. But I can tell there's more to learn.
>>
>> There's another bit of advice I received just yesterday from a fellow
>> software developer who is also an Open Space fan. Arlo Belshee was
>> attempting to answer the question of an author I respect greatly about
>> what would work best as a session. I had already said my piece which
>> reflected my awareness of the community and what topics were the most
>> interesting, and how that might intersect with his own interests. I
>> found Arlo's advice even better, and in a way it was related. Arlo
>> said he never plans his sessions in advance as to what he's going to
>> say. Instead he reads the room and hears what people are talking
>> about. And Arlo gets great attendance at his sessions at all the Open
>> Space events I've seen him at - which have been quite a few. In a way,
>> Arlo's advice sounded a lot like a Toyote Production Systems practice
>> (a lean manufacturing practice) called Genchi Genbutsu - "Go to the
>> source to find the facts to make correct decisions." It's about being
>> more present and see what's actually going on. Some people already
>> know and can surface what needs to surface at the right time. I seem
>> to need to work at it!
>>
>> This all happened yesterday for me at Seattle Lean Camp, which was a
>> properly facilitated Open Space Technology conference. Jeremy
>> Lightsmith did a great job opening the space. Many people wondered
>> after the event why people are still paying thousands for traditional
>> conferences when so clearly we get better results for just $50 using
>> Open Space. It's a good question!
>>
>> I got another powerful hint at what can help get people to come to
>> your sessions. At the Open Space evening news on Saturday for Lean
>> Camp Seattle, the facilitators asked what percentage of the attendees
>> had been to "Lean Coffee". It was over 50%! Their Lean Coffee was
>> described as the same thing as Open Space except in just a couple
>> hours. It's an open forum that happens about once a month at a cafe'
>> in Seattle to talk about lean management/software issues. Whoever
>> comes is the right people. They put their topics up on cards, like the
>> Open Space billboard, and then work their way through the topics in
>> vote priority order. It's not quite the same as an OST conference, but
>> multiple people claimed that their lean coffee events were basically
>> "the same" as OST. Jeremy Lightsmith and Jim Benson have succeeded in
>> creating a full blown Open Space conference and getting high
>> attendance by creating the feeling of Open Space in stammtisch style
>> in advance - creating community and credibility by taking the time to
>> initiate and invite again and again people into conversation.
>>
>> There's a lot more to be said here but this is already way too long.
>> Perhaps it'd be better for me not to ask the question, just be happy
>> with the guidance that's already available, and be satisfied. I hope I
>> don't offend by continuing to ask the question and wondering - if
>> people don't like my question I'm probably going to continue to host
>> the session and attend just by myself. I seem to do that often! But
>> I'm going to keep asking: How can I get better at convening successful
>> sessions at OST conferences?
>>
>>      Regards,
>>      Harold
>>
>>


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