[OSList] After the OS event

[Lisa Heft]

Hi, folks - just another request, as I have not yet heard from anyone.

If you have a client (especially a business / corporate client) that  
might be happy to chat with a client of mine about how they integrated  
the information / learning / achievements from an OS meeting or  
retreat into the work of the organization **after** the dialogue  
meeting (OS or otherwise) - thank you for sending me an email with  
either that direct contact information or a few lines you write  
describing that.

Then I can share that with this particular client.

Many thanks. You can send this to me directly at lisaheft at openingspace.net

Of course, I have also described to this client that thinking about  
how to sustain the ideas and momentum of the OS (or any other  
dialogue) event is an essential thing to talk about (design, create  
mechanisms for) in this pre-work stage. So I am delighted that she is  
asking for more ideas about this. Other clients I have had trained  
different levels of staff in convening meetings and groups post-event,  
trained their members how to apply for funding, sent out 'news  
flashes' to show the full group / system what is happening across the  
system post-event, and more. All ways of showing the system back to  
itself - all ways of sustaining and growing capacity and feeding  
information back into the system for continuous learning. This has  
been true amongst my 'dream clients' whether for Open Space or other  
work where people gather together for projects, retreats and working  
groups.

And here is a little present - an experience I had with a client who  
fully understood how to support sustainability after an OS (or any  
retreat / working meeting) event...

Enjoy,
Lisa

Sustainability: Leveraging the Momentum of the Open Space Event

by Lisa Heft


When discussing action or follow-up (during the pre-work stage), it is  
important to analyze who has capacity for follow-up, in what form, and  
how this might fit into ongoing projects, abilities and timelines for  
an organization or community. This is true whether the meeting process  
is Open Space or any other approach.

I facilitated two day-long Open Space retreats for a global  
corporation’s Information Technology division - to generate ideas,  
opportunities and issues in preparation for their division’s strategic  
planning process.  The objective of these meetings was idea  
generation, after which the Executive team would take that data to  
inform their budget work and decisions on the strategic plan.  Every  
single Information Technology employee attended one of these two  
retreats - from the data entry workers to the administrative  
assistants to the Chief Technical Officer.

Ideas were generated, and then there was a short Action Planning  
session as a part of this particular event’s design. The reason for  
action planning at the event was that the Chief Technical Officer  
wanted to see what projects and people might need short- or long-term  
support and resources. He uses Open Space as one of the ways to  
convene his employees, and he knew there could be some surprise topics  
and projects that the Executive Team might need to fold into their  
resources and their strategic plan decisions. The Executive Team would  
be meeting immediately after the all-employee Open Space to start  
working on the plan itself.

Because this top executive knew Open Space and was fully ready for  
whatever surprises may come out of it - and because the organization  
could commit to every employee attending being given the freedom,  
mobility, time and support from the top for whatever they might feel  
inspired to work on - action planning was designed as a re-opening of  
the space. Eight action champions announced action groups and that 45  
minutes was very spirited, with other participants butterflying and  
bumblebeeing from group to group to help with good ideas.

At the end of that time I re-convened the group in Closing Circle.   
Action champions announced their headlines, and the entire group  
cheered. One data entry person convened a group - he announced “I’m  
going to redesign the entire database!” (cheers and applause!).

During the action group session, the Chief Technical Officer had been  
conferring with his Number Two executive. After the headlines and  
cheering, he stepped forward to say ‘While you were working with your  
action champions, I asked my second-in-command to become the champion  
for you champions.  He will be meeting with you to help support you  
with resources, will create time on the agenda of our Executive Team  
Meetings to report your progress, he will create time on the agenda of  
our company’s quarterly Town Hall Meetings, and he will research and  
provide you with whatever else is needed to make your actions a  
success.” (More cheering.)

During the cheering he leaned over to me and whispered “That gentleman  
who wants to re-design the database has so much enthusiasm, I can tell  
he is a leader, and can serve the organization in much greater ways  
than his current job title and description.  Unfortunately he does not  
know that the database re-design project is already in progress. But  
with that kind of energy and leadership, we are going to find a place  
for him on the project.”

So in that case, action supported by resources, time, dedicated staff,  
and support from the top. A recipe for sustainability and success.


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

Ask me about these 2011 workshops for facilitators and others who  
convene people:
  - The Open Space Learning Workshop
         - June and October - Santiago, Chile (en español)
         - July-August - Buenos Aires, Argentina (en español)
         - December 14-16 - San Francisco, USA
  - The Power of Pre-Work - August 24-26 - San Francisco, USA

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