[OSList] Fwd: Global OS via the phone

Tue Nov 22 02:23:15 PST 2011

Thank you Diane for your wonderful feedback.  The event was indeed magical
and as a pioneering event in the direction of opening space, providing
people an opportunity to hear each other's voices in a virtual
conversation, it was a step in the right direction. In the end, there were
a little less than 200 who actually participated (from the initial 590 who
registered) and that seems typical of free virtual events especially that
many were from around the world having to figure out phones and
connections.  The interest in these Global Conversations however attracted
thousands of people globally judging from the hits and visits we received
to our site, to our facebook, etc. All of these elements were part of the
experimentation in social media to see how we can create awareness and
deepen connections between us.

Thank you Alan Stewart, Open Space colleague and dear friend, for waking up
in the wee hours of the morning to participate and then calling me
personally from Australia to say congratulations later that day; to Larry
Peterson, who wrote me a lengthy note and who was such a wise and
supportive counsel throughout, and to Elaine Hansen, my co-lead who I met
in Seattle when I went to my first big Open Space event a few years ago. As
happens often in Open Space, Elaine and I became dear friends through this
volunteer project.  Elaine, (with her husband Eric), are passionate about small
group virtual conversation <http://hansen-rd.com/> and were also the
geniuses who made the technology happen with Maestro Conference along with
a few other wonderful volunteers.

Important things happened in the planning of this project not the least of
which the enthusiasm of a wonderful team with all the "open space" type of
discussions between us that happened as we each activated our unique
talents and gifts.There was laughter, there was learning, and so much
generosity.  Perhaps the most powerful thing of all in this entire project
is the deeper understanding in the doing of work amongst a team who was
living the power of self-organizing, sharing and opening ourselves to each
other, living intensely in the present moment, feeling the risk of what we
were inviting.

And then there was Brené Brown whose message and invitation through her
video Power of Vulnerability<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o&noredirect=1>and
book The Gifts of Imperfection touch people and awaken them in the
same
way that happens experientially during an Open Space. Her message to let go
who we think we are supposed to be to embrace who we are, resonates with
the deep intention of freedom and choice, passion and responsibility that
Open Space invites -- a coming home to who we are inside. Brené attended
our event and emailed Elaine and I saying this:

*"Just watching how y'all cultivated and nurtured this opportunity taught
me so much about the power of conversation, intention, and community. I
would love to highlight some of the art that emerged from the conversations
and the artists. If there's anything I can share on my blog, let me know
and I will.* *Thank you again for bringing this like-spirited tribe
together - it's exactly what the world needs right now.”*

So in the spirit of Open Space, I felt us making some inroads and the seed
of aha moments towards the types of conversation we have in Open Space is
starting to spread. I feel the possibility of new technology emerging with
things like Skype, Maestro and other tools. I want to continue
participating in the evolution of those tools, wanting them to do all that
Open Space invites, identifying topics, shopping the Marketplace wall, the
small group discussions, bumble bees and butterflies, book of proceeding,
leading to action. Sunday was a beginning!

I apologize for writing and repeating in multiple posts the hopes,
intentions and dreams associated with this project. I just wanted all of
you to somehow be part of this knowing there is a world who is hungry to go
beyond the surface conversations in cyber space to something deeper.  I
still have tears in my eyes because on Sunday, people in their small groups
discovered each other; many had very intimate conversations and are now
continuing to converse through email and in other ways. The "whenever it
starts, it starts; when it's over, it's over" has a different meaning when
people meet in conversations like these in the virtual world.  The
conversations do not stop; they continue immediately and into the next day
and beyond. I was copied on some of these emails and blogs, catching a
glimpse of the intimate conversations between people and felt moved by the
depth of their passion and the power of their connection. I know the deep
relations I have developed through Open Space and how through these I have
been activated to greater courage. As it is in Open Space, we do not always
know what happens after an event. All is not contained in a book of
proceedings. I have become more acutely aware of this now.

Ben Roberts who also assisted us as a volunteer, one of the founders of Occupy
Café <http://www.occupycafe.org/>, speaks also of the power of Open Space
and seeing it into the future of what they are doing in the ever expanding
weekly calls*."**I see a big place for Open Space in Occupy Café’s
future,"*is what he said.

And finally I want to honor Gerry Kirk and Chuni Li who contributed so very
much and Julie Gieske, Juliane Neumann and Susanne Hoogwater, the graphic
recorders, such great friends of Open Space, who not only created the most
incredible art<http://global-conversation.posterous.com/wwwmapthemindorg-makes-a-visual-capture-of-th>but
who also inspired others, regular folks, to do the same.

As an experiment, of course we can see things that could have been done
better, where we worked too hard with perhaps little participation (i.e.
not enough summary reports for example) but in the space of 2 hours and the
2 months of dedicated work we put into this, I feel we accomplished a
lot.We invited deep dialogue between men, women, young and old from
different
parts of the  (many mainstream people who had never done anything like this
before). It was a act of courage for them to even be there.

I close now, wanting you to see my own vulnerability through all of this,
the moments when I battled with myself watching so much dedicated work on
our team and wondering if this was really important to do in the whole
scheme of things, in the sense of “ a real job and real work, with so much
real pain in the world to heal and so many problems to fix". As I watch
others in this community making such important contributions, working on
the ground, inviting democracy, helping build countries, working with
schools and the media, doing big and small events that seem to be more
action-oriented and results-focused than endeavors like this one, I
wondered. And then in the moments when I saw people from around the
world *creating
their topics and creating their own conversation*, *not listening to
experts,  leaders or facilitators*, seeing them open up to each other,
reading their comments as to why they wanted to participate in our Global
Conversations, reading between the words the loneliness, the isolation, the
fear, the longing to connect and do something, I realized that wherever and
however we are opening space, it is important.

We had a deep intention of invitation Elaine and I and in the end, we know
that this invitation is what resonated to create this event "from nothing"
less than 2 months ago to what happened on Sunday.

On that note I *invite you* to come visit us here: Global
Conversation<http://global-conversation.posterous.com/>
and Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Global-Conversation-The-Gifts-of-Imperfection/181146155298478>
to
see a sprinkling of the magic.

Thank you for being there lurkers, doers and wise advisers in this
wonderful community; thank you for giving me a place to speak my dreams of
Open Space.

Suzanne

On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 5:49 PM, Diane Gibeault
<diane.gibeault at rogers.com>wrote:

> Suzanne congratulations
>
> I was one of the 500 people who participated today to the 2-hour Gobal OS
> by telephone that you and your colleagues organized. Congratulations !!
> Very inspiring experience and great model for future use of virtual OS.
>
> You integrated very well both the spirit and the process of the OST method
> to create conditions for participants to open space.  In this experience,
> the medium of the telephone allowed for hearing the voice of the speaker
> instead of reading comments on an internet chat list type of medium. This
> is a very conducive and real time way for "feeling the conversation" when
> face to face is not possible.
>
> Birgitt you said that all we can do is to "create containers so that the
> Open Space of infinite possibilities can be formed and shaped by the humans
> that engage with it."
>
> Suzanne, Elaine and everyone else of the hosts and organizers of this
> virtual gathering OST style, I feel you did just that!.
>
> Thank you again for being pioneers and leading the way to more
> possibilities.
> Cheers to you!
>
> Diane
>
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-- 
Suzanne Daigle
NuFocus Strategic Group
7159 Victoria Circle
University Park, FL 34201
FL 941-359-8877;
CT 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
twitter @suzannedaigle

-- 
Suzanne Daigle
NuFocus Strategic Group
7159 Victoria Circle
University Park, FL 34201
FL 941-359-8877;
CT 203-722-2009
www.nufocusgroup.com
s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
twitter @suzannedaigle
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