[OSList] brainstorming and open space

[Lisa Heft]

No matter what version of brainstorming happens the end result is raw  
data. The next steps are super critical: stepping back looking for  
emerging patterns and organizing to see what the picture is once you  
take into account the group's resources vs. the impact.

Well said, Kas. And not all of that may happen in the same event - it  
may serve to step away for a time to allow for some reflection and  
integration of the data before stepping back to look for emerging  
patterns.
Whether using Open Space, kinesthetic modeling, mind-mapping or other  
tools for generating ideas around issues and opportunities.

Too often I have seen some process or design used for a meeting  
without connection to what comes just before, what follows, and how  
the information generated will be used - including things like  
context, culture, and organizational capacity.
I think most of this becomes apparent in the pre-work as long as we do  
not look too narrowly just at our own event in the chain of things...

I have also seen good rich fabulous raw data generated and the client  
has been overwhelmed.
I think that this too can be helped with thoughtful pre-work - knowing  
the realities and capacities of an organization or community to use  
what comes out of an Open Space (or other) event can help us not  
overwhelm an organization with new info but instead to design  
documentation - or different ways to group or look at the  
documentation - so it is useful both to participants and to the  
hosting organization both immediately and long after the event.

I look forward to hearing others' experiences...

Lisa

Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Fellow, Columbia University Center for International Conflict Resolution
Opening Space
lisaheft at openingspace.net


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