[OSList] Half the conference participants doing open space?

Harrison Owen hhowen at verizon.net
Fri May 25 14:43:32 PDT 2012


Suzanne (and anybody else who cares) - what you did was outstanding, in
addition to probably being the only thing you could pull off. That said, I
just wince (shudder?) when I read stories like yours - certainly NOT because
of what you did or did not do - but because of the shear waste of human
energy and talent that was subverted so that the conference organizers could
maintain their  illusion of proper order and control. Talk about shooting
themselves in the foot, and then - worse yet - some folks will go out and
complain about lack of creativity and innovation. Or some such thing. Truly
they get what they deserve - which is a pretty low order of human
performance. We really can and should do better. And the worst of it all is
we know how to do all that and it is really quite easy. Oh Well.

 

The old Curmudgeon,

 

Harrison

 

Harrison Owen

7808 River Falls Dr.

Potomac, MD 20854

USA

 

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

Camden, Maine 20854

 

Phone 301-365-2093

(summer)  207-763-3261

 

www.openspaceworld.com

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

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Go to:
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From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Suzanne Daigle
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2012 2:34 PM
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] Half the conference participants doing open space?

 

Dear Sandy, 

I faced a similar situation two or three years ago in Boston.  No circle of
chairs, no big open space in the middle and for a while, I thought no wall
space for the marketplace wall. People were sitting around tables with a
stage in the front -- long rectangle type room with ornate chandeliers,
precious wallpaper, and a balcony up above.  A national conference; 325-350
people. It was a last minute request for facilitation. I nearly jumped ship
and had many sleepless nights.

The Theme: The Future of Arts, Media and Culture- Shifting, Evolving and
Emerging.

The Open Space was integrated into a 3-day conference.  Speakers kicked off
the meeting from 9 to 10:30 and then I opened the Space from 11:00 til 12:00
(with the first session blending into lunch until 2). The rest of the
conference featured traditional concurrent speakers and workshops. People
had the opportunity to substitute and attend Open Space sessions instead.
  
In the end, it worked and the feedback was quite positive because the
participants made it work. As I opened the space, I invited people to create
an "imaginary circle" in their mind as if we were sitting around a giant
camp fire. I invited them to look around the room and let their eyes gaze on
all the people who were there who shared a passion for the theme.  We had
created little post cards with the theme and placed them on the tables so
they would be prominent. I invited people to choose among the assigned times
but also consider others times and other places to gather. 

Well it ended up that people found each other and found spaces to meet from
the get-go whether over breakfast, late afternoon and even at night around
the bar. They wrote the place and time where they would be on individual
post-it notes on the topics.   Sometimes they even put signs in the corridor
of the hotel with arrows indicating they'd be at a nearby restaurant.

Sandy I know the circumstances are not the same but I share it with you
remembering what was going through my mind then. I was totally scared.  I
also feared I was betraying the integrity of Open Space and that people
would leave having a very bad impression of the Open Space process. Somehow
it worked because of the invitation for people themselves to figure it out.
>From what I know, the organization is continuing to open virtual space as a
result of that event.

I know an auditorium with theater seats is not at all the same; I still
offer it in case it sparks possibilities for you in your situation.

Suzanne




On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Peggy Holman <peggy at peggyholman.com>
wrote:

Hi Sandy,

 

What a challenge!  I have heard stories of spaces opened successfully in
auditoriums.  I believe Lisa Heft has a story about it somewhere in the
archives.  If you take that approach, those I know  who have done it say the
work is to set a metaphorical circle. In other words, invite people to
imagine themselves sitting in a circle, what that means, how that feels.
That creates the openness in which people will come forward.

 

I've had two experiences as a participant in non-circle settings.  In one,
no attention was paid to the quality of the space before inviting people to
post sessions.  No one did.  So the organizers named sessions iaead.  In
other words, the space wasn't very open.  

 

In the other case, the session began with a meditation that invited people
to get clear on what mattered to them.  When the invitation to post a
session happened, they were primed.  It worked beautifully.

 

So it can be done.

 

If you go the route of having people sign up, I encourage you to do it
loosely.  If someone changes their mind and shows up for the Open Space
instead, welcome them.  People will figure out how to make room.

 

To Bhav's comment about running an OS in parallel with pre-set sessions, it
has been done many times.  Check the list archive for stories. I've seen it
done where the pre-set sessions were announced and posted side by side the
spontaneous sessions.  I've run an OS in a room off the main conference
space in parallel to a traditional conference.  Both can work, though the
containers are a bit "leaky".  

 

I think the main question is what do you want to accomplish?  Given your
purpose, what form best serves the need?

 

appreciatively,

Peggy

 

 

 

 

 

_________________________________

Peggy Holman

peggy at peggyholman.com

 

15347 SE 49th Place

Bellevue, WA  98006

425-746-6274

www.peggyholman.com

www.journalismthatmatters.org

 

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval
<http://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/>  into Opportunity

 
"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt,
is to become 
the fire".
  -- Drew Dellinger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On May 25, 2012, at 6:47 AM, Barbara B. Bunker wrote:





Sandy... I understand the logistics dilemma but however you decide, I missed
what
the compelling theme for this OST will be that will attract people to it.
B3


Barbara B. Bunker Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology Emerita
The University at Buffalo
117 Highland Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222
716-881-2166

On Fri 05/25/12  9:29 AM , "Harrison Owen" hhowen at verizon.net sent:



Gee Sandy - You do have yourself in a tight spot. I'd go for the

garden, if there is one. Then - Does the Auditorium have a stage? If

so, half the group might be on the stage, and the remainder in the 1st

rows facing. It is not that the folks will have to be there very

long. I did something like this once, and it was rather amusing. Lots

of hopping up and down sort of thing. But as usual it worked out. 

Harrison

Harrison Owen 

 

7808 River Falls Dr.

 

Potomac, MD 20854

 

USA

189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)

 

Camden, Maine 20854

Phone 301-365-2093

 

(summer)  207-763-3261

www.openspaceworld.com

 

www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)

 

To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of

OSLIST Go

to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org

[1]

FROM: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org

[mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] ON BEHALF OF Sandy Gee

SENT: Friday, May 25, 2012 4:49 AM

TO: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org

SUBJECT: [OSList] Half the conference participants doing open space? 

Dear colleagues,

 

ME & REQUEST FOR HELP:

 

I've informally been around OST for over a decade and facilitated a

number of events. But this latest I've been asked to do is a challenge

I'd appreciate your thoughts/comments on....

THE CHALLENGE: 

 

Its a one day psychotherapy conference with expected attendance of

100+ participants. But unfortunately the venue has already been booked

and paid for and the only large enough space for all is an auditorium

with fixed rows. The next largest room is a space that could hold a

circle of a little over 50 (and no room for 2nd concentric circle).

They already want most of the morning to be conventional presentations

so the OST slot was to be for the afternoon (maybe with the

marketplace the last slot before lunch). 

 

I'm thinking that a fixed row auditorium just won't work for OST.

MY IDEA:

 

So I'm wondering about having just _half the conference_ do OST! (and

the other half sign up in advance to pre-offered workshops) - I've no

idea if this could work or if it would be too divisive. This group

have always had a very conventional set up before, they're a fairly

straight/conventional crowd and the organisers are anyway worried

about introducing OST and how it'll go down. 

 

But maybe the more stuffy conventional ones could do the

pre-scheduled (and big name) workshops (and sign up in advance). And

we've got a 50 max space for OST participants.

COMMENTS?

 

Has anyone ever tried something like this? 

 

What are your thoughts?  

 

Do you think it could work?

I'd SO appreciate any input!

 

Thanks

 

Sandy

 

Links:

------

[1]

http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org

 

 


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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

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