[OSList] Open Space in relation to triennial-biannual meetings

Kári Gunnarsson kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is
Wed Oct 3 10:07:46 PDT 2012


Hi Open Space Community

A sad news hit to day as I heard that my grandfather passed away to day. Hi
funeral will be on the 12th of October and therefore I am no longer able to
attend the Wosonos in London this year.  I will however be online and
perhaps I can participate somehow. (I will however be present at the Pre-
Learning Workshop with Lisa Heft)

One of my Open Space issues that I was faced with while I was preparing for
the women's societies triennial meeting was the time of the Open Space.
Whenever it happens is the right time. If sufficient time is allocated.
(135 participants and 24 handwritten discussions reports, printed in a book
of proceedings for all participants)

I had 7 hours of the 3 days program and I could not use much time on the
Sunday. I advised the planning committee about the time of the grief
process as described in HO wave rider and based on that I suggested that it
would be a good idea to let the women's sleep at least one time before
closing the space.

A question has been awoken now that I look at HO video for the agile
community post event  (see: http://youtu.be/HvUOj3lSoMs). A question on if
the open Space should happen out side of the context of other meetings,
like our Pre- Learning Workshop in front of the Wosonos main event or some
post-event ad-dons for the people that care. If this would be the course of
action for future annual or triennial meetings where some formalities must
be taken care of (6 hours), and people like to have entertainment like the
formal gala with all the speeches and other fun stuff. By divorcing the
formalities from the Open Space, we will have other people registering for
the open space than before hand. (Some don't like elections and such and
would skip them, while others would only go for this part out of
responsibility, while having no passion for discussions.)

I'm now thinking about this in terms of of tree options.

A: Open space summit (1-3 days) + 1 day for recreation + 1 day of
formalities

B (A in reverse): 1 day for recreation + 1 day of formalities + Open space
summit (1-3 days)

C (mix match): 3-5 days of everything. Open space mixed within the other
agenda items.

I think option A and B are easier for me as a facilitator where I can only
show up for my part and then vanish.
While I thin option C is intrusive for the open space where the planning
committee would be interested to add lectures and presentation in the
morning / evening of the open space to do some unproductive input for there
formalities agendas. I just had some experiences with option C, it works.

What are your stories and experiences with these planing options?

On Tuesday, 2 October 2012, Harrison Owen wrote:

> Merging should always be at the option of the group, I think. But I, like
> you, suggest that merging isn't always the best thing to do. If nothing
> else
> two groups on the same topic with plenty of time for everybody to
> participate is always better, in my opinion, than a single large group with
> people fighting to be heard. As for spaces, that is never a problem. If
> folks want to talk, they will find a space. Happens every day in all coffee
> breaks. :-)
>
> Ho
>
> 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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>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Kári
> Gunnarsson
> Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 9:59 AM
> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> Subject: [OSList] The merging of participants issues - was: Open Space Case
> Study
>
> Hello OS community
>
>
> Thank you Linda.
>
> This past Sunday I was closing an open space with 135 participants of the
> National women's societies in Iceland.  The women were inspired by the
> process and liked to have more time in the Open Space.
>
> As I was reading about the case study, I saw where participants merged
> similar issues.  I wonder about this merging, many women at my last open
> space wanted to merge many things and I told them that it was not needed
> but
> they could do so if they liked. I sited that  different viewpoint would be
> possible if there where more groups on similar subject. I also know that it
> calls for more spaces if there is less merging.
>
>
>
>
> On 2 October 2012 09:08, Hege Steinsland <steinslandhege at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Thank you so much for this article! Its like a goldmine to me.
> > I´m in an early phase of a master degree, planning to us Open space in
> > the Church of Norway. The structure is quite different from the parish
> > you describe, but I find so much valuable experience, literature and
> > motivation here.
> >
> > I understand that you are not coming to London. Hope maybe I can find
> > a way to learn more from you in any other way.
> >
> > All the best from
> >
> > Hege Steinsland
> > Norway
> > 1. okt. 2012 kl. 04:52 skrev Linda Stevenson <stevenson8899 at msn.com>:
> >
> > Hi, Jeff,
> >
> > Thanks for your acknowledgement and comments which are always welcome,
> > even nitpicking!
> >
> > You raise some interesting points around what word best describes the
> > territory furthest from certainty and agreement in The Landscape Diagram.
> > The labels "simplicity, complexity, and anarchy" are from the original
> > diagram which Ralph Stacey designed to describe effective management
> > decisions.  Iterations of that diagram have provided useful frameworks
> > to help understand three distinct modes of organization across an
> > organizational landscape.  In real life, they are not so distinct!
> >
> > We've found the diagram to be a useful tool, a simple approximation
> > which has its limitations such as the nuances which you have pointed
> > out.  Reality is never so neatly packaged.
> >
> > Thank you for your thoughtfulness,
> > Linda
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >> Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 17:40:48 -0700
> >> From: r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com
> >> To: oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
> >> Subject: Re: [OSList] Open Space Case Study
> >>
> >> Linda,
> >>
> >> Wonderful article, and I concur with the appreciations of others on
> >> the list.
> >>
> >> If I may offer one "nitpick" - not about what you wrote, but the work
> >> of one of your sources - it would be the use of the term 'anarchy' to
> >> try to describe the chaotic, unorganized realm of organization.
> >>
> >> I studied political philosophy in another lifetime (so it seems) and
> >> the true anarchists in my reading of history have been much more
> >> aligned with the natural self-organizing of humans (like we see in
> >> OST) than with the destructive chaotic realm.
> >>
> >> In particular I loved Theodore Roszak's writing about the 'mystical
> >> anarchists' (among whom he listed Gandhi, Buber, Tolstoy and others)
> >> who showed their understanding of the hidden powers of
> >> self-organization which reside in the human heart.
> >>
> >> In a recent Art of Hosting training, the realm of the seriously
> >> destructive chaos was called "chamos", apparently a Greek word, a new
> >> term for me, which I appreciate.
> >>
> >> Thanks again!
> >>
> >> Jeff
> >>
> >> Jeff Aitken PhD
> >> around San Francisco
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 11:23 AM, Chris Corrigan
> >> <chris.corrigan at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > Linda…thank you for this article and for sharing your action
> >> > planning process. It's always very useful to consider the many ways
> >> > in which a group's wor>>
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>
> --
> Kári Gunnarsson
> kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is
> gsm: +354 8645189
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