[OSList] Sticky dots Q - San Fran event reflections
Michael M Pannwitz
mmpannwitz at gmail.com
Mon Feb 18 08:18:46 PST 2013
...your email came through the first time
mmp
On 18.02.2013 11:51, Suzanne Daigle wrote:
> Dear Tricia,
>
> Thank you for sharing this with us all as you have. What a gift! I love
> how you just let it rip describing it. All the details, your feelings
> along the way, and your reflections and retrospective. I will let
> others comment as I do not think I could ever make one suggestion of
> anything that you should have done differently. For me, it's not the
> point. And yes I will be longish too...
>
> *On January 22nd (not even a full month ago)*, you came onto this list
> and said: "I am an OST newbie who is hoping to facilitate an Open Space
> for my main client's annual meeting in a few weeks and I would like to
> get your thoughts on incorporating hands on skill transfer into an Open
> Space. I did do some book reading on OST and just attended the OST
> meeting in NYC this weekend, but have never hosted an Open Space.
> *Then... you added* I do not provide facilitation for this organization.
> I am one of a number of project managers who work on teams to conduct
> market research and strategy consulting projects for their clients in
> the life sciences arena. They have agreed to my participation in the
> facilitation of the meetings and I have referenced OST, but we have not
> yet discussed details on meeting design and I am pretty sure they are
> not familiar with OST. This meeting will be a small group of only the US
> folks - 14 in total. We will be meeting for 2.5 days. On an ongoing
> basis, we are all remote workers across the US and in Europe and Japan
> and only see each other when we travel to a client's location."
>
> I remember thinking as I read this then: "Wow this may turn out to be a
> bit of a challenge but you go girl. Why a challenge? Because I
> interpreted that you were working with peer facilitators and
> consultants. And what I also know is how very different is the way of
> facilitating Open Space than traditional facilitation. Taking from the
> French word "faciliter" it can mean making things easier for others or
> "plus facile" translated literally "more easy". Well for me therein
> lies the sticky wicket, whether in facilitation or leadership, making
> things easier for others, smoother, more predictable, coordinating,
> helping, managing, controlling, inspiring, synthesizing, doing project
> management, guiding strategy, taking care of, having it all together,
> are all the words of our profession. Yes most often that's what project
> managers, consultants and leaders get paid for. I spent a lifetime doing
> this with what I thought were good intentions. Making things easier for
> others. I got successful at it, was promoted and recognized. *And yet
> inside myself I never felt all that good about it.* I really only felt
> happy when everyone was working together as equals, with everyone
> jumping in and letting it rip. When stuff was happening in all its
> messiness, with folks doing the most amazing things, going beyond
> anything anyone could dream of. I had had sparks of this in my career
> but had never been able to connect the dots...until I met Open Space.
> This stuff of self-organizing and an invitation for me to bravely and
> vulnerably unleash my own leadership with tons of room for others to
> unleash theirs without knowing where it would lead was a huge leap.
>
> *Harrison said: *You can’t open space if your space ain’t open! Well I
> might disagree a tad.
>
> I did open space even when my space wasn't yet open. I had to start
> somewhere and jump right in. Cause it was only in the doing of it,
> jumping on the court, not sitting in the bleachers that I got my courage
> and learning.
>
> It was easier said than done. I had a lifetime of "unlearning to do"!
> And it was painful and scary, still is, though a lot less. . After all,
> it confronted everything I had done and what folks typically described
> as success...an empty success really. Yes Open Space confronts a lot of
> the stuff that we've been doing in leadership and facilitation...it is
> quite confronting to see how much gets done, how energized and
> passionate people get to be, how productive we all become when we simply
> /"Sit in a circle/, create a bulletin board, /open/ and /market place/,
> and go to work". All that effort, all that work, all that preparation,
> leading and guiding for naught!
>
> And whether consciously or unconsciously, that's what people start
> getting when they participate in Open Space (whether you are
> facilitating or participating). I didn't get this at first Tricia, all I
> can say is I did what you did. I just jumped right in, faulting myself a
> lot for the things I was doing wrong that I could have done better but
> really in the end, it didn't much matter cause I was opening space and
> learning to unlearn a little bit more every day.
>
> When I started in Open Space, I jumped in just like you... . I talked
> about it all the time...still do. Doing it for free, for pay, for a few
> bucks or many more bucks. I made a commitment then, early on that I
> would do one Open Space a month, whether I sponsored it myself or was
> invited. My journey in Open Space started a short 4 years ago! I have
> lost count how many Open Spaces I have facilitated, co-facilitated or
> attended. And now this year, I and others are hosting the World Open
> Space in St. Petersburg Florida.
>
> So Tricia, you did nothing wrong. I feel as if you were drawn into this
> and gave your heart and soul to it. You invited others on the basis of
> what you experienced in New York. You jumped right in and I applaud you
> for trusting your intuition and for courageously asking us for help and
> for sharing. In my book, you did nothing wrong and you did everything
> right.
>
> Thank you Tricia, I am so glad you are here. Maybe we will see you in
> Florida! Suzanne
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 1:41 AM, Tricia Chirumbole
> <tricia at investorswithoutborders.net
> <mailto:tricia at investorswithoutborders.net>> wrote:
>
> I just noted that there was some interest in a reflection after my
> first Open Space event in San Fran that I reported as going awry at
> the beginning. Note: really long description continues!
>
> So, the event did not blossom into a proper Open Space and was
> "taken over" part way through on Day 1 and Day 2 OS agenda was
> cancelled at 2am-ish by email. No closing.
>
> The group struggled with taking on the responsibility and getting in
> the flow. They were not all entirely slow to get started with
> posting, but to my surprise, as soon as I invited people to the wall
> - half of them left! bathroom, cell phones....then many held back
> and never made it to the wall.
>
> The main issues in retrospect were:
> 1) There was not buy-in/understanding by the principles - one was in
> and open, the other said he was in, but in the same breath kept
> trying to drive his own agenda and maintain control.
> 2) This group's negative reaction to the "differentness" of just the
> circle configuration and the "crunchiness" of all else was validated
> by the renegade principle's being the lead heckler and rebel. I love
> my friend's term of "bamboozle" to describe what he was doing at
> every step of the process...someone in the group even actually added
> a "principle" to my one poster, which I didn't even realize until
> today was really rude - my family made those and I was going to
> reuse them!
> 3) There was not enough communication and planning prior to the
> event. (one phone call and a few emails that I didn't get responses
> to, as well as a planning meeting that the principle (the "in" one)
> did not make it to - so we went straight to a loooong lunch on the
> first day (day prior to OS day 1) w/out ever figuring out the
> basics, such as what schedule they wanted and what I needed from them.
> 4) My planning and personal preparation was weak - I tried to do it
> with rush approval (got the go-ahead 5 days before the meetings
> started) and while I was sick, then didn't allow enough time the
> morning of b/c of a morning call that I couldn't get out of - I
> still tried to prepare myself, but it was challenging given the
> circumstances and also given my desire to do a good job, and for
> good things to come AND my preceding desire to do an OS! - yep, I
> guess you can't have some detachment and I was only prepared for
> things to not be perfect...and also not understanding how much you
> really need to give to prep, depending who you are and where you
> are.....
> 5) I did it for free
> 6) I agreed to facilitating because of my enthusiasm about OS
> despite the fact that:
> - I knew there were too many open ends, buy-in/understanding was
> questionable, there was very little lead time, there was no
> invitation sent (I tried to get an email sent prior to event, but
> the renegade wanted to take charge of selecting the final theme, but
> then didn't do it), poor history of communication and follow thru on
> part of mgmt......................so, yeah
>
> More details fwiw: People were struggling to get the basic process
> and I needed to give a number of reminders for every aspect of the
> basics - more than I anticipated. Not conclusive why that was. I
> think they just really weren't giving a lot of attention to the
> first explanation, were probably distracted by the two conversations
> that broke out in the circle during my opening, and then further
> distracted by the more boisterous participants who were starting
> detailed session discussions and negotiations while in front of the
> wall before most people could even get started. This was rowdier
> than I expected.
>
> I think I did an ok job of giving direction in a gentle way, made a
> joke about their rowdiness, and had to get a little sassy with one
> of the principles once to shut him up, which was well received and
> effective, but only temporarily.
>
> The renegade Principal posted over half of the sessions and then
> went to bring out the priority project list...yes, I cringed at
> that, but said it was ok, as long as people still continued to post
> stuff. He kept trying to talk about combining sessions, which
> sessions would be valuable for everyone, timing of sessions, etc
> even for everyone else's posts.....I reminded the conveners of their
> responsibility, but few were responding to that.
>
> People started to move items to lunch and dinner sessions, from my
> perspective, because they were being viewed as not as important and
> interfering with other things that other people wanted to do - ok, I
> didn't interfere and tried to remind them that this was their
> schedule when they kept asking me what they could and couldn't do
> (the renegade principle also kept referring back to me and my
> process and asking me if we had "opened space" and if it was over,
> etc....). MY concern with the moving of the sessions to meal time
> was that it seemed to be done under pressure from the forces that be
> that were advocating a certain way of doing things....that all being
> said, none of the lunch or dinner sessions happened. Some people
> mentioned them ex post facto.
>
> These unrealized sessions were unfortunately a trend throughout the
> day. We actually ended up with not all sessions filled even for day
> 1 and then a number of people just never convened their sessions. I
> am not sure if I interfered too much or not enough, but I rallied to
> encourage people to go to the other breakout room to do a posted
> session...although this was posted by an employee, it ended up being
> led by the renegade principle and yes, ended when food arrived in
> the other room (I asked them about a different food process and the
> "in" principle responded at last minute that he could have someone
> send me the menu for morning food, but that afternoon food was
> already coming - once again, too little, too late - I figured that
> was not that big a deal, but it did end up having an impact, I think)
>
> After that, everyone was hanging around in the main room, some
> asking if there were other sessions or what they should do, others
> eating, others half participating in the one ongoing main room
> session. There was one pending, and unfortunately it belonged to the
> renegade principle. I encouraged him to convene, but he felt it was
> one that would be good for everyone.....so, that's what we did. We
> waited for the main room activity to finish up, we all dutifully sat
> down, and we had a bitch fest/work interest inventory during our
> "what makes project success?" session. We were all there, it went
> too long, people had to start to leave, I did not do a close -
> thought about suggesting it, but at that point felt pretty
> demoralized - they had been making fun of the process and renegade
> dude had been subverting it all day. They can close themselves....I
> was considering it.....I also really wished we had had the
> opportunity to do the Appreciative INquiry workshop on Satisfying
> and Successful Projects that I had put together for them, also last
> minute at their request, and yes, embarrassingly, for free - The
> "in" principle had requested this, seemed really excited by it, but
> then, despite my detailed agenda suggestions, he chose not to work
> it in on the first prelim night in preference to longer individual
> intros (though most of the group knows one another) and a "primer"
> on Open Space, which as I mentioned before I tried to tell them was
> not necessary and would be delivered the next day...I tried to keep
> it very short, but they pushed, and then renegade took control - he
> asked my opinion, but he didn't really want it.
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 12:44 AM, Tricia Chirumbole
> <tricia at investorswithoutborders.net
> <mailto:tricia at investorswithoutborders.net>> wrote:
>
> Thanks so much to Harrison, Lisa, and all on the list for your
> feedback and support - it all definitely helped me to learn and
> grow more in the situation, as well as maintain/regain a
> broader, more detached perspective. ...and, yes, it helped me
> battered ego :)
>
> As Harrison wrote, "You can’t open space if your space ain’t
> open." I do hope I won't have to relearn that lesson, but I at
> least have a better sense of what conditions I need in order to
> agree to participate in opening a space - internal and external.
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 4:50 PM, Harrison Owen
> <hhowen at verizon.net <mailto:hhowen at verizon.net>> wrote:
>
> Tricia – You just learned THE most valuable lesson. Lesson
> #1____
>
> __ __
>
> You can’t open space if your space ain’t open. Chris said it
> more elegantly, but that is the gist. And from what you said
> -- seems like your space was in lockdown. 5 days with little
> sleep, racing about, worrying, “fixing things”… No space for
> nothing. Painful for sure, but you will never have to learn
> it again. I am positive. And THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing!____
>
> __ __
>
> The only pre-work that is really essential is your own. Or
> put a little differently, if you don’t do your own
> preparation nothing else really matters that much. At least
> as far as you are concerned. People kid me about not doing
> very much, which is absolutely true. But what they don’t see
> is what I do do before they ever see me. Everybody will have
> their own way, but before every Open Space, particularly the
> “dicey” ones, my day starts early. Beginning with a good
> meditation, followed by a walk and then on to the venue at
> least an hour and a half (better two) before “Show Time.” I
> sit in the center, before anybody is there, and if people do
> wander in, I invite them to join me in the silence. No
> talking, no planning, no fixing. Just the space and silence.
> After a bit, I get up to complete the site preparation, if
> that is needed. No hurrys – sort a walking meditation. I
> particularly enjoy doing the Post-its especially for a big
> gathering. It is really “zenish,” if that communicates. A
> half hour before “Start” I stop everything. Maybe I look at
> my watch, but I don’t recall doing so…just seems to happen
> that way. At that point, I leave the venue, go outside if
> possible – and return at the appointed hour. When I stand at
> the edge of the circle to invite the festivities to begin, I
> am about as clear and focused as I can be. It feels
> wonderful. Something about doing nothing and everything gets
> done.____
>
> __ __
>
> Harrison ____
>
> __ __
>
> Harrison Owen____
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.____
>
> Potomac, MD 20854____
>
> USA____
>
> __ __
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)____
>
> Camden, Maine 04843____
>
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>
> Phone 301-365-2093 <tel:301-365-2093>____
>
> (summer) 207-763-3261 <tel:207-763-3261>____
>
> __ __
>
> www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com%20> ____
>
> www.ho-image.com <http://www.ho-image.com%20> (Personal
> Website)____
>
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> archives of OSLIST Go
> to:http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org____
>
> __ __
>
> *From:*oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>
> [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>] *On Behalf
> Of *Tricia Chirumbole
> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:47 PM
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Sticky dots Q____
>
> __ __
>
> shame on me! I messed up the flow, buy-in, and positive
> energy, by messing up one of the simplest parts....the
> sticky notes time and session areas. Not totally my fault,
> but each time I tried to remedy on the fly, made another
> mistake!!____
>
> __ __
>
> 1) I was a little behind in some final preps bc of early
> call and have been sick and have barely slept for past 5
> days and then people came early..fine, I'll put them to
> work...also, facilities had not removed the table and
> equipment, so actually would not necessarily have been
> behind.____
>
> - people were a little hard to get to help and a bit
> distracting and spent a lot of the time standing around,
> watching me, and making sarcastic jokes about the circle,
> the principles, the notes, etc....very distracting...I was
> trying to manage people, go fast, ignore people, and get
> other work done...so my mind was distraced and I messed up
> some of the time slots which messed everything up...____
>
> __ __
>
> PLUS, I got resistance in the team picking out breakout
> rooms in advance and so filled out day 1 notes w/ just the
> area indicators: 1, 2, 3...finally got them to do it, but it
> confiused everything.....____
>
> __ __
>
> just whining....will try to salvage! Now I see already
> however that despite all of the ideas I know everyone has,
> we have only 2 groups for the morning and people def sitting
> around and not being engaged, but I don't want to mess much
> more and start adding to many new topics myself (Iam
> unfortunately an independent contracter "worker", so I am
> already violating by participating..)____
>
> __ __
>
> On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 11:08 AM, Chris Corrigan
> <chris.corrigan at gmail.com <mailto:chris.corrigan at gmail.com>>
> wrote:____
>
> I just want to add, that although I have dispensed with
> sticky dots years ago as well, I HAVE used them since where
> they made sense. It's impossible to say what tools are
> important and what should be jettisoned, but context
> matters. If your senior people would like the group to
> prioritize the action plans that were raised, you can create
> a process to do that that respects the work that has been
> done and works within the constraints. There are all kinds
> of ways of doing that.
>
> Open Space is an empty frame. We know what it does and how
> it works. But it does not stand alone. You are using it in
> a context to accelerate something in an organization and a
> community. I have found that it isn't wise just to come in
> and do an open space the way I want to do it without being
> sensitive to the need behind the call or the context in
> which you are working.
>
> For example a learning Open Space is very different from a
> product creation Open Space which differs from a strategic
> planning Open Space which differs from an engagement Open
> Space. The basic process works the same but the invitation
> and harvest are very different and the pre-work with the
> leadership team helps to set the ground for the most
> successful implementation of ideas.
>
> For me if that means we use sticky dots, because that's the
> best thing to do, we use sticky dots.
>
> Chris____
>
>
> On 2013-02-12, at 1:46 AM, Koos de Heer wrote:
>
> > Hi Tricia,
> >
> > I stopped using sticky dot voting in Open Space sessions
> years ago.
> >
> > In the beginning, the agenda process is perfect and does
> not need any
> > voting.
> >
> > During the Open Space, if a topic needs more time, people
> will decide they
> > are not ready and continue to do what needs to be done.
> >
> > In the end, when it comes to action planning, I find it
> much more elegant to
> > reopen the space for action planning topics.
> >
> > So trust the process, trust the people and trust
> yourself. Take a deep
> > breath and be present and it will roll (and rock). :-)
> >
> > Koos
> >
> > -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> > Van: oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>
> > [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
> <mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org>] Namens Jeff
> Aitken
> > Verzonden: dinsdag 12 februari 2013 08:52
> > Aan: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> > Onderwerp: Re: [OSList] Sticky dots Q
> >
> > reminds me that the difference between a brainstorm and
> an open space agenda
> > creation is that the latter is based on passion and
> responsibility.
> >
> > some items on the brainstorm list may not make it to the
> open space agenda
> > wall if the person doesn't actually feel very passionate
> or responsible
> > about it after all.
> >
> > or it may make it to the wall, but then nobody comes to
> the session, and the
> > convenor writes a short report to handle it and moves to
> another topic.
> >
> > jeff
> >
> > On 2/11/13, Jeff Aitken <r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com
> <mailto:r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>> wrote:
> >> I would allow the open space process to do the work. I
> don't see a
> >> reason to do anything else. I could be misunderstanding
> of course.
> >>
> >> if you are using a 'standard' open space agenda creation
> process,
> >> inviting people to put a topic on a sheet of paper and
> post it on a
> >> wall with time and place, then i'd allow the wall to be
> filled with
> >> topics, and then explain the process of moving topics
> around based on
> >> the wishes of the convenors. and let them move things
> around.
> >>
> >> let the law of mobility take care of the rest. and then
> reflect at the
> >> end of the day, and they might add and delete and move
> topics for the
> >> second day.
> >>
> >> jeff
> >>
> >>
> >> On 2/11/13, Tricia Chirumbole
> <tricia at investorswithoutborders.net
> <mailto:tricia at investorswithoutborders.net>> wrote:
> >>> ok, so I just asked a question re: the need for
> prioritization of
> >>> issues and an overwhelmingly large pool of issues in my
> previous post.
> >>>
> >>> I guess part of the answer is sticky dot voting. Cool.
> I will have to
> >>> improvise asking people to keep track of their dots
> using markers
> >>> since I will have no time to get dots, but that should
> be ok in a
> >>> small gorup of 13...not ideal - other thoughts on this
> are welcome.
> >>>
> >>> my questions are - is it ok to do prioritization at
> outset of day 1?
> >>> And, if so, would it be better to first generate a
> marketplace w/o
> >>> times selected and prioritize them, then have
> initiators select
> >>> time/place? or vice versa - neither sound ideal to me.
> >>>
> >>> thanks so much!!
> >>>
> >>> --
> >>> Tricia Chirumbole
> >>> US: +1-571-232-0942 <tel:%2B1-571-232-0942>
> >>> Skype: tricia.chirumbole
> >>>
> >>
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> ____
>
> __ __
>
> --
> Tricia Chirumbole
> US: +1-571-232-0942 <tel:%2B1-571-232-0942>
> Skype: tricia.chirumbole____
>
>
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>
>
> --
> Tricia Chirumbole
> US: +1-571-232-0942 <tel:%2B1-571-232-0942>
> Skype: tricia.chirumbole
>
>
>
>
> --
> Tricia Chirumbole
> US: +1-571-232-0942 <tel:%2B1-571-232-0942>
> Skype: tricia.chirumbole
>
>
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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 <http://www.nufocusgroup.com>
> s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com <mailto:s.daigle at nufocusgroup.com>
> twitter @suzannedaigle
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Michael M Pannwitz
Draisweg 1, 12209 Berlin, Germany
++49 - 30-772 8000
Check out the Open Space World Map presently showing 405 resident Open
Space Workers in 72 countries working in a total of 143 countries
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