[OSList] a fresh look at the meeting "agenda"

Chris Corrigan chris.corrigan at gmail.com
Thu Feb 21 12:59:54 PST 2013


Just to say that not only have I never "closed" a market place, but I have always made sure that people know that it is ALWAYS open and that if they learn hints during the day that need to be discussed further, they can post new topics at any time,  there is no need to reopen the marketplace or reform the circle because people always go an check the agenda wall before each round begins.  

The only time I have reformed the circle was once when I was working with a group that had many people that could neither read nor write,  in that case I used John Engles idea of a living market place,  before each round began, convenors would announce their sessions and go and stand somewhere.. Everyone who wanted to join them went and did so.  

Do whatever you can with you fifteen minute opening to create the conditions so the group can take complete responsibility for its own work.  That is what holding space is all about.

Chris

---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
+1 604 947 9236

On 2013-02-21, at 7:55 AM, "Harrison Owen" <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Kari -- experiments and new experiences are always helpful. And in the case
> of a post-lunch opening, I think your experience will match my own, the one
> (and only) time I ever did it. It was a "downer." By halfway through the 1st
> day, the natural rhythm of the group has established itself, and calling
> everybody together, for whatever purpose, breaks that flow. I found it
> particularly painful after lunch. Most folks seemed to be involved in small
> conversations (lots of new open space!) and not a few were just being
> mellow. And I suspect there were a few nappers as well -- I certainly would
> have been catching a few zzzzz's had I not had the terrible idea of opening
> the space again...
> 
> Harrison 
> 
> Harrison Owen
> 7808 River Falls Dr.
> Potomac, MD 20854
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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: Thursday, February 21, 2013 10:04 AM
> To: World wide Open Space Technology email list
> Subject: Re: [OSList] a fresh look at the meeting "agenda"
> 
> I was talking with a client one time, and he suggested that we open the
> marketplace in the morning for discussion that were to happen only the first
> half of that morning, then after lunch we open the marketplace again and
> then only for the discussion that were to happen for the rest of that day,
> this repeated for the following day as well.
> 
> I talked him out of it, and we did one marketplace event at the start of day
> one for all the time we ad and little to none new material was added in the
> morning of the second day.
> Now in retrospect I would like to experience the energy of having a new
> marketplace after lunch, opening the time after lunch for that market only.
> 
> with love from Iceland,
> Kári
> 
> On 21 February 2013 11:51, paul levy <paul at cats3000.net> wrote:
>> This also brings to mind one aspect of Open Space that might be worth 
>> reflecting on.
>> 
>> Open Space Events begin with a marketplace - a wonderful rush of 
>> self-organising energy that results in a "programme" - often a packed 
>> one, set up for the whole day ahead (if it is a one-dayer). Often this 
>> programme remains fairly fixed and little if any new sessions are 
>> added to it over the day(even when there is a coming back together, 
>> say after lunch to re-open the market place).
>> 
>> Yet what happens over the day is that the sessions evolve. The day
> emerges.
>> The process develops. The content morphs.
>> 
>> So, why not keep the market place open all day? (It often kind of is 
>> at some of the OS events I have participated in though often there is 
>> a feeling in the room that the programme bit was done at the start and 
>> there it is ). Why not allow that flow to flow wherever it does? Why 
>> Open and Close the marketplace at all? One less thing to do? - keep it 
>> open! I'm sure the self-organising spirit will find good ways to 
>> announce new and emerging sessions throughout the day without too much
> tinkering from the facilitator.
>> Many of these new sessions will evolve out of earlier ones, many may 
>> start to focus on action, and some may be magically tangential.
>> 
>> I've seen it done well and facilitated it a few times.
>> 
>> Then we get to this magical place called END where we find out what 
>> the agenda WAS! That agenda then tends to feel more alive, still 
>> living, and can often have a "what next" feel about it.
>> 
>> That, for me, is the perfect Open Space agenda - the one that only 
>> reveals itself at the end - as the thing that happened out of opening 
>> the space for self-organisation.
>> 
>> warm wishes
>> 
>> Paul Levy
>> 
>> 
>> On 21 February 2013 05:12, Raffi Aftandelian <raffi_1970 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Dearest Open Space and Genuine Contact friends-
>>> 
>>> I wanted to share a blog post written by Rosa Zubizarreta. It is a 
>>> fresh
>>> take- to me, at least- at the idea of a meeting agenda. I believe the 
>>> post has interesting implications and sparks new questions whatever 
>>> our practice is as a facilitator.
>>> 
>>> I really enjoy Rosa's take on process arts. As a longtime 
>>> practitioner of Focusing and Dynamic Facilitation (along with being a 
>>> psychotherapist), she has brought together both theory and practice 
>>> in her writing on group
>> 
>> 
>>> 
>>> dynamics. I also admire that she explores the intersections- the 
>>> space
>>> between- the different process arts communities of practice.
>>> 
>>> (interestingly her last name means "House on a Bridge")
>>> 
>>> here is the post:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> http://rosaz.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/easing-shifts-in-group-dynamics
>>> -with-a-new-twist-on-the-conventional-agenda
>>> 
>>> much warmth,
>>> raffi
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> --
> Kári Gunnarsson
> kari.gunnarsson at simnet.is
> gsm: +354 8645189
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