[OSList] 1,000 participants in 4 hours

Wed Jul 10 17:47:52 PDT 2013

Harrison,

I am going to print these paragraphs of yours and think about the "ZERO
confidence," "about what is going on."
That's  good  material for me to think about as I approach future group
work.
I am touched by your Kathie story.  Kathie's respect for you came out in a
conversation and made me want to learn Open Space, and so she really
steered me towards learning with you and Lisa up in Maine. I do remember
you leaving to take a nap and me scratching my head - how - in the middle,
can you let go? I guess until now I dance between the freedom of Open Space
and joint design team sharing that anchors me to do as much as I can to
support the group and deliver a quick start.  I want the organizational
team to discover and I also want to have them have those first few steps of
how to get going on their own.
I think of it as pushing a kid on a 2 wheel bicycle, also "out of control,"
aiming to get them to keep pedaling  and stay up.

Here's my honesty to you, Sharon Joy.

Scott

On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 6:06 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Scott said – “Not all of us have your (that’s me – HO) confidence, clarity
> or competence in all situations to trust ourselves, in an organization we
> may live/work in and/or the process in a room potentially filled with
> bureaucrats, whose shadow can slow down the speed of large group movement.”
> ****
>
> ** **
>
> Nice words, Scott – but once again I have a different take. Truth is I
> have ZERO confidence, to say nothing of clarity, in my “competence in all
> situations to trust (my)ourselves, in an organization we may live/work in
> and/or the process in a room potentially filled with bureaucrats, whose
> shadow can slow down the speed of large group movement.” Quite to the
> contrary,  I know totally and completely that I will NEVER have a real clue
> about what is going on. Too complex, inter-related, fast moving, opaque...
> BUT the people do. My only responsibility (possibility) is to invite them
> to do what only they know how to do – and then, as quickly as possible, get
> out of the way. Usually to take a napJ****
>
> ** **
>
> And Kathie Dannemiller was a special person and a friend. I respect her
> greatly. And... somebody once asked her why, given what she did, she didn’t
> use Open Space. Her reply, as I heard it, was – “I’d be terrified ... it
> could get out of control.” The big secret, of course, was that she (as we
> all are) was always out of control – so there was nothing to lose.****
>
> ****
>
> Harrison****
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> ** **
>
> Harrison Owen****
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.****
>
> Potomac, MD 20854****
>
> USA****
>
> ** **
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)****
>
> Camden, Maine 04843****
>
> ** **
>
> Phone 301-365-2093****
>
> (summer)  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] *On Behalf Of *Scott Gassman
> *Sent:* Wednesday, July 10, 2013 5:01 PM
>
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] 1,000 participants in 4 hours****
>
> ** **
>
> Hi Harrison,****
>
> ** **
>
> Glad you responded, Sharon gets to think deeper about how to proceed and
> be hopefully clearer about her design decisions.****
>
> I clearly hear "get out of the way quickly," and the authenticity of how
> you have lived/practiced OpenSpace. I love it when I do it.****
>
> Not all of us have your confidence, clarity or competence in all
> situations to trust ourselves, in an organization we may live/work in
> and/or the process in a room potentially filled with bureaucrats, whose
> shadow can slow down the speed of large group movement. ****
>
> Whether my approach is a cop out to the OS process, my Kathie Dannemiller
> lessons about Design Teams has helped me to usually make the process
> consciously the participants' process.****
>
> ** **
>
> Scott****
>
> ** **
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2013 at 1:30 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
> ****
>
> Scott – I guess I really have a different take. I have never seen any
> reason to “plant” topics, or emplace “spark plugs.” In every situation with
> large groups in my experience (my largest was 2108 J) – the people do it
> all by themselves, just like usual. If anything the action is faster, and
> more furious with a large group. Once it rolls, it really rolls. You just
> got to get out of the way quickly – which is why I would make sure the
> opening was fast and sweet. Once person (facilitator) only – and on with
> the show! Of course the “necessary conditions” must be in place (real
> business issue, complexity, diversity, passion, conflict, urgency) – and
> from there on out the only thing you need to do is sit in a circle, create
> bulletin board, open market place – and go to work. Nothing else needed.**
> **
>
>  ****
>
> Harrison****
>
>  ****
>
> Harrison Owen****
>
> 7808 River Falls Dr.****
>
> Potomac, MD 20854****
>
> USA****
>
>  ****
>
> 189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)****
>
> Camden, Maine 04843****
>
>  ****
>
> Phone 301-365-2093****
>
> (summer)  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] *On Behalf Of *Scott Gassman
> *Sent:* Wednesday, July 10, 2013 10:13 AM
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] 1,000 participants in 4 hours****
>
>  ****
>
> Hi Sharon Joy,****
>
>  ****
>
> Thanks for sharing your opportunity and provoking our experience and
> imagination.****
>
> Lisa has given you great tips, great food for thought. For me the joy of a
> laid back ****
>
> OS alters when I must manage tighter time frames, larger numbers and
> logistics. I ****
>
> want people to see what they can get done when they are focused and led
> through ****
>
> well planned OS tasks. ****
>
> I think about the outcome/purpose the client/group wants to walk away
> with. I try to ****
>
> get clear on their goal(s)/desired outcomes. I am fond of design teams
> preceding ****
>
> any large group initiative. I would bring together 5 to 10 vertically
> positioned ****
>
> influencers as soon as possible and preceding the get together and confirm
> sought ****
>
> desired outcomes, I would then ask them to brainstorm a list of important
> topics****
>
> for this conversation and to rework the list into a vital few examples. I
> would also ****
>
> encourage this group to recognize the significance of their role and to
> serve as ****
>
> spark plugs to get the large group moving forward.****
>
> However the session is opened, I would include a design team member or two
> to share their ****
>
> hopes and aspirations for this meeting, and to briefly share the list of
> topics as examples ****
>
> for the 1,000 others to raise what matters most to them per the "high
> performance ****
>
> system"sought.****
>
>  ****
>
> This is a great opportunity for your government to work together.****
>
> I also look forward to learning about your experience and next steps.****
>
>  ****
>
> Scott Gassman****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
>  ****
>
> On Tue, Jul 9, 2013 at 8:38 PM, Sharon Joy Chao <
> sharon at seameo-innotech.org> wrote:****
>
> Need to figure a way of convening a thousand government people to go
> through an exploratory discussion on high performance system, all under 4
> hours.
>
> This happens next week down south in the city of Cebu. The focus is on the
> Philippine government service, its performance management system and how it
> can be truly essential, responsive and life-giving.
>
> Gail West, my OS mentor friend, has provided me with some incredible
> suggestions on how to proceed and she also advised me to post on OSList.
>
> Any thoughts on how best to proceed with a cast of thousand in 4 hours
> time?
>
> Maraming Salamat.
>
> ========================================
> Sharon Joy Berlin Chao
> SEAMEO INNOTECH
> Commonwealth Avenue, U.P. Diliman, Quezon City
> Metro Manila 1101 Philippines
> Phone (632) 924-7681, 9267900
> Fax (632) 928-7692
>
>
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>
>
> ****
>
>  ****
>
> --
> Scott Gassman
> IdeaJuice
> (917) 951 - 0258
> scott.gassman at gmail.com
> www.ideajuices.com
>
> America Speaks on Scott:
> http://americaspeaks.org/facilitator-spotlight/spotlight-on-scott-gassman/
>
> ****
>
>
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> ****
>
> ** **
>
> --
> Scott Gassman
> IdeaJuice
> (917) 951 - 0258
> scott.gassman at gmail.com
> www.ideajuices.com
>
> America Speaks on Scott:
> http://americaspeaks.org/facilitator-spotlight/spotlight-on-scott-gassman/
>
>
> ****
>
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-- 
Scott Gassman
IdeaJuice
(917) 951 - 0258
scott.gassman at gmail.com
www.ideajuices.com

America Speaks on Scott:
http://americaspeaks.org/facilitator-spotlight/spotlight-on-scott-gassman/
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