[OSList] Open Space classrooms

Fri Jan 31 01:16:25 PST 2014

Harrison

Yes, this is THE  dilemna we are facing so often.
And I learn from you that sometimes it is better to NO beforehand. So now
my question is :
- when to say no ..
- when to say yes and do more prework to help the organization get ready to
what may happen
- when to say yes and serve the group..

Right now I am in the "more prework" period. And if more prework is not
possible, offer other ways to work with group.
But it leaves me with a taste of uncompleteness (if this word exists in
English)

Would love to hear what other say..

Christine

On Thu, Jan 30, 2014 at 9:31 PM, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:

> Barry said, “It worked so well that they didn't invite me back after the
> 3rd time because the School Administration was not keen on the turmoil
> caused by the students expressions of freedom and demands for change.”
>
>
>
> Nice Barry! And yes, for anybody who cares, Barry is my son. Nepotism is
> always nice J And for anybody who may have questioned the “Trojan Horse”
> character of OS, Barry’s story should be interesting.
>
>
>
> I think this story sharply focuses the dilemma most of us face when
> offering to open space. Specifically: Who is our client? The traditional
> answer, of course, is whoever is paying the bill, which is typically the
> sponsor. In service to the client, it is understandable that we should try
> to shape Open Space to fit their needs and expectations. This will often
> take the form of identifying, and staying within, or away from, what some
> have called the “Givens.” Those things which supposedly can’t be changed or
> even talked about. But just suppose that those “Givens” are EXACTLY the
> thing(s) that must be talked about if the participants are to experience
> their own power and potential in order to bring their full force to bear on
> the resolution of  whatever difficulties the organization in question may
> be facing?
>
>
>
> This can get pretty existential, not to say painful should it becomes
> clear that the sponsoring organization is only a degree or two away from
> being a prison camp – that most of the difficulties they have identified
> with morale, creativity, lack of emergent leadership, innovation, etc. are
> precisely what one would predict in the circumstances. And of course, one
> of the “Givens,” spoken or unspoken, is that the prison guards and senior
> staff are not to be questioned. Fortunately this sort of situation doesn’t
> happen all the time, but when it does, what to do?
>
>
>
> I don’t think there is any easy answer, at least I never found one. You
> can, of course, refuse to do the Open Space. But that leaves you in the
> uncomfortable position of deserting a bunch of fellow human beings
> wallowing in a miserable situation. Fortunately for our peace of mind, most
> such organizations will back out of doing an Open Space before you are
> confronted with the issue, but not always. Then what?
>
>
>
> For whatever it is worth, I have always made it clear to clients/sponsors,
> especially in such situations described above, that they are my client up
> until the time we actually open Space. From that time on my allegiance is
> to the integrity of “The Space” as a place where every person and every
> issue is honored, welcomed, and respected. After all that is what I mean by
> open space. Of course, The Powers that be can shut the space down. And if
> that is their choice, I leave. The Law of Two Feet applies across the board.
>
>
>
> I have only had to “walk” once, and I think that is due to the fact that I
> made my position very clear before we started. But I do have to say there
> were several situations where I came very close. Nervous making and painful
> for sure, but Hey – That’s why we get paid the big bucks. J
>
>
>
> 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 *Barry Owen
> *Sent:* Thursday, January 30, 2014 1:39 PM
>
> *To:* World wide Open Space Technology email list
> *Subject:* Re: [OSList] Open Space classrooms
>
>
>
> Tricia,
>
>
>
> I have done exactly this with a local MBA program
>
> It worked so well that they didn't invite me back after the 3rd time
> because the School Administration was not keen on the turmoil caused by the
> students expressions of freedom and demands for change.
>
>
>
> My "Way" was simply to Open Space as if it were a 3 Full Day Event.
>
> This Time/Place Post-it matrix reflected what any 3 day event would have
> (Opening - Sessions - Lunch - Sessions - Evening News - Party . . . ending
> with Closing)
>
> The opening was normal - No difference than if it were the full 3 days
>
> Each time I did it, the groups of 30ish students posted @ 30 Issues
>
> We had time for 1 session (45 minutes) and had 4 Break-out spaces
>
> Then we had Evening News.
>
>
>
> At the end of evening news, I simply made the suggestion that they could
> complete the remaining 26 sessions at other times. What happened was
> unfathomable to me and the sponsoring Professor . . . The students
> self-organized and DID arrange times and places (Coffee Shops) and
> "completed" the sessions on the wall in a period of about 3 weeks.
>
>
>
> The topic all three times was centered around "Rankings of MBA programs
> and how their MBA program could improve their standings"
>
>
>
> The School Administrators were always invited but never showed up, and
> they had all the power and squashed all efforts by the students to effect
> change . . . I think the professor was ultimately forced to describe Open
> Space Technology rather than demonstrating.
>
>
>
> DO-IT
>
>
>
> You'll have a blast.
>
>
>
> Best,
>
>
>
> b
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 1:30 PM, Tricia Chirumbole <
> tricia at mojocollaborative.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all!
>
>
>
> I am writing to request your advice and experiences with open space in
> classrooms - this is for a one time MBA class.
>
>
>
> *the upcoming engagement:*
>
> I have been invited to hold an Open Space style class for
> MBA/International Affairs students in a Global Perspectives class on Feb
> 24th at George Washington University (my former MBA program). The standing
> theme of this class in the prof's curriculum is, "Putting it all together"
>
>
>
> *background: *
>
> This invite was born from discussions I have been having with the
> professor of the aforementioned class, about the opportunities of
> introducing some Open Space and Scrum practices into their MBA program -
> she is also the Associate Dean and involved in program development.
>
>
>
> My real interest was to explore opportunities not just for actual
> classroom time, but also for other components, such as: The kick-off
> orientation week for FT MBAs, Curriculum/program planning, and for
> executing projects. My pet titles include: Hacking my MBA, and the Agile
> Classroom.
>
>
>
> *the conundrum: *So, this is cool, BUT, I am concerned about the short
> time frame (2.5 hours) and the isolated nature of the engagement.
>
>
>
> I would very much like anyone's direct experience or insight on holding
> classes OS style or holding similarly short, one-off Open Space
> engagements. I know they are done, I can envision how I would do it, but I
> still feel concerned that I may have jumped on low hanging fruit that may
> not be the best format for sharing these practices.
>
>
>
> For me, I can definitely see open space style classes and "agile"
> classrooms w/out multi-day OS summits, but I see them flourishing more as
> part of an ecosystem of principles and cultures being practiced, rather
> than as a one-off classroom brouhaha!
>
>
>
> All thoughts welcome - thank you in advance! :)))))
>
>
>
> Tricia Chirumbole
>
> Open Space Facilitator, Certified Scrum Master
>
> Mojo Collaborative
>
> www.mojocollaborative.com
>
>
>
> 571-232-0942
>
> skype: tricia.chirumbole
>
> twitter: @themojozone
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> OSList mailing list
> To post send emails to OSList at lists.openspacetech.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to OSList-leave at lists.openspacetech.org
> To subscribe or manage your subscription click below:
> http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org
>
>

-- 

[image: Christine Koehler, créatrice d'espace de Dialogue et de Coopération]
 Executive Coach, Médiateur
 www.christine-koehler.fr
 Tel :  06 13 28 71 38
  Fax :    09  72  32 36  65
<http://christine-koehler.fr/2013/formation-de-levenement-au-processus-avril-2013/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20140131/18186807/attachment-0008.htm>