[OSList] Open Space classrooms

Fri Jan 31 12:15:41 PST 2014

Deep and enthusiastic THANK YOU to all who responded with your insights,
experiences, specific tips and resources, and most importantly - the
encouragement and support! That really makes a world of difference .

I have confirmed with the professor and I now have a better sense of how I
plan to roll with this.

Most importantly, I am looking forward to it in the spirit of good fun :)
Take care all!

Tricia Chirumbole
US: +1-571-232-0942
Skype: tricia.chirumbole

On Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 4:27 AM, Chris Altmikus @ iDeA-Link <
chris.altmikus at idea-link.eu> wrote:

> Mmh, I like Barry's experience. Now, what is about all those students who
> were able to live this experience (to the point of demanding more ...) and
> who will carry this with them henceforward ? isn't THAT a great chance and
> opportunity ? And even if the organisation did not invite Barry back a
> fourth time ... from a system's perspective the organisation has inevitably
> changed and moved on from where they were before ....
>
> Greetings for a lovely week-end    +    Chris
>
>
>   Chris M. Altmikus
>          Chemin de la Bovarde 37
>          CH-1091 Grandvaux
>
>          ph +41 21 799 31 34
>          m  +41 78 935 31 34
>          chris.altmikus at idea-link.eu <pierre-yves.delcourt at idea-link.eu>
>
> Le 31 janv. 2014 à 10:16, christine koehler <chris.alice.koehler at gmail.com>
> a écrit :
>
> 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/>
>
>  _______________________________________________
> 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
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openspacetech.org/pipermail/oslist-openspacetech.org/attachments/20140131/cad2c94e/attachment-0008.htm>