[OSList] Private vs Public OST Differences?

Daniel Mezick via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Fri Oct 17 10:14:49 PDT 2014


Hi Michael,

I hear you, saying:

"I've seen very loose corporate add-on events"

..and then I also hear you saying:

I've seen...very productive and long-lived action (spanning years and 
continents) come from open public conferences.

I do not hear you saying this:

"I've seen very loose corporate add-on events generate very productive 
and long-lived action spanning years"

I wonder if you are saying this.

Daniel

On 10/17/14 10:15 AM, Michael Herman wrote:
> Not sure the differences you articulate have anything to do with 
> public and private, Daniel. It's about the different structures.  I've 
> seen very loose corporate add-on events and very productive and 
> long-lived action (spanning years and continents) come from open 
> public conferences. So id say structure matters much more than setting.
>
>
> On Friday, October 17, 2014, Daniel Mezick via OSList 
> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org 
> <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
>
>     Greetings Christine,
>
>     Thanks for your detailed reply. I must admit, I have no experience
>     whatsoever with doing quasi-public OST events arranged for guilds,
>     industry-associations and the like. I'm clueless!
>
>     As such, my opinion does not have much (if any) validity about
>     those use cases. I do have some theories however, and I hope I can
>     ask some questions about OST for guilds & industry associations...
>
>     I see it like this:
>
>     (1) At one extreme end of the spectrum, there is the very private,
>     business-org-specific event. A kind of big-family system.
>
>     (2) At the other extreme, there is the totally public conference
>     that anyone can attend, if they pay the money...
>
>           * It is an event that has some Open Space of varying
>             quality, in 1/2 day, full day or multiple day formats.
>           * It may of may not have a Sponsor, it may of may not have
>             Proceedings. It may or may not have posters on the wall.
>             If it has Proceedings at all, they are often late.
>           * "Agile" conferences are commonly at found at this end of
>             the range.
>
>
>     My theory is that quasi-public OST events for and with guilds,
>     industry associations and the like lie somewhere in the middle of
>     these two extremes. And I can certainly imagine (theorize) how
>     these events take on the look, feel, tone, temp and flavor of the
>     very private, business-org-specific event. They might even
>     effectively BE private events. It's not like anyone with the fee
>     (if any) can just waltz into the meeting right?
>
>
>     And so, for now, I want to set these quasi-public OST events
>     aside, and/or characterize them as private events. Is that OK?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>     And so, referring to (1) and (2) above, I continue to see very
>     huge differences between these two ways to use Open Space.
>
>     Like, the difference between Night and Day.
>
>
>     Here's one of those very striking differences: in
>     public-conference events where OST is an add-on in 1/2 or full day
>     formats, getting good Proceedings is difficult. Or impossible. The
>     Proceedings are typically late and poorly formatted, or more
>     commonly: /non-existent./
>
>     Yet inside private events, you can't pull the people off the task
>     of Proceedings creation. The task attracts them like a magnet.
>     They typically wave off any offers of help and take an absolutely
>     huge interest in the Proceedings generation. They rivet on it.
>
>
>
>     And this is just one example. There are many more BIG differences.
>     And so I continue to assert that for public-conference events
>     where OST is a full day or 1/2 day add-on, a Barcamp or
>     Unconference can and does get equivalent, similar, as-good results.
>
>     Stated another way, Barcamp and/or Unconference can never do what
>     Open Space does for organizations. And that's because Open Space
>     is optimized for enabling "development and transformation in
>     organizations. "
>
>     And those other two aren't.
>
>
>     Daniel
>
>     PS I realize some public, paid, Agile conferences that feature
>     all-day Open Space do a very good job with Proceedings. Yet this
>     is clearly the exception, and not the rule where Agile conferences
>     are concerned.
>
>
>
>
>     On 10/15/14 11:43 AM, Christine Whitney Sanchez wrote:
>>     Daniel and all,
>>
>>     In my experience, public events have the same buzz and meaningful
>>     results as an in-organization OST.  I’ve facilitated a number of
>>     them that were sponsored by a group of organizations in the
>>     community.  For instance, Vibrant Phoenix
>>     <http://vibrantphx.com/next-actions/top-ideas/>, was a very
>>     productive economic development OST, sponsored by two mayors of
>>     large municipalities and several local businesses.  One of the
>>     business sponsors agreed to be the contact for folks who wanted
>>     to take their “actionable ideas” to the next level.  However,
>>     there was no budget and no infrastructure to really keep folks
>>     connected the the ideas they cared the most about.
>>
>>     This is where the public open spaces generally fall short.
>>      Because the ongoing action is not the core mission of any of
>>     these organizations, it is hoped that the participants will
>>     self-organize going forward.  With very few exceptions, this does
>>     not happen.  I believe that sponsorship for the work after the
>>     OST is what is called for.
>>
>>     The Collective Impact
>>     <http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/channeling_change_making_collective_impact_work> model
>>     speaks to this.  It’s nothing new, really, but does represent a
>>     simple way to talk about the necessary conditions for sustaining
>>     collective action.  I now include my version of this model when I
>>     talk with potential sponsors to shine the light beyond the
>>     meeting so that we can discuss their intentions for providing
>>     backbone support for self-organized action going forward.
>>
>>     I especially love public Open Space events and look forward to
>>     working with sponsors who see the meeting as merely the first
>>     small step in collaborative action. There is so much potential!
>>
>>     Warm wishes from a sunny autumn morning in the rain-greened desert,
>>
>>     Christine
>>
>>     Christine Whitney Sanchez, M.C.
>>     Phoenix,AZ, USA •+1.480.759.0262
>>     www.innovationpartners.com <http://www.innovationpartners.com>
>>
>>     Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/ChristineWhitneySanchez> |
>>     LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinewhitneysanchez>
>>     |Twitter <https://twitter.com/CWhitneySanchez>
>>
>>     On Oct 15, 2014, at 6:33 AM, Daniel Mezick via OSList
>>     <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
>>     <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','oslist at lists.openspacetech.org');>>
>>     wrote:
>>
>>     Greetings To All,
>>
>>     I notice that there are many big differences between
>>     public-conference-type OST events, and OST events arranged for
>>     organizations.
>>
>>     Do you also notice this? Maybe I am imagining this....just making
>>     stuff up...
>>
>>     ...maybe not. In many key dimensions, I experience these
>>     differences as striking. Even disturbing.
>>
>>
>>
>>     And so I have been poking around inside the GUIDE (3rd edition)
>>     and I notice that, in some spots, the implication is that the
>>     discussion is about a public event. Up to page 18 for example,
>>     this implication is clear:
>>
>>
>>     <THE GUIDE PAGE 18>
>>
>>     Working With The Client if you ARE NOT the Sponsor
>>
>>     "To this point I have assumed that you (the reader) will be the
>>     sponsor and facilitator of the Open Space, and therefore */it is
>>     your decision as to whether or not to proceed/*...(/emphasis added./)
>>
>>     </THE GUIDE PAGE 18>
>>
>>
>>
>>     My current belief is that having the same person in the Sponsor
>>     role **and** the Facilitator role is probably a very bad idea for
>>     an OST event /inside an organization/. For the typical
>>     public-conference event on the other hand, this seems to work
>>     just fine. Kinda like a Barcamp or Unconference....
>>
>>
>>     Another current belief I hold is that OST is the essential tool
>>     for creating "Development and Transformation in Organizations".
>>     It is best suited for use in organizations.
>>
>>     It is interesting to note how the Barcamp and/or "Unconference"
>>     formats seem to get the same or as-good results as Open Space, in
>>     the public conference setting.
>>
>>     Not so inside organizations! In fact, as of now, I don't think
>>     Barcamp or Unconference has any chance whatsoever at being
>>     effective in bringing about Development and Transformation in
>>     Organizations the way Open Space can. Something about the Sponsor?
>>
>>     Daniel
>>
>>
>>     -- 
>>
>>     Daniel Mezick, President
>>
>>     New Technology Solutions Inc.
>>
>>     (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>>
>>     Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
>>     <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
>>     <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>>
>>     Examine my new book:The Culture Game
>>     <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for
>>     the Agile Manager.
>>
>>     Explore Agile Team Training
>>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and
>>     Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
>>
>>     Explore the Agile Boston
>>     <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
>>
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>
>     -- 
>
>     Daniel Mezick, President
>
>     New Technology Solutions Inc.
>
>     (203) 915 7248 (cell)
>
>     Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog
>     <http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter
>     <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.
>
>     Examine my new book:The Culture Game
>     <http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for
>     the Agile Manager.
>
>     Explore Agile Team Training
>     <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and
>     Coaching. <http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>
>
>     Explore the Agile Boston
>     <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.
>
>
>
> -- 
>
> --
>
> Michael Herman
> Michael Herman Associates
> 312-280-7838 (mobile)
>
> http://MichaelHerman.com
> http://OpenSpaceWorld.org
>
>

-- 

Daniel Mezick, President

New Technology Solutions Inc.

(203) 915 7248 (cell)

Bio <http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/>. Blog 
<http://newtechusa.net/blog/>. Twitter <http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/>.

Examine my new book:The Culture Game 
<http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/>: Tools for the 
Agile Manager.

Explore Agile Team Training 
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/> and Coaching. 
<http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/>

Explore the Agile Boston <http://newtechusa.net//user-groups/ma/>Community.

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