[OSList] OST: Public vs Private events: apples and oranges?

[Jeff Aitken via OSList]

Well said Harrison! 

So I hope people will ask a practitioner to help them discern when it's the right time for open space - and not hesitate. 

Operators are standing by ; ) as they say in TV marketing ads. 

Jeff
Lagunitas California

-------- Original message --------
From: Harrison <hhowen at verizon.net> 
Date:04/26/2015  9:12 AM  (GMT-08:00) 
To: 'Jeff Aitken' <r.jeff.aitken at gmail.com>,'World wide Open Space Technology email list' <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> 
Subject: RE: [OSList] OST: Public vs Private events: apples and oranges? 

To add a bit... The 4 (actually 5) “preconditions” were simply what I, and others, had observed to be the situation. I can’t actually remember, but I think my original motivation was to question what seemed to be the conventional wisdom regarding what it took to have a good meeting. I think we all know the drill – there should be a clear agenda, closely ordered procedure, something close to absolute control, and the like. With thoughts like these in mind, Open Space was not only counterintuitive, but wrong, dangerous, and obviously heretical. What we were experiencing was definitely a horse of a different color.
 
And yes, Jeff, there is certainly no “requirement” that all conditions be at maximum red alert. That said, if none are present there would seem to be little reason have a meeting, let alone Open Space. After all who would want to waste the time when there was no business issue, everything was crystal clear, everyone thought exactly the same way, no passion or conflict, and the sense of urgency non-existent? Sounds like a non-starter to me. Then again it constantly amazes me that every day in organizations all over the world folks hold meetings just because you are supposed to. Is it any wonder that people are bored, disengaged, and cynical?
 
But actually what really got me excited was when I realized that my “5 Preconditions” almost exactly paralleled the essential preconditions for self organization as described by Stuart Kauffmann and others. That made a connection which produced my greatest learning in and about Open Space. It is all self organization. It is not a process we/I created, invented, or whatever. All we actually “do” is to invite people to remember what they have been doing for ever. Well at least for the last 13.7 billion years.
 
And just for a tag line .... to those who might be thinking about “scaling up” Open Space, I would suggest you save your energy. It’s already happened. It is all self organizing. It is all open space. Of course it is true that things get pretty sloppy and gooey when we set about organizing a self organizing system. Oh well.
 
Harrison
 
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From: OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Aitken via OSList
Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2015 11:31 AM
To: Daniel Mezick; World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] OST: Public vs Private events: apples and oranges?
 
Hi Daniel. When Harrison's four conditions came out way back when, I imagined them as a way to tell a client that even in the most challenging situation it's quite possible that Open Space will work very well. In other words, don't hesitate to consider it, even if you're afraid things are just too messy to try this strange new process.
 
Having hosted and seen many great open spaces in which the scores were low, so to speak,  I never took seriously that these are absolute preconditions. To me they are a kind of inoculation against a prospective sponsor being afraid to make that phone call or send that email. 
 
With lots of appreciation for your good work
 
Jeff
Lagunitas, California
 
 


-------- Original message --------
From: Daniel Mezick via OSList 
Date:04/26/2015 6:20 AM (GMT-08:00) 
To: World wide Open Space Technology email list 
Subject: [OSList] OST: Public vs Private events: apples and oranges? 

Greetings All,

...I notice these well-worn, well-understood set of starting conditions for great Open Space, on Wikipedia...hmm...

<WIKIPEDIA>
Hundreds of Open Space meetings have been documented.[4][5] Harrison Owen explains that this approach works best when these conditions are present,[3] namely high levels of

Complexity, in terms of the tasks to be done or outcomes achieved;
Diversity, in terms of the people involved and/or needed to make any solution work;
Conflict, real or potential, meaning people really care about the central issue or purpose; and
Urgency, meaning that the time to act was "yesterday".
</WIKIPEDIA>


In an organization, we could work with formally authorized leaders to gauge the magnitude of each dimension. So for example we could gauge or rank the magnitude, with 1 being lowest and 10 being the highest magnitude for gauging each dimension. For a really nice opportunity to use Open Space, we might be looking for a combined score of, say, 32 or higher (out of a possible 40)



The Public Conference Event

Now let's consider the PUBLIC conference event. What is the typical combined score in a public conference... for these 4 elements? I am guessing the combined score is something like 20 or lower for the typical conference event. Maybe 25 out of a perfect 40? The cohesion is just (generally speaking!) so much lower in a public vs org-based (private) event...


<HERESY>
And that is why I think OST is for "development and transformation in organizations" (that actual subtitle of the SPIRIT book) and that it is not at all as effective, in terms of impact, when implemented in a public conference. 
</HERESY>

I am guessing the scores for the 4 dimensions are almost always be lower in a public vs. private event. 

Certainly that is my general subjective observation, based on a small sample of direct experience (less than 20 experiences doing OST inside corporations...)

...Yes: some exceptions do exist. As is almost always the case. Right? That said, I feel these exceptions prove the general rule... that private events have a much higher combined score, all else being equal.

Ironically, the OST format was originally formulated to ease the effort required to arrange and execute public conference events. 

And then....


Daniel 


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