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

[Chris Corrigan via OSList]

Daniel…

I think what you are proposing is interesting, measuring the conditions and how much of each there are.  I say generally, that the more of each you have, the better OST works.  But I’d never be able to really put a number on it.

And my experience is that there seems to be no difference between the likelihood of public or private events being anymore or less likely to exhibit these conditions. There is nothing inherent tin the ontology of these two kinds of events that would predict that.  The five pre-conditions do seem to point at specific factors in the ontology of an event that would make for a potentially richer OST event.  Radical transformation is rare and is never guaranteed.  But we can work with conditions to create potential.

in fact for me it comes down to the pre-work.  My experience is that sponsors of any event who are unwilling to do the pre-work to shape an intention and invitation and to design the architecture for implementation of the results (whatever those results are expected to be) will miss the mark on transformation.  (and this pre-work includes being clear about what they are NOT doing as well)

Like any event, the quality of the container matters.  Paying attention to the constraints and the attractors builds a container where a real need is allowed to produce real conversations which can create real action and ultimately change.  If you don’t break people’s patterns and expectations of a meeting or conference beforehand, it’s unlikely they will come prepared for transformation.  And that is the biggest predictor of “flat feeling” OST events for me.  

I think your text tagged <HERESY> below is actually <HYPOTHESIS> and needs to be tested in some way.  But the test will apply to your practice, your context and the particular events that you are drawn or invited to.  The practice of working with clients in Open Space is impossible to standardize.  It is an artisanal practice.  There are a few basic skills and talents one needs to have developed in order to assure quality, but nothing can take the place of experience and the path of mastery that is individual and practice based.   

Chris

> On Apr 26, 2015, at 11:30 AM, Jeff Aitken via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:
> 
> <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...)

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