[OSList] not quite open space

Sun Dec 13 17:41:55 PST 2015

My experience ... No matter what limit may be set, all the issues are “there.” But some may not be articulated. Which only means they will be talked about in the halls, corridors, and at whatever passes for coffee breaks. The sad part is that the whole group will not benefit from all that good discussion. Or from knowing that all those “non-articulated” issues were really not worth talking about. You just can’t beat the system.

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From: OSList [mailto:oslist-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org] On Behalf Of Kári Gunnarsson via OSList
Sent: Sunday, December 13, 2015 7:20 PM
To: Michael Herman; World wide Open Space Technology email list
Subject: Re: [OSList] not quite open space

I like to argue that actually open the space in fact dose not take longer. An the messy chaotic parallel working way where no one has the total editorial control over the topics posted  is actually a faster way and dose go smoother.  While the way of working with the facilitator Censorship of the topic posted to fill the controlled spaces dose in fact take longer to do and is questionable whether it will actually bring the deliverables of the Open Space.

On 14 December 2015 at 00:06, Michael Herman via OSList <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org> wrote:

last week i discovered a kind of Not Quite Open Space.  (with my hat off and a forwards bow to paul levy, who posted here a Most Remarkable and totally unrelated Winnie-the-Pooh story last week.)

i've always understood that the whole point of opening space is to get All The Issues That Matter up on the wall, so that everyone can see, understand and deal with them.  Last week I noticed that there's at least one other way to go through the usual motions, but really just go through the motions, to Not Quite Open the space. 

The alternative to inviting and making space for all the issues to be voiced and posted, is to choose what the facilitator or sponsor pre-decides is the right number of rounds and sessions and then, merely Seek To Fill all (or at least most) of the "spaces."  In their mind, they seem to be thinking "We're going to have Open SpaceS, and we need about ___ many of them."

in 20 years, i don't think it ever occurred to me to do it this way.  and i'm not here recommending it.  i'm sure it limits what happens.  for me it also falls into the category of Trying To Get People To Do Stuff.  but it seems to actually happen in the world, sometimes.  maybe even often?

so it seems a useful distinction to look out for:  am i trying to fill all the spaces or have a certain number of breakout conversations -- or am i really trying to invite ALL the issues and opportunities out of the circle and onto the wall?  

the latter is almost surely more messy, more uncertain, and takes longer... but it may well be that some of the most important work happens in the sorting of Too Many Issues for the spaces available.  

are there other subtle things have you noticed that seem to make the difference between Open Space and Not Quite Open Space?

michael

--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates

312-280-7838 (mobile)

http://MichaelHerman.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org

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Kári Gunnarsson markþjálfi
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