<html><div>At 09:40 AM 9/21/99 +0200, you wrote:</div>
<div>OS in Arabia</div>
<br>
<div>>I wanted to share a few experiences (I'll be writing more
detailed articles</div>
<div>>for the network, so this is just the preliminary
information)</div>
<br>
<div>>2. As an OS facilitator, take care during the marketplace that
the whole</div>
<div>>thing is not monopolized by individuals. I had to intervene,
else all focus</div>
<div>>groups of the first round would have been merged.</div>
<div>*********************************************************</div>
<div>I find a simple suggestion (rule?) can help here. It is what I call
Conveners Rule. I bring it up when I talk about "Combinations and
Conflicts" just before the people go to the wall for sign-up. Simply
said, it goes something like this..." You are at liberty to combine
any session with any other session if it seems to make sense. However, I
strongly suggest that you only combine sessions when there is no other
alternative. It is much better to have 5 people deeply engaged than 25
people fighting each other. And in any event the conveners rule. So if
combination is in the wind BOTH conveners have to agree. If they don't --
Separate Sessions."</div>
<br>
<div>There is a learning curve here, and the law of two feet is the
corrective. Sometimes you can get very large groups. In advance you
cannot tell whether such a group will be effective or not. I have seen
groups of 75 (which resulted from the combination of multiple groups) be
very effective. So I never intervene. No matter if I think 75 is
"too big" -- if it works for the folks... And if it doesn't --
there is a learning opportunity here. If the group is too large to be
functional, I find it best to let the people figure it out on their own,
learn to use their two feet and self-organize something that does work.
Perhaps it is just me, but I never get it right when I make specific
suggestions. But the people always do, and in the process, they learn a
great deal.</div>
<div>*******************************************</div>
<br>
<div>>3. The time between calling participants to step into the circle
and the</div>
<div>>begin of the first focus groups is crucial and should be as
short as</div>
<div>>possible to avoid lenghty discussions. Better risk to run into
first</div>
<div>>sessions time (what I did in an other OS I had in Germany.
Obviously this</div>
<div>>time period depends on the number of participants (I had another
OS, were</div>
<div>>the time was much too short, and I had to re-write the post-its
with the</div>
<div>>time of the sessions). Any other experiences, rule-of-the-thumb,
how to</div>
<div>>approach this?</div>
<div>*********************************</div>
<div>I agree it is usually best that one move quickly to action. But more
important is that the group take responsibility for itself, even if that
is a little painful for all concerned (especially the facilitator).
To give everybody the best possible chance, I find it usually works to do
everything in 1 and 1/2 hour sessions. Thus 1 and 1/2 hours for the
start, the first session etc. This seems to do it, and no matter --
Whenever it starts is the right time -- I think. </div>
<div>********************************************</div>
<div>>4. Against all warnings, I did the OS at the 3rd day of a
5-days-workshop</div>
<div>>on Learning Organizations. It worked well, and we got a lot of
material to</div>
<div>>work on during the last two days of the workshop.</div>
<div>********************************************</div>
<div>Actually the annual OT gatherings are always over 5 days with 3 full
days in Open Space. So it does work, and it is wonderful. For businesses
and the like, (where cost is really a concern) 2 and 1/2 days seems to be
optimal. More useful stuff will appear on a 3rd day --- but I have never
been convinced that if the time available had only been 2 days -- the
same would not have happened. In a very interesting way groups seem to
pace themselves very accurately. If they have 3 days, they will use it --
but somehow at a more lie surely pace. So what about 1 day? Certainly
works, but I find that folks are just getting started, and given another
day -- things will get much deeper. Like all the rest of Open Space.
Nothing hard and fast. If it works -- do it. If it feels good -- do
it again.</div>
<br>
<div>Can't wait for the next installment! Good job.</div>
<br>
<br>
<div>Harrison</div>
<br>
<br>
<div align="center">
Harrison Owen <br>
7808 River Falls Drive <br>
Potomac, MD 20854 USA <br>
301-469-9269 (phone) <br>
301-983-9314 (fax) <br>
email owen@tmn.com<br>
Website
<a href="http://www.tmn.com/~owen" eudora="autourl">http://www.tmn.com/~owen</a><br>
Open Space Institute website<br>
<a href="http://www.tmn.com/openspace" eudora="autourl">http://www.tmn.com/openspace</a></html>