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At 05:03 PM 3/8/00 -0500, you wrote:<br>
<br>
>That has stuck with me for so long. I think that the real
mission (in a<br>
>spiritual sense) is to do what is right for our clients -- to provide
them<br>
>with a space of some sort to get where they need to be. If it
is pure open<br>
>space, so be it. If not, so be that too. :)<br>
><br>
>They are all, in the end, tools to a larger, more important
service. If we<br>
>become slaves to the tools, it seems to me we have lost focus.<br>
><br>
>Just my thoughts.<br>
>Cathy<br>
**************************************<br>
Good thoughts Cathy -- especially the part about becoming "slaves to
the tools." But then again, I never really thought of Open Space as
a tool amongst other tools. For me it is closer to a way of life or a
point of view. After all, what's an Open Space? Just a time and space in
which each person can follow their passion (what they truly care about)
with responsibility. Sure there are certain minimal things we do in terms
of creating the space and holding it open, but at the end of the day,
there is very little doing. And a tool, after all, is something you<b>
do</b> something with. Open Space, at least as far as the facilitator is
concerned, involves very little doing -- which makes it a very strange
tool. <br>
<br>
To be sure all sorts of things get done in Open Space, and doubtless a
variety of tools are employed. Great ! -- But that is for the
participants. It is their passion, their responsibility, their action.
<br>
<br>
For me it all begins with the prior belief and firm conviction that
everything essential for the group's successful completion of the task at
hand lies with them. But certainly not with me. When it comes to the
definition of the "successful completion of the task at hand"
-- that is always an evolving mystery. Often they do exactly what
they set out to do. Sometimes they discover that what they had in mind to
do was a bad idea, and they go off and do something different -- which
often turns out to be better. Occasionally they discover that what they
had in mind was a bad mistake and they just go home. Were they
successful? I think so.<br>
<br>
There has been another learning for me, which has been more than a little
humbling, not to say painful. I have never found any situation where the
group did not invent a design, approach, or tool that was not better
(sometimes infinitely better) than any thing I might have suggested. Of
course, this may say much more about my own limitations than the wisdom
of the group. But to this point, there has never been a situation where
the wisdom of the group was not vastly superior to my own. They just had
to find their wisdom, and I just had to hold the space until they did.
White knuckles -- sure. Anxiety (theirs and mine) DEFINITELY! But it has
always worked. And best of all -- whatever the solution, it was theirs.
And they won twice. First they solved the problem -- themselves. And
secondly (and probably most valuable) they learned that they could solve
the problem.<br>
<br>
Is Open Space the only way? Well, for me -- Yes. I have never found
anything that worked any better. And for other people ... ? They
certainly have to pick and choose. I do know that should somebody ask me
to design and run a carefully planned, tightly controlled planning
process (and I actually used to do that quite well) I would gently
suggest that they find somebody else -- even give them some names. For
myself, any time I see a situation characterized by: 1) A major issue of
genuine concern. 2) High levels of complexity 3) High levels of
diversity in terms of participants. 4) Lots of conflict. 5) A decision
time of yesterday -- I just know that Open Space can do the job. Or
more exactly the people can -- given the time and space to get on with
the business. <br>
<br>
<br>
Harrison<br>
<br>
<br>
<div align="center">
Harrison Owen<br>
7808 River Falls Drive<br>
Potomac, MD 20854<br>
USA<br>
phone 301-469-9269<br>
fax 301-983-9314<br>
website <br>
<a href="http://www.mindspring.com/~owenhh" eudora="autourl">www.mindspring.com/~owenhh</a><br>
Open Space Institute websites<br>
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/" eudora="autourl">www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
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