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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>The sample
invitations that have been shared with us are wonderful and I thank you for the
sharing. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=520424223-29042000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>In turn, I include
below another, longer sample invitation. Please feel free to use whatever parts
of it appeal to you. In this particular sample invitation, I am addressing a
need of a client group to be more specific about what participants are being
invited to. This was created for a company where the conflict was high
(union/management), the invitation was going out from management to staff that
had no interest in attending any meeting. Points that I wanted to cover in the
invitation included points that often we don't feel we need to say ahead of time
however I have discovered over time that they are helpful in situations of
conflict (and don't seem to cause harm in other situations)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>-we wanted to be
sure that participants knew they would build the agenda</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>-we wanted to be
sure that participants knew that the information would be accessed by anyone who
wanted it (I have had one major disaster in an Open Space when we didn't talk
about this ahead, participants assumed it was an internal to the company
document--and within 10 minutes of the Open Space having been done, the
proceedings were in the hands of "the competition". And just by the way, there
are no guarantees that the document will be confidential, no matter who says so,
so I always now say that it is not---this affects some of what goes into reports
and how they are written)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>-we wanted
participants to know that follow up action would be framed within the
"givens"</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>-we wanted
participants to know that not all topics would be top vote getters, but the
participants themselves would identify the top vote getters.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>-we wanted clearance
on the contact information that participants were willing to have on the list (I
always do this for every meeting-in the past I have had trouble because of a
participant list that had all of the contact information and customers of the
company and some others were angry that their phone numbers and addresses were
included in a document that would be accessible by whoever got their hands on
it)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=520424223-29042000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>The sample
invitation is below my signature.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=520424223-29042000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=520424223-29042000>Birgitt</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>Birgitt Williams</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>Make Genuine Contact!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>Dalar Associates: organizational
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>effectiveness consultants</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>Striving for Success? Ready to exceed
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>your expectations?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>Contact us for consulting services,
</FONT><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>training, </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>conference and meeting facilitation,
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2>and keynote speaking.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Black" size=2><A
href="http://www.openspacetechnology.com">www.openspacetechnology.com</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><B>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial>You are invited to join us for a meeting to
explore</FONT></P>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial>"THEME"</FONT></P></B>
<P><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>You are invited to a meeting
that </SPAN></FONT></P>
<OL>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>lets <SPAN class=520424223-29042000>us</SPAN> design
our own agenda and promises that anything that is important to <SPAN
class=520424223-29042000>any of us</SPAN> about the theme has the opportunity
to be discussed;</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>enables <SPAN class=520424223-29042000>you</SPAN> to
connect with others who share your interests at the meeting with an
opportunity to continue networking with these people beyond the
meeting;</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>acknowledges and works with the wisdom, experience and
expertise that you and others have to work on the theme;</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>provides the opportunity to have meaningful conversation,
involvement and connecting;</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>enables you to move from one discussion to another so
that at every moment, you use your personal energy by either learning or
contributing. Your wisdom and energy is too precious to be wasted;</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>provides a written summary of every session, posted on a
wall during the meeting as soon as the summary is recorded and is compiled
into a book of proceedings for each participant to use beyond the meeting for
ongoing work; and</FONT></LI>
<LI><FONT face=Arial>supports action planning at the meeting itself and beyond
the meeting.</FONT></LI></OL>
<P><FONT face=Arial>The meeting format and process is called Open Space
Technology. Please join us as we move </FONT></P><B><FONT face=Arial>
<P>"Theme" </B>forward.</FONT></P>
<DIR>
<DIR>
<P></P>
<P align=center><FONT face=Arial>Date and Time</FONT></P><FONT face=Arial
size=4>
<P align=center>Place</P>
<P align=center>To reserve your spot at the meeting call…..When you call, we
will ask for the contact information that you are willing to have included in
the book of proceedings</P>
<P align=center></P>
<P align=center>To reserve accommodation….</P>
<P align=center>Special dietary or other needs, let us know…</P></DIR></DIR>
<P>(this is a good spot to identify other special arrangements being made such
as for language translation)</P></FONT><B><FONT face=Arial>
<P>The Purpose for having this meeting:</P>
<DIR>
<DIR>
<P>State Theme</P>
<P>List objectives</P></DIR></DIR></B>
<P>Objectives include the overall objective for the event within the larger
organizational context and can also include objectives such as creating a source
of data to identify who has interest in particular issues for future networking
and future work groups. Sometimes the objectives are to offer an opportunity for
learning new material. Sometimes they are for strategic planning, or community
building, or problem solving. Sometimes the objective for the meeting is to end
at the end of the meeting itself. Sometimes the objective for the meeting goes
beyond the boundaries of time and space for the meeting.</P></FONT><FONT size=2>
<P align=left><FONT face=Arial><SPAN
class=520424223-29042000>
<FONT size=3><STRONG>List "givens" or non-negotiables or root
assumptions</STRONG></FONT></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P align=left><FONT face=Arial size=3><SPAN class=520424223-29042000>The givens
or non-negotiables or more correctly root assumptions for the event are listed
here. They include legal, financial, process, role of CEO and managers in the
meeting, what will happen with the information, what will happen to items
identified for further action. What are the degrees of real freedom not only for
the meeting, but beyond the meeting based on the meeting. Identifying the givens
is really identifying the true degrees of freedom. It assists in managing
expectations. </SPAN></FONT></P></FONT><B><FONT face=Arial>
<P>What to Expect</P></B></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=4>
<OL></FONT><FONT face=Arial>
<P align=justify>
<LI>Prior to the meeting, you will receive an information packet that includes
the names and contact information of participants. As well, you will receive
information about this topic (theme) that will bring you up to date with what
we currently know/experience. It is recommended that you read this information
in the context of briefing notes.</LI>
<P></P>
<P align=justify>
<LI>The evening before our Open Space Technology meeting, we will be gathering
in the main meeting room at 7pm for a time of storytelling. Our
facilitator….will lead us through an opportunity to tell stories of the past
and present of this organization. Through our stories, we remember and
acknowledge our past and present. Stories may be sad, mad, glad—all stories
are welcome. It is up to each of us to tell the stories that we would like to
share with others. When you come to our story telling evening, you will find
the chairs set up in a circle. Just help yourself to refreshments and sit
wherever you would like in the circle. We will have refreshments available
throughout the evening for you to get up and enjoy at your leisure. The story
telling portion will end when the stories are over. The room and refreshments
will continue to be available to you until midnight. There will be no formal
breaks.</LI>
<P></P>
<P align=justify>
<LI>In the morning when you arrive for the Open Space Technology meeting, you
will enter a room set up with a circle of chairs. The facilitator will guide
us through instructions for the process. Together, we will create the agenda
for our time together, during the first forty minutes. Through the creation of
the agenda, leaders of topics will identify themselves. Participants will be
invited to sign up for the topics they are interested in. Participants will
then manage their own time and energy, attending sessions of interest. Leaders
will be responsible for getting their topic going, and ensuring that a report
is entered to be posted on the newswall for all to read, and for entry into
the book of proceedings. </LI>
<P></P>
<P align=justify></P>
<P align=justify>There will be breaks for lunch every day for an hour, served
buffet style. There will be no formal coffee breaks, however beverages and
food will be available for you throughout our time and you are encouraged to
be sure your own needs are looked after.</P>
<P align=justify></P>
<P align=justify>At the end of the first day, we will gather in a circle to
share any news. At the beginning of the second day, we will again gather in a
circle to share any news and to have the opportunity to post more topics on
the agenda, if participants have more topics to post. We will head off into
our discussion groups and gather for evening news again at the end of the day.
We shift into a different component of the Open Space Technology meeting on
the morning of the third day. When we gather in our morning circle, we will
each be given a copy of the book of proceedings that we have created. We will
have time to read this book, and then we will be asked to vote for those
topics that we each feel the most personal energy for. This will identify our
top vote-getters. We will spend the balance of the morning focusing on these
top vote getters and developing concrete action plans for next steps. </P>
<P align=justify></P>
<P align=justify>The final component of our meeting will be to gather in a
circle for closing comments following the action planning.</P>
<P align=justify></P>
<P align=justify>We will end at noon on this final day.</P>
<P align=justify></P>
<P align=justify>Please note that only those who participate in the process
may take part in the voting on the final morning.</P>
<P align=justify></P>
<P align=justify>More information about the process that we will use for our
meeting is available at </FONT><A
href="http://www.openspacetechnology.com/"><FONT
face=Arial>www.openspacetechnology.com</FONT></A><FONT face=Arial>
</P></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=4>
<P align=center></P></FONT><FONT face=Arial>
<LI>Following the Open Space Technology meeting, copies of the book of
proceedings including the action planning component will be available from
….for anyone who wants a copy. As well, we will post a copy of all of the
proceedings and action planning on our website. Action planning will proceed
according to "givens" that were noted at the beginning of this
invitation.</LI></OL>
<P> </P>
<P>Sincerely,</P>
<P>CEO</P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>