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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Patrick,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Someone recently sent me a link to a great site on
the World Cafe: <A
href="http://www.theworldcafe.com/index.html">http://www.theworldcafe.com/index.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I've only participated in one once, about 4 years
ago. For me it felt very controlling. Others seemed to think it was
great. I think the difference is once you've experienced Open Space,
having someone tell you when to move to another group just doesn't cut
it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peggy Holman</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:patrick.mcauley@sympatico.ca"
title=patrick.mcauley@sympatico.ca>Patrick McAuley</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU"
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, June 12, 2000 6:19 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Knowledge Cafe</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Is anyone on this list familiar with a process
called Knowledge Cafe? Any thoughts on how effective it is as a
collaborative learning process? How it would compare with Open Space for
the same purpose?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm co-chairing a team to organize a half-day
learning event for a business association and one of the team members has
proposed using this process. Here's how she described it in an
email.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New" size=2> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> Why not use a self-organizing format which doesn't
require </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> expert facilitators? A 5-10 minute introduction
would be </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> required. Place a tent card on each table with four
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> guidelines: 1. Ask questions. 2. Play devil's
advocate. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> 3. Move if the spirit moves you. 4. Record
aha's!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I asked her if she could describe where it works
well, where it does not work well, and what risks it might entail.
Here is how she responded.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New" size=2> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> The director of knowledge management at
American</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> Management Systems Inc. presented this format at a
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> conference I attended in Scottsdale a few months
ago </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> called Braintrust 2000. Participants needed very
little </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> guidance (5-10 min. nuts & bolts intro.)
Outcome is both </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> the experience of being engaged with their own
issues (has </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> everone read The Experience Economy?) and a summary
of '5 </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> best insights' from each table at the conclusion.
At this </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> particular conference, a ballroom full of people
had time </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> for two 45 min. roundtable discussions focused on
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> sub-topics of their choice. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> My contact at U of T who organizes conferences for
execs </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> says, "We don't do talking heads anymore, we only
use </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> knowledge cafes." </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> Risks: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> At Warner Lambert in NJ, organizers of an offsite
were </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> initially skeptical because the format seemed too
simple </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> to work. They tried it anyway, for a portion of the
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> retreat. People liked it so much that they
requested that </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> the next retreat be entirely knowledge cafe-based.
Lesson </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> learned: required organizers to give up control and
accept </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> inherent risk, which makes some people
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> uncomfortable. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>> </FONT></DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<DIV>In conversation later, I asked if she could compare Knowledge Cafe to
Open Space. She had participated in the Toronto Company of Friends
(Fast Company magazine) Open Space event a year ago and she felt that the
intro and wrapup took too long -- for the type of business clients that she
deals with. She feels Knowledge Cafe is more efficient and produces
similar results for a learning event.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Reactions?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Patrick McAuley</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PTM
Consulting
Tel: (519) 827-9396<BR>20 Magnolia
Lane
Fax: (519) 827-0956<BR>Guelph, ON N1G
4X7 <A
href="mailto:patrick.mcauley@sympatico.ca">patrick.mcauley@sympatico.ca</A><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>