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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I am not Alan. But I have worked both with Open
Space and World Café. I think the café process would be perfect to work with the
planning or the sponsor group. You could do a dialogue process to clarify and
formulate the theme for the Open Space. One question that Juanita Brown often
uses is:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"What key question if explored throughout the
system could make a difference to the future of the organisation".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I haven't tried this combination yet but I imagine
that it would be a good start of the whole process.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ingrid</FONT></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:birgitt@MINDSPRING.COM" title=birgitt@MINDSPRING.COM>Birgitt
Williams</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> Tuesday, December 05, 2000 3:40
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Opening space in the big end
of town</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000>Alan,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000>thank you for this contribution.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=090084122-04122000>I
wonder if you could please elaborate a little on the difference between how
you perceive conversational processes in relation to what is known as
"Dialogue" Process. I know from our conversations how strong an impact the
world cafe has made on you and would very much like you to elaborate on the
difference of what happens in the world cafe to what happens in an OST
meeting. I think you have done an analysis of all of this and it would be
helpful to me to hear it.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=090084122-04122000>One
of my current explorations follows from the premise that it is the Sponsor who
opens the space and the facilitator who then can proceed with facilitating the
Open Space Technology meeting. I am convinced of the importance that the
Sponsor should have the opportunity prior to the Open Space Technology meeting
to make "informed consent" about saying "yes" to having an Open Space
Technology meeting in the organization. I work with a planning group for the
event that preferably includes the CEO and managers. If the CEO is not part of
the group, I make arrangements to see him/her separately. In the meetings, I
do my best to create enough information for "informed consent" by discussing
both the form and the essence of OST. This has gone well over the years, and
this practice has often resulted in a change of theme, clarification of the
givens, change of amount of time for the Open Space Technology meeting, or
cancellation of the contract when it is clear that the Sponsor is not
wanting the outcomes from OST. My current explorations concern my interest
in looking at "informed consent" from the Sponsor if we think of the
Sponsor as the whole organization rather than just the CEO or department head.
This would require some type of conversation about the OST meeting prior to
the OST meeting through which the participants have enough information to give
informed consent to participating in the OST meeting (different than just
showing up in response to an invitation). I am looking for best current ways
to do this and am interested in the world cafe, or Dialogue, or Appreciative
Inquiry.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=090084122-04122000>I am
well aware that an OST meeting can be successful without all of this
preparatory work if we measure success by the activity in the OST meeting and
by the comments in the closing circle. My personal passion for years has been
with the ongoing organization and the success of the OST meeting months or
longer after the meeting (and of course extending to the interesting dynamics
of many OST meetings in the same organization and the Open Space
Organization). This interest in "what happens Monday morning?" in the
aftermath of the OST meeting takes me to my current
exploration.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000>Thank you so much,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#0000ff face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=090084122-04122000>Birgitt</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma><FONT
size=2><SPAN class=090084122-04122000> </SPAN><BR><B>From:</B> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Alan
Stewart<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, November 13, 2000 12:29 AM<BR><B>To:</B>
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: Opening space in the
big end of town<BR><BR></DIV></FONT></FONT>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi there</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here is an item about taking Open Space/Cafe
conversational processes into the boardroom of an international company
in the context of a KM (Knowledge Management - a lovely oxymoron?)
Leaders Forum.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>See <A
href="http://www.bl.com.au/km/kmlf.htm">http://www.bl.com.au/km/kmlf.htm</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>(There is an exquisite freudian typo in the
notice - which may have been corrected by the time you see this. If you
_can_ see the fun of it, well and good. If you can not, no worries!
Whatever happens .... contributes to the story line).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You may find this item of interest from diverse
perspectives. Among these are that:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>. Here is an opportunity to take
OST/Cafe conversational processes into a domain that has probably not
had much exposure to them, yet. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>. A boardroom of a major consultancy
company is to be transformed for a few hours into a cafe. When I requested
a Cafe layout for the event the convenor </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>noted 'You do appreciate that small tables
are difficult to find in a corporate setting.' I responded 'Maybe this
is part of the problem!' </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>. I find a Cafe (Open Space a la carte) format
appropriate in some circumstances. For sitting at small tables - maximum of
6 people, eyeball to eyeball - and with attractive decor to contribute to
the ambience quickly leads to an intimacy and an inclusiveness among total
strangers. And having paper table cloths on which to record gives people
plenty of scope to be creative. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>One person (a senior manager) recently spent
almost the whole of a 3 hour Passion Cafe drawing; she did not seem able to
stop! Birgitt has recently contributed wonderfully imaginative ideas for
setting up the conditions for this kind of recording to happen and to
capture the outcomes with digitat camera. </DIV>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>A feature of Cafe processes is that they are
designed specifically to address, and stay with, _questions_.(<A
href="http://www.theworldcafe.com">www.theworldcafe.com</A>). Seemingly
physical arrangement, such as small tables, as well as OST principles
and L2F, </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>can contribute to the deep
structure underpinning such a gathering. </FONT></P>
<P>I will add that, when facilitating a Cafe in a venue in which it
is logistically feasible, we start in a circle. I _always_
invite people to put the tables aside and come into a closing circle.
</P>
<P>Good to converse, warmly</P>
<P>Alan </P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P></FONT>
<DIV> </DIV>
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