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<TITLE>The absolute patience of OS</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14.0px'>This was my blog from an Open Space event tonight.<BR>
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I did an Open Space event tonight with 60 community people, generating over 70 ideas in a short timeframe. What did people like? They loved choosing their own agenda, choosing their own conversations, and yes there were ample butterflies and bumblebees following the law of two feet, including those with 4 feet (walkers).<BR>
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The focus: How can we make this a more elder-friendly community?<BR>
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What was the most interesting exchange of the night? This was a civic event, and at the end the senior government official pulled me aside and asked: How do you do it? What's that, I asked. To which he painfully says, How do you keep from having your head blow up? He's talking about the role of facilitator in open space.<BR>
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As we talk, I understand that he has absolutely no patience for people's stories. I empathize and segue to the point: The key is to listen and to keep reminding the community about the invitation to express their wants.<BR>
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Opening space is always authentic engagement. It is, as I mentioned to this government official, nothing about being defensive or quick to take power away. It's about opening space and being non-anxious about the questions that take who-knows-how-long to love into realization.<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Papyrus, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14.0px'>Jack<BR>
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</FONT><FONT COLOR="#808080"><FONT FACE="Papyrus, Times New Roman">jack ricchiuto<BR>
two.one.six/three.seven.three/seven.four.seven.five<BR>
www.designinglife.com / www.appreciativeleadership.com</FONT></FONT></SPAN></FONT><FONT FACE="Optima, Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14.0px'><BR>
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