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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Stories certainly can help, but of course
the “real thing” is best. But when time is short, I find that the
video we did some years ago at USWEST (15 min) covers most of the territory
with a real live client. You can get a copy from </span></font><font color=red
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>Peggy Holman</span></font><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'> <a
href="mailto:peggy@opencirclecompany.com">peggy@opencirclecompany.com</a> for a
small fee which goes for a good cause.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Or maybe you could use the following –
comes from my new book, or at least what I think might be my new book.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-weight:bold;font-style:italic'>A
Hopeful Tale</span></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> In 1995, AT&T, along with other large corporations, was
preparing plans for their pavilion in the Global Village of the 1996 Olympics
to be held in </span></font>Atlanta. An outstanding team of 23 architects,
exhibit designers, public relations folks and security experts had been
assembled for the task, and they had been hard at work over a 10 month period.
By the early fall, the plans were essentially complete and construction was
soon to begin on the 200 million dollar structure. </p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> At that point a wonderful opportunity with disastrous
implications emerged. The Olympic Committee was so impressed with the AT&T
design that they invited the corporation to consider moving its pavilion from
its currently assigned location at the edge of the Global Village to the very
center. Since AT&T was contemplating the expenditure of $200 million with
only one purpose in mind, exposure, accepting the committee’s invitation
was irresistible. But there was a difficulty. At the edge of the Global
Village, one might anticipate 5000 visitors a day. At the very center, the
expected number of visitors exploded to 75,000. Very obviously a structure
designed for 5000 would be grossly inadequate for 75,000, and even worse, time
was running out. The decision to move was made in November and the Olympics
effectively start in June, at least you have to have your buildings in place.
It had previously taken 10 months to do the old design and scarcely 7 months
remained in which to do both the design and construction, not to mention the
fact that Christmas and New Years’ were about to put in an appearance,
taking further time off the clock.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> The 23 member design team was invited to a two day meeting
outside of </span></font>New York City. As they entered the conference room,
they found a circle of empty chairs waiting for them. On a blank wall behind
the chairs, there were posted several hand lettered signs bearing the titles, “The
Four Principles” and “The Law of Two Feet.” The Four
Principles, expressed in terse, colloquial terms, read as follows: Whoever
Comes are the Right People. Whatever Happens is the only thing that could have.
When it is over it is over. The Law of Two Feet was not even outlined. Even
worse there was not a shred of agenda and zero indication of what might happen
next. </p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> To say that this design team was in some condition of
agitation would be an understatement of major proportions. They knew with a
certainty that they possessed the competence to do the job, if only because
they had done it once before. They also knew that the time available rendered
the completion of the task virtually impossible. Then to be thrown into this
totally weird situation of sitting in a circle gazing at their peers and
colleagues across an empty space – and anxiety quickly became pure
outrage. This outrage was hardly mollified when a gentleman none had ever seen
before walked to the edge of the circle and said, “Welcome to Open Space.”</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> What happened next, and over the following two days, was
vastly different from what might have been predicted given the strange and
inauspicious beginning. Within an hour of start, the group had identified all
of the issues and opportunities they perceived as having an impact on the
performance of their task. And half an hour later (1 ½ hours from start) they
were deeply engaged in multiple subgroups working the identified issues,
pausing only for a cup of coffee, a quick meal or to write up their conclusions
on a nearby bank of computers. Whatever questions there may have been at the
beginning were quickly overwhelmed in a firestorm of productive activity. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> As the second day commenced the activity continued, but
with a difference. The defined groups dissolved into each other as participants
moved with seeming randomness from one area of discussion to another, or
stopped along the way for new conversations that somehow had not made into the
original agenda. The atmosphere itself was radically altered, as laughter broke
out in the midst of arduous work, and random conversations yielded
unpredictable results. For example, one of the participants who had been
responsible for lighting in the Grateful Dead concerts was overheard in serious
conversation with the security consultant on the possibility of using lasers to
somehow combat potential terrorists. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> To an outside observer, the scene was one of total chaos
and confusion. The ambient energy was virtually overwhelming, and the logic of
its passage was far from clear. It would hardly be an overstatement to say that
the design process had virtually gone into flow state in which the borders and
boundaries of conversations and work groups merged seamlessly. Whatever
schedule that had existed simply disappeared, time and clocks were irrelevant,
and if anybody was in charge that person was totally invisible. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> At </span></font>5:00 pm on the final day, or thereabouts,
all visible activity ceased, and for a moment, there was silence. It was not
the silence of exhaustion, but satisfaction. The group had done it! A new
design had been created, not just as a vague concept, but in substantive form
all laid out in working architectural drawings. These drawings were not pretty,
for sure, and work remained in terms of filling out the details, but the plan
existed, and the way forward was clear. And there was more. The group agreed
that not only was the design functional (able to handle the expected 75,000
visitors), but that aesthetically it represented a vast improvement over its
predecessor. In addition, they were actually further ahead with the new design
in terms of implementation than they had been with the old one because as they
were working in New York they were also glued to their cell phones ordering up
supplies and materials for the job. And last, but by no means least, all 23
participants were still talking to each other. This may seem like a small
point, but intense effort such as had taken place in the gathering is often
productive of frayed nerves and tempers. To be sure there had been no lack of
intense engagement and at moments, hot conflict, but somehow that had all
resolved and resulted in an improved product.</p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<div>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Harrison Owen</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>7808 River Falls Drive</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Potomac,
Maryland 20854</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Phone </span></font><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:red'>301-365-2093</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=2 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Skype hhowen</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Open Space Training</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.openspaceworld.com</span></font></a>
</span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Open Space Institute</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.openspaceworld.org</span></font></a></span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>Personal website</span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'> <a href="http://www.ho-image.com/"><font
face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial'>www.ho-image.com</span></font></a> </span></font></p>
<p align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'>OSLIST</span></font><font
color=red face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:red'>: To subscribe,
unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: </span></font><font
color=red><span style='color:red'><a
href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html"><font face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial'>www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</span></font></a></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=red face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:red'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>-----Original Message-----<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Matthew Blom<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, April 21, 2006 1:13
PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Open Space intro at
Google Headquarters--I'm looking for intro ideas</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>Dear people who open space,<br>
<br>
My name is Matthew, and I'm new to the list and a half-year new to open space
facilitation (trained by the bunny lovable Lisa Heft). I've been so
jazzed by the idea of getting open space to Google, a place which already
explores many new ways of behaving in the business world.<br>
<br>
Yesterday, I got an in.<br>
<br>
I'll be doing a "tech talk" on May 3rd, and I am now running multiple
scenarios through my head about how to introduce open space there. These
talks are usually an hour, and I imagine it being rather boring to talk
"about" open space, and I'm unsure how to go about actually
experiencing it in that short a time frame.<br>
<br>
Ideas I've had thus far--kick, bite, and scream for more time (what's an ideal
intro. time frame? 3 hours? How long should the sessions be?)<br>
<br>
Try an experience of it with very short sessions--like 10 minutes long?<br>
<br>
I'm also wondering about a theme. I'll need to talk more with someone out
there about that piece.<br>
<br>
Any ideas and/or experiences from those who have done something like this would
be very helpful!<br>
<br>
peace,<br>
Matthew<br>
<br>
<br>
************************************************<br>
"Once man begins to think about the mystery of his life and the links <br>
connecting him with the life that fills the world, he cannot but accept,<br>
for his own life and all other life that surrounds him, the principle of<br>
Reverence for Life.<br>
<br>
He will act according to this principle of the ethical affirmation of life<br>
in everything he does. His life will become in every respect more<br>
difficult that if he lived for himself, but at the same time it will be richer,
more beautiful, and happier.<br>
<br>
It will become, instead of mere living, a genuine experience of life."<br>
<br>
-Albert Schweitzer</span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'>__________________________________________________<br>
Correo Yahoo!<br>
Espacio para todos tus mensajes, antivirus y antispam ¡gratis! <br>
Regístrate ya - http://correo.espanol.yahoo.com/ * *
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