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<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>Hey
Christine,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>I'm
a week late on the draw in responding to your inquiry, but perhaps it's still
relevant.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>You
wrote that the sponsor <FONT face="Book Antiqua" color=#008080 size=3><EM>has
the familiar concern that people who don't work together or are not part of an
intact group can often come up with fabulous ideas that peter out quickly or
never go anywhere at all. </EM></FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><EM><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080></FONT></EM></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>In
my experience, the sponsor's concern is well-founded. I've participated in
(and facilitated) a number of community OST events in which the
participants don't have prior connections. In my observation it is often
the case that most people go back to their lives & business as
usual and don't follow up/follow through on many of the collaborative ideas that
emerge in the OST event.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>I
believe that the sponsor and planning team can take some steps to maximize
the opportunity for ongoing impact from the event. These include:
</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<UL>
<LI><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2>Taking the time as a planning team to connect with their individual
purpose in opening space for the event, and sharing this with one
another so that a deeper group purpose emerges.</FONT></SPAN></LI>
<LI><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2>Including in the OST event a solid action-planning component, in which
the space is re-opened for specific new initiatives, and participants are
invited to step into leadership for these new initiatives (I use the title
"champions" for these emergent leaders).</FONT></SPAN></LI>
<LI><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2>Posting the action planning "Initiative Reports" to the web asap, and
providing options for initiative groups to collaborate online (this is
especially important when the participants do not have regular
established contact with one another).</FONT></SPAN></LI>
<LI><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2>Committing to opening space for a follow-up OST event a few weeks
or months down the road (the same theme usually works great). When
participants know at the first event that there's going to be another one,
this generates a field of positive accountability. Participants feel a
stronger motivation to move the work forward so that they can share it with
the community at the next OST.</FONT></SPAN></LI></UL>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>A
commmitted ongoing sponsoring team can also take other steps, such as sending
out simple email "newsletters" to the participant list (this works great when
any participant is invited to submit a story about their ongoing work to be
included in the newsletter).</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000 size=2>All
of these steps are frequently part of the supporting infrastructure for highly
successful OST work within a single organization, because the communication
networks are already in place. With a community event, the extra time and
effort to create this infrastructure makes a big difference in the
outcomes. Working with a planning or sponsoring team in this way is an act
of inviting them into deeper more conscious leadership.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=949063204-27052006><FONT face=Georgia color=#800000
size=2>Chris</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT face=Georgia color=#000080 size=2>Chris
Weaver<BR>Springbranch, Inc.<BR>Asheville, North Carolina USA<BR></FONT><A
href="mailto:chris@springbranch.us"><FONT face=Georgia color=#000080
size=2>chris@springbranch.us</FONT></A><BR><A
href="http://springbranch.us/"><FONT face=Georgia color=#000080
size=2>http://springbranch.us</FONT></A></FONT></DIV>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> OSLIST
[mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Christine Whitney
Sanchez<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, May 20, 2006 6:49 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU<BR><B>Subject:</B> juicy convening
questions<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua" color=#008080>Hi
Dear OS Friends,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080>I'm in conversation with a potential sponsor for a large 1.5 day
OS event next October, the purpose of which is to connect people for
self-organized community action (non-specific at this point). The crowd
is expected to be folks who live and work in a metro area and who may have a
tenuous connection through one of several sponsoring organizations - but who
have not had such a large scale experience with other members of their
community.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080>The planning team is meeting in a week or so where
the sponsor will pitch the idea. She's pretty convinced that OST is
the way to go but has the familiar concern that people who don't work together
or are not part of an intact group can often come up with fabulous ideas that
peter out quickly or never go anywhere at all. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080>Among other things, I would like to offer the planning team a
collection of especially generative convening questions from similar
events that resulted in new action groups forming and concrete
contributions to a community. </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080>Any links to similar OS events would also be very
helpful. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080>I'll compile the responses and feed them back by
the end of next week. Thanks in advance for your
help.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=093472922-20052006><FONT face="Book Antiqua"
color=#008080>Warmly from sunny, sweaty
Phoenix, </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#008080>
<DIV align=left><EM><FONT face="Bradley Hand ITC">Christine</FONT></EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" size=1></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#008080><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2><STRONG>Christine
Whitney Sanchez</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265140401-10082005><STRONG><FONT size=2><FONT
face="Book Antiqua"><FONT color=#000000>KAIROS<SPAN class=656063917-10082005>
</SPAN>Alliance Inc<SPAN
class=656063917-10082005>.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></STRONG></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" color=#000000 size=2>2717 E. Mountain Sky
Avenue</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" color=#000000 size=2>Phoenix, AZ
85048</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" color=#000000 size=2>480.759.0262</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" color=#000000 size=2><A
href="http://www.kairosalliance.com/">www.kairosalliance.com</A></FONT></DIV></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>* *
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