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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Justin -- just remember "personal responsibility" and
"passion" -- and make sure there is plenty of room for both. Honestly, the rest
will take care of itself, regardless of group size. And I say a word in your
note that troubled me. "Table." Probably a holdover from your pre-os days. But
get rid of all the tables. Circles of chairs only. Especially with small groups.
Tables anchor people in a set configuration to particular spots. Chairs move
around (at least they can).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Harrison</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Harrison Owen<BR>7808 River Falls Dr.<BR>Potomac, MD
20854<BR>USA<BR>301-365-2093<BR>207-763-3261 (summer)<BR>website <A
href="http://www.openspaceworld.com">www.openspaceworld.com</A><BR>Personal
Website <A href="http://www.ho-image.com">www.ho-image.com</A><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=justin@krasama.com href="mailto:justin@krasama.com">Justin T.
Sampson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, August 16, 2006 1:40
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Open Space for small
groups</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Thank you all so much for your thoughtful comments!<BR><BR>I'm
hearing two major points --<BR><BR>1. A small group may be more likely to stay
together instead of<BR>splitting into separate parallel sessions, but the
structure of<BR>the Open Space is the same as for a larger group, with the
same<BR>opportunity/"permission" to split as appropriate. I
was<BR>wondering/worrying about this, whether splitting would be
awkward;<BR>but of course during every meeting there are several
side<BR>conversations anyway! Occasionally the people around the table<BR>will
divide evenly in half with some diving deeper into an issue<BR>while others
continue with the business of the meeting, or two or<BR>three people at the
end of the table will talk amongst themselves<BR>about something else
entirely. As chair of the meeting I often<BR>want to follow that energy, and
also to make sure no one gets left<BR>out of something they could contribute
to, but also not dragged<BR>along in something they're not interested in; and
I haven't been<BR>sure how to accomplish that.<BR><BR>2. The biggest challenge
is holding space while being an active<BR>member of the organization myself. I
definitely see my most<BR>important role for the group being the creating and
holding of<BR>space, and I tend not to be the one championing any of
our<BR>particular projects anyway, so I hope this will be a natural,
but<BR>still challenging and learning-inducing, fit for me. I like
the<BR>reminder of hats -- the sitting/standing method may be just right<BR>in
this case.<BR><BR>Another issue for this group is making decisions on behalf
of the<BR>organization, which is a local political party (a county
central<BR>committee, for those who know anything about USA party
politics),<BR>and requires a proper vote for something like endorsement of
a<BR>candidate. So I'm also looking forward to learning how to keep
the<BR>space open while meeting our formal obligations as a party.<BR><BR>I'll
go ahead and ask the group for their indulgence in giving<BR>Open Space a shot
at an upcoming meeting and see how it
goes!<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR>Justin<BR><BR>*<BR>*<BR>==========================================================<BR><A
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