<html>
<body>
Dear Peggy, dear Tova, Tree and all the others who have shared their
wisdom about time keeping:<br><br>
This time keeping thing is a frequent topic over here. In an OS meeting,
it often happens that someone comes up to me and tells me it is time to
tell the time. People in the Netherlands are very fond two things:
keeping time and reminding others of their responsibilities ;-). So I
often get this friendly reminder from a participant that it is time for
me to tell the time. I never do. If the person looks really worried, I
explain that this is one of the core principles of Open Space: people
manage their own agenda. I remind them that I have said in my opening
"when it is over it is over" and that also means that
"when it is not over, it is not over." They always remember me
saying that. I then ask them: "How can we know if it is over or
not?" They have to agree that we can't. So then we usually agree not
to tell the time. On other occasions, when they look not so worried, I
just smile at them. Often they will then say: "Or do people have to
see for themselves?" I nod, still smiling.They then usually laugh
about this new discovery and happily go about their business.<br><br>
Just my 2 cents<br><br>
Love<br><br>
Koos<br><br>
<br>
At 19:54 14-1-2008, Tree Fitzpatrick wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Greetings to all. Before I
respond to Peggy's 'town crier' post, I pause to remind all who might be
reading that when I share my opinion, I am not putting down others'
comments. Sometimes when I have commented on this list (and others)
people seem to hear me putting down others' ideas when I am simply saying
"I think this". I am feeling unusually sensitive this
morning so I offer this caution. <br><br>
It is fascinating to me, Peggy, to see this post from you today.
Last week, I was thinking about open space time and how it works best
when we trust ever more deeply within our own selves without regard to
others timing. As you know, Peggy, you and I met in person on
Friday and we did not discuss open space time but it was alive in my
etheric. Perhaps it was alive in me because it was alive in you because
of your recent work with Jon. Or perhaps open space time was alive last
week and we both tuned in. <br>
<br>
The above paragraph might sound off-topic but to me, it gets to the very
heart of self-organization. The more I believe that things unfold
exactly as they ought, well, my goodness, the more they do.<br><br>
Last week when I thought about 'open space time', each time, I thought of
you, my dear Peggy. I have worked with you on several multi-day OS
events and several times I have been grateful to hear you softly remind
the design team 'we are in open space time'. It is my recollection
that you have said this when the design team was feeling a time crunch,
fretting that we couldn't get in all that we had to get in and then you
would say 'we are in open space time' and an ease would settle upon us.
<br><br>
We are always in open space. We are always in open space time. As
an open space facilitator, I think much like Tova has described in her
response to you, Peggy. The quality of how the facilitator holds the
space is really the work of facilitation. We are not timekeepers or
town criers. If a facilitator does remind participants of session
times, this will be just fine because in open space, there is no right or
wrong but I think announcing times is a subtle failure of trust. To me,
the work of open space facilitation is much deeper than any particular
event and much more important than a client's deliverables. To me, giving
a group the opportunity to collaborate in open space on a shared
intention is always about much more than the stated goals in the event's
invitation. Yes, when we are accountable to a client who has hired us
because they wish to achieve goals, sometimes we will calibrate our
choices to give the cilent satisfaction. But mostly, I guess I think
of open space facilitators as cultural capacity shamans. The human
race urgently needs to learn how to trust that all is well and to trust
our inner inklings/guidance and the best wya for the human race to
develop these skills is to spend time in openly-acknowledged open
space. If someone comes to an OS event and 'all' they get out of
the event is that moment when they noticed an inner click that said to
them 'it is time to move to another session', well, that is an amazing
thing, that is the whole point, that is evolution unfolding. If
someone calls the time, we are depriving participants from knowing for
their own self what time it is, where they should be, what they should be
doing. What an awesome gift to give someone. I will never forget the
first moment I got that click when I was in an OS event and I perceived
within myself that I was in the wrong room and hey I could follow that
inkling until I stood in the place just right. That is os facilitation,
if you ask me. <br><br>
I know the above can sound highy impractical to a client with workplace
goals to achieve in a 2.5 day open space or a two hour open space. . .
but for me, having each participant in an os event begin to better
discern their own wisdom, well, it is the whole point. <br><br>
Coming to you from cold, overcast, and windy Whidbey Island. Puget Sound
and the Olympic Mountains are within my view, just past the computer
screen. I see lots of white caps. It is way cold. I miss my warm,
sunny home in California and I have another week of Northwest winter
ahead of me. There is a reason I am very cold this week. I am
sitting here waiting for that reason to be revealed to me. My fingers are
like ice. I write to keep warm. <br><br>
On 1/14/08, <b>Mickey Averbuch</b>
<<a href="mailto:averbuch@post.tau.ac.il">averbuch@post.tau.ac.il</a>
> wrote:<br>
<dl>
<dd>for me it was letting go of the notion that there is "a way to
do it<br>
<dd>right". I started by being very puritan"by the book"
and I am very<br>
<dd>glad I did. it helped me a lot in stating to live open space in my
<br>
<dd>daily life and uncovering what open space is. Being the one to
bring<br>
<dd>the use of OST to Israel had put me both in a position I had quite
a<br>
<dd>lot of figuring out to do and, at the same time, felt I have to be
a<br>
<dd>puritan if I am "carrying the message". The lean choice was
also a <br>
<dd>constant dictate to do "one thing less each time" and I
believe that<br>
<dd>as long as we practice this principle, we are on the right
track.Beinf<br>
<dd>fortunatr enough towork and play with many of you, learning from
<br>
<dd>coleagues and freinds all over the world, seeing quit a number
of<br>
<dd>styles, my personal openion is that it is more the presence we
ofer<br>
<dd>than the actual personal wording<br>
<dd>these are my two cents of the day<br>
<dd> a happy new year to all, though with some delay <br>
<dd>Tova Averbuch<br>
<dd>Holon, Israel<br><br>
<dd>Quoting TYASTO
<<a href="mailto:tyasto@sapa.nsk.su">tyasto@sapa.nsk.su</a>>:<br>
<br>
<dd>> Dear Peggy, Michael, Elena and others!<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> I will support Elena and tell why we are doing this in our part
of the <br>
<dd>> world. We have the lucky opportunity to introduce OST to
different<br>
<dd>> categories of the state and municipal civil servants here at the
Siberian<br>
<dd>> Academy for Public Administration (SAPA). It's written in their
program as <br>
<dd>> Business game with the theme on improving their work.They come
to us for 3<br>
<dd>> and often for only 2 hours. It gives us only 30 minutes for each
item:<br>
<dd>> Introduction (including moving tables and putting chairs into
the circle), 2 <br>
<dd>> sessions and Closure (in case of 2 hours). In 3 hours I have
some time for<br>
<dd>> reports, voting and convergence and after it Closing circle. As
I call it<br>
<dd>> Voluntarily-compulsory participation in OST. Great
majority of our <br>
<dd>> participants have no idea what to expect from this event and we
have a very<br>
<dd>> short time to invite them and explaine it as a good way to
have<br>
<dd>> conversations about issues and opportunities of How to improve
their work. <br>
<dd>> In first 30 minutes they have a collective cultural shock while
they are<br>
<dd>> sitting in the circle and facilitator going inside telling them
what they<br>
<dd>> can do and everything is OK even to go away if they don't like
it ( in this <br>
<dd>> case it is voluntary participation). Common reaction is : We all
will be<br>
<dd>> butterflies today. Then, as Harrison said it happens always
everywhere, some<br>
<dd>> people begin to write the topics and all works well. When people
at the <br>
<dd>> Market place are trying to realize what to do and where to go I
wish them<br>
<dd>> all well and say when we will meet again in the circle and go
out. But then<br>
<dd>> I usually come back at the time of change between sessions to
see if they do <br>
<dd>> it or not. Sometimes they can do it themselves, sometimes
little bit later<br>
<dd>> than on the schedule. But their shock of freedom is so big and
they have<br>
<dd>> such a fun talking in their first groups and leaders of the
second sessions <br>
<dd>> are too weak to break it, that mostly they expect someone to
take the lead<br>
<dd>> and say - now it is time for the second session or they miss it
at all. I do<br>
<dd>> the same as "Town crier", saying - it's time for the
second session, but <br>
<dd>> it's up to you what you are doing now. Then they can move or
not. I agree<br>
<dd>> with Elena that when we have such short time we have to
encourage them to<br>
<dd>> take the lead and organize second groups. Sometimes they come
all into one <br>
<dd>> big circle and discuss all issues alltogether. The energy is
high, they have<br>
<dd>> great fun, but some issues even discussed, don't get the
reports.<br>
<dd>> I learnt to take it easy and let them do whatever they
want during this 2 <br>
<dd>> or 3 hours, because I know that at the end they say - it was the
best in our<br>
<dd>> 2 weeks here and it should be at the beginning of the course.
Each time<br>
<dd>> somebody says "I will do it at my working place". I
give them short written <br>
<dd>> instructions.<br>
<dd>> What else you don't do normally - listen the reports - I do it
every time -<br>
<dd>> have them in the circle to share briefly their reports. I have a
3 minutes<br>
<dd>> sand-glass and show to them, but don't interrupt. They have
chance to ask <br>
<dd>> questions or discuss something. If it goes longer I show the
principle "When<br>
<dd>> it's not over it's not over" and say that it needs
additional discussion.<br>
<dd>> Because my class takes place normally at the end of their 2
weeks course <br>
<dd>> this sharing in the circle is the only way they could really see
the results<br>
<dd>> of their work and feel their collective wisdom. They always say
that they<br>
<dd>> learnt more from each other than from all their other classes.
<br>
<dd>> You will be surprised, but I also collect their reports and type
them and<br>
<dd>> give them back to take home with them as tangible
"Collective wisdom",<br>
<dd>> because it's no other way yet - they don't have access to
computers. <br>
<dd>> So, you see, we really do some more things than you and
probably do it in a<br>
<dd>> different way. But I realized that even 2 hours in open space is
more<br>
<dd>> powerful than two weeks of passive learning from teachers. That
is why I try <br>
<dd>> to use every opportunity to introduce OST to every possible
group. The<br>
<dd>> shortest one I had OST in 1,5 hours with a group of trainers,
where we all<br>
<dd>> worked very fast, but had all 4 items - opening, 2 sessions and
closing. If <br>
<dd>> i don't have much time for closing I send the bell and ask
people to say one<br>
<dd>> word or two. It's always positive and inspiring. I believe that
we have<br>
<dd>> homeopathic influencing on the civil servants in Siberia through
these short <br>
<dd>> OST classes at SAPA. Some people come and say "I've heard
about a workshop<br>
<dd>> which is must to participate". We help people to feel
happier, more<br>
<dd>> self-confident and be leaders. If additional ring of the
bell helps us to <br>
<dd>> do this, we will ring. By the way, for the Russian people
tibetian bells<br>
<dd>> work magicly. I also like the arrow, but someone have to come
and move it.<br>
<dd>> With warm greetings from cold Siberia,<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> Marina Tyasto<br>
<dd>> <a href="mailto:tyasto@sapa.nsk.su">tyasto@sapa.nsk.su</a>
<<a href="mailto:tyasto@sapa.nsk.su" eudora="autourl">
mailto:tyasto@sapa.nsk.su</a>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> -----Original Message-----<br>
<dd>> From: Elena Marchuk
[<a href="mailto:%20marco@mail.nsk.ru" eudora="autourl">mailto:
marco@mail.nsk.ru</a>]<br>
<dd>> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 8:25 AM<br>
<dd>> To:
<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
<dd>> Subject: Re: Thoughts on a Town Crier <br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> Dear Peggy,<br>
<dd>> I wish I could NOT ring the bells and let participants to work
as they care,<br>
<dd>> but most OSs I provide are very limited in time, and several
time I missed<br>
<dd>> the time by chance (though not much...) I could see, that people
are just <br>
<dd>> seeting and talking in a previous groups. If I had the time to
give them a<br>
<dd>> 'teach' that it is their way of doing things and will have time
to 'spread'<br>
<dd>> time for another quant of session, I would probably do, but I'm
affraid, may <br>
<dd>> be it is ok to be, and just do, but I'm afraid, that we would
have just no<br>
<dd>> time for the next session, so I usualy ring, though say in
opening, that it<br>
<dd>> is up to them, how they will work, I would just be a Town Crier,
as you <br>
<dd>> say...<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> thank you for the question<br>
<dd>> warm hugs from -25 C Siberia with a lot of snow, though sun
shining :)<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> elena marchuk<br>
<dd>> novosibirsk<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> ----- Original Message ----- <br>
<dd>> From: Peggy Holman
<<a href="mailto:peggy@opencirclecompany.com" eudora="autourl">
mailto:peggy@opencirclecompany.com</a>><br>
<dd>> To:
<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>
<<a href="mailto:%20OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" eudora="autourl">
mailto: OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>><br>
<dd>> Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 11:22 PM<br>
<dd>> Subject: Thoughts on a Town Crier<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> Has anyone noticed more milling about before people move into
sessions over <br>
<dd>> the last few years? I'd been noticing enough of a trend
this way that I<br>
<dd>> always intend to explicitly tell people that there won't be
anyone telling<br>
<dd>> them when to move, that it is up to them to follow their own
rhythms and <br>
<dd>> interests. I haven't quite internalized this yet, so I
usually forget.<br>
<dd>> Anyway, I think I may have figured out what is going on.<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> I just did an OS for a friend for a group of about 50. He
uses OS a lot but <br>
<dd>> wanted to be able to really participate in this one.
He told me that he<br>
<dd>> was a little surprised when the first round of breakout sessions
was<br>
<dd>> starting that I didn't tell people it was time to get
started. He came to <br>
<dd>> me when the first round after lunch were scheduled to start and
asked me<br>
<dd>> wasn't I going to ring a bell and let people know? I
basically told him<br>
<dd>> that I never did that. The participants were adults and
could figure it out <br>
<dd>> for themselves. He was floored and a little upset.
He said he always lets<br>
<dd>> people know. And then it dawned on me: there are
more and more people who<br>
<dd>> have experienced OS. Perhaps there are many practitioners
doing what Jon <br>
<dd>> does - telling people when it is time to start the next
session. I realized<br>
<dd>> that since most of these folks came at Jon's invitation, they
were probably<br>
<dd>> enculturated to responding to a bell.<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> So I took what seemed a middle ground to me and rang a bell,
saying, "It's<br>
<dd>> 1:30 and all's well." I figured a town crier was a
minimalist thing to do<br>
<dd>> -- providing information without attachment to how people used
it. <br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> I then spoke more with Jon because I wanted to understand his
perspective.<br>
<dd>> He said that to him, what is posted, like the session start
times, are part<br>
<dd>> of the commons and when he is holding the space, that is part of
his <br>
<dd>> contract with the group, to give them the information. He
doesn't care what<br>
<dd>> they do once they hear it. So, it strikes me that Town
Crier is a good<br>
<dd>> description of what he does.<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> Given the trend I mentioned, I suspect Jon isn't the only one
doing <br>
<dd>> something like this. I'd love to hear other thoughts on
providing<br>
<dd>> information that marks the passage of time.<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> from sunny (for a change) Seattle,<br>
<dd>> Peggy<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> ________________________________ <br>
<dd>> Peggy Holman<br>
<dd>> The Open Circle Company<br>
<dd>> 15347 SE 49th Place<br>
<dd>> Bellevue, WA 98006<br>
<dd>> (425) 746-6274<br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>>
<a href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com">www.opencirclecompany.com</a>
<<a href="http://www.opencirclecompany.com/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.opencirclecompany.com</a>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:<br>
<dd>>
<a href="http://www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook">
www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook</a><br>
<dd>>
<<a href="http://www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook" eudora="autourl">
http://www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook</a>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> "An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire
and not get burnt, <br>
<dd>> is to become<br>
<dd>> the fire".<br>
<dd>> -- Drew Dellinger<br>
<dd>> * *
==========================================================<br>
<dd>>
<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU </a>------------------------------ To
subscribe,<br>
<dd>> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of<br>
<dd>>
<a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu">
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:<br>
<dd>>
<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl">
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a> To learn
about<br>
<dd>> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> * * ==========================================================
<br>
<dd>>
<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a> ------------------------------ To
subscribe,<br>
<dd>> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of<br>
<dd>>
<a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu">
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:<br>
<dd>>
<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl">
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a> To learn
about<br>
<dd>> OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> *<br>
<dd>> *<br>
<dd>> ==========================================================<br>
<dd>>
<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
<dd>> ------------------------------<br>
<dd>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,<br>
<dd>> view the archives of
<a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu">
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu </a>:<br>
<dd>>
<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl">
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br>
<dd>><br>
<dd>> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:<br>
<dd>>
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a><br>
<dd>><br><br>
<dd>*<br>
<dd>*<br>
<dd>==========================================================<br>
<dd><a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU">
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
<dd>------------------------------ <br>
<dd>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,<br>
<dd>view the archives of
<a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu">
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:<br>
<dd>
<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl">
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><br><br>
<dd>To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:<br>
<dd><a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist">
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a><br><br>
</dl><br><br>
<br>
-- <br>
Love rays,<br>
Tree Fitzpatrick<br><br>
<a href="http://thecultureoflove.blogspot.com/">
http://thecultureoflove.blogspot.com/</a><br><br>
. . . the great and incalculable grace of love, which says, with
Augustine, "I want you to be," without being able to give any
particular reason for such supreme and unsurpassable affirmation.
-- Hannah Arendt <br><br>
1335 Montecito Ave Apt. 35<br>
Mountain View, California 94043<br>
(650) 967-9260 * *
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To
subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of
oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
<a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" eudora="autourl">
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a> To learn about
OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist" eudora="autourl">
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist</a> </blockquote></body>
</html>
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist