<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi, all.<div>I love this sharing of experiences about grid versus zero grid versus things in-between.</div><div><br></div><div>I tried out a grid some years ago and used it for a few times, thinking it reduced a step (zero post-its - you simply bring your topic sheet up to the wall and place it). And then I stopped because of a few impressions: It implied a finite number of topics (when in my further experience I know now to always have a few additional discussion spaces 'in my back pocket' to pull out if the wall fills up - I like the 'no limits to the number of topics possible' idea). I noticed also that if a very few number of topics went up sometimes that would make a group feel 'we didn't do enough' - and we all know that creativity and passionate discussion need not be measured by 'how many'. And: and here is something I also do when working with groups not in Open Space - a grid / lines have people thinking a bit more on a linear basis, and often it can be very useful / help the brain think in different ways if everything is not on straight lines. They see relationships and patterns differently - as Harrison would say, they feel it differently, too.</div><div><br></div><div>So I thought about how to help those visual learners who seek patterns. Without intervening in their process at the wall. I went back to zero grid, and instead, I used colors.</div><div><br></div><div>Imagine the 'blank' agenda wall has across it, way up high on the wall, the discussion time zone signs (10:00-11:00) - let's say that one is on *pink* paper.</div><div>The post-its that match that time zone (yes, i'm back to post-its because it engages folks in interaction and thought) are also in pink, to match.</div><div><br></div><div>The 11-12:00 time zone sign is in blue. And so are the corresponding post-its.</div><div><br></div><div>All folks have to do is place the corresponding topic / color under the time zone color. And the wall fills up - not linear, but clustered, and you can see what's happening in each session time - either by color or by the writing.</div><div><br></div><div>So as the groups go through their discussions - after the 10-11:00 discussion is over, the newsroom coordinator or I pull all the 10-11:00 topic signs off the wall. It's a great way to help the newsroom coordinator organize / track which notes are coming into the Newsroom, things like that. Participants - including new participants - can always see what discussions are currently in session, just by looking at the wall. In fact participants say things to newly-arrived folks like "we're currently in the orange discussion session" just as much as pointing to the time. And yes: they help each other.</div><div><br></div><div>So, to me, this inclusion of color helps those visually-oriented people, while at the same time keeps the non-linear nature. And brings some more lovely color into the room, which is an additional benefit in the 'not like your normal meeting' environment.</div><div><br></div><div>Okay. So having said all this, I invite you, dear colleagues, to experiment to see how you feel about the two approaches, if you have not already done so. Or note your experience when you participate in another facilitator's Open Space with a different set-up than yours. See what you notice. </div><div><br></div><div>My hope is that any variations, adjustments or changes in the tools we use (Open Space and otherwise) are done with thoughtfulness about who we are serving, and what our adjustment does to the living system, what it affects, improves or impacts - rather than a projection of our own anxiety ("will the chaos unsettle them?""will this group be unlike other groups of humans?"). </div><div><br></div><div>By the way - a few years ago I consulted with some international teams doing conflict transformation work using Open Space in Northern Iraq, East Timor, Lebanon... exploring how this tool can be used in such hot zone situations. My dear colleague Dr. Zach Metz feels that using a grid - when literally, bombs are exploding right outside the doorway - can give people a sense that - at least in this room, in this time we are together - there is a frame - a container, bringing down the exterior chaos by just a notch, as we create a safe space together.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Lisa</div><div><br></div><div><div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><b><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF">Lisa Heft</font></b></span></font></div><div>Consultant, Facilitator, Educator</div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "><b><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF">Opening Space</font></b></span></font></div><div><a href="mailto:lisaheft@openingspace.net">lisaheft@openingspace.net</a></div><div><a href="http://www.openingspace.net">www.openingspace.net</a></div><div><br></div></div></div></span></div></span><i><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="2"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">Join me for the Open Space Learning Workshops</span></font></font></i><div><i><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000FF"><font class="Apple-style-span" size="2"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; ">August 5-7 and December 9-11, San Francisco</span></font></font></i></div></div></span></div></span> </div><br><div><div> </div></div></div></body></html>*
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