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<p class=MsoNormal>On occasion I have made what I am sure sounds to be an
outrageous statement: Open Space always works. And if not outrageous, then
certainly defensive (of my baby?, orthodoxy?, ??). The basis of my statement
has nothing to do with theory, rather it has simply been the fact of my
experience. And the truth of the matter is that I would dearly love to have
good, solid, examples of clear failure in Open Space – if only because
they would be marvelous sources of learning.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Of course, we would need to be clear about what we mean by “worked.”
In my frame of reference, there are three levels of meaning. 1) Open Space
Worked as a formal procedure – <i>i.e.</i> -- the people sat in a circle,
opened a market place, and went to work on an agenda of their own creation. 2)
Open Space worked as a productive environment – that is to say, serious
issues of concern were raised, discussion was intense and useful, participants
were involved and energized, and at the end of the day useful insights had been
achieved. Maybe not ultimate insights, but definitely progress on the path. 3) Open
Space worked as a long(er) term positive influence on the organization or
group.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Given these understandings of “worked” I can say
that, in my experience, every Open Space that I have facilitated or been a part
of “worked” in senses 1 and 2. And in situations where I have had
the opportunity for longer term association with the group or organization, OS
worked in sense #3 as well. Although to be fair what worked might not be quite
in accord with what the sponsors were hoping for. For example, one organization
simply disbanded at the end of the open space finding that they had achieved their
mission and needed to do something else. (When it’s over, it’s
over!)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>To be sure I have heard reports about failures.
Unfortunately in most cases, the report said little more than, “It (OS)
didn’t work” – which is not all that helpful. However, in
such situations where I had the opportunity to follow up I found that the flaw
in the ointment occurred for one (or both) of two reasons – either the
necessary preconditions were not present, or the process (sit in circle, etc)
was not followed. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I think we have learned that when the following conditions
are not in evidence, things get a little mushy. Conditions are: 1)A real
business issue, something that people really care about 2) Lots of complexity
3) Lots of diversity (people and ideas) 4) Lots of passion and conflict 5) A
decision time of yesterday (Urgency). If it is “made up” issue that
nobody cares about, nothing useful will happen. In a word you can’t “demonstrate”
Open Space. Failure for sure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The process to this point has demonstrated the elegant
capacity to enable folks to move in useful directions. Could we do it better
and simpler? For sure, and some day I hope we don’t have to “do it”
at all, but for the moment it seems we still need our training wheels (thank
you Chris Corrigan). To date I have found that the so called “failures”
seem to occur when either stuff is added, complexified and combined – or the
attempt was made to do “a little bit of Open Space” either in terms
of time allotted or space provided. A 1 hour Open Space on a critical issue
just won’t make it. Failure for sure. By the same token if the issue
under consideration is so confined (people can think anything they want as long
as it accords with the Sponsor’s plan) the result is similar. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>So anyhow – those have been my findings to date.
Biased, myopic, dogmatic, orthodox? Doubtless all of the above. And I
would really love some solid example of real failure where the conditions were
appropriate and the process followed. That could be wonderful and just might
take us to OS 2.0??? – or into retirement!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Harrison<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Harrison Owen<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>7808 River Falls Dr.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Potomac, MD 20854<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>USA<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Phone 301-365-2093<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>www.openspaceworld.com<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>www.ho-image.com (Personal Website)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas'>To
subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of <a
href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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