there are some situations that come to mind, harrison, but is sort of reminds me of that time when louise mitran brought all the drumming gear to one our trainings at the carleton. she took a group out in one session and challenged them to play chaos. they really had a heck of time doing it, sustaining it. for sure there were moments of discord and a lot of messiness, but the driving force underneath it all was the inclination, some sort collectively mutual invitation, to entrain with each other... and turn it into music. so i was thinking not so much about any 'grand failures' but more those moments of confusion, facilitator choice points, apparent chaos, but pretty much i they always seem to resolve again. moral of the story might be, when you find yourself under water, go with the flow, stay in relationship, let the river take you where it's choosing, try not to get stuck and hold your breath... you'll likely have another chance for opening and fresh air, soon enough, even if not exactly soon as you want or expect. <br>
<br>that said, here are some of the situations that came to mind...<br><br>a buddy of mine called in sick the day before an event, so i walked in to open space with no experience with the group. the managers had written the invitation, and invited 100 folks to come work on the issues that made their stomachs churn, hands sweat, or kept them up at night worrying. the were working from a language they'd developed around "adaptive challenges" based on a book they'd read together. when the issues all went up, the managers, who had their own list of issues, looked at the wall, they were astounded to see that the group had covered all of the mgrs issues. mission accomplished, or so it would seem. next day, however, morning news sort of blew up because all the lower level folks were feeling a bit disheartened, thought they'd failed miserably, because they hadn't found a single issue that really scared them. turns out what was freaking the mgrs out was just the everyday challenge to folks down the hierarchy. the disheartening got turned more confusing when some of the younger managers, who were very hot for this new language they'd come up with from this book, tried hard to impose a "training" in the right way to talk about these things. made for a long morning news and then required the miracle of "the group catching up" to the schedule... but none of that is particularly remarkable. in the end, all the issues that mattered got discussed, documented, and they made a good run at tackling the various things that were identified for doing post-meeting. <br>
<br>so is this even a failure? could it have been if i'd made some different choicse along the way? maybe, maybe not. depends on the definitions, i think. certainly it was a deviation from the story told in the user's guide. but we recovered. and i think that's what happens in every, or almost every, case. <br>
<br>some of the recoveries happen before the event. the client dodges the real issue and writes an invitation that says "come to an open space meeting." well, that's not much of a theme, unless it's an osonos. so we fix that, go deeper, dare to invite the real thing and get on with it.<br>
<br>then they want to have three short keynoters to open. well maybe we talk them out of that, maybe we don't. once we had two of three keynoters cancel. so one guy talked for 20 mins instead of his allotted 10. circle was 200, statewide group, very diverse, never worked together. big issue. but this guy was more readily associated and more active in one side of the story. it set up a sort of competition because some felt heard and addressed in teh opening, but others thought they'd been put in second place. i motioned to the sponsor to pull the plug. he went out and put an arm around the guy, thanked him and said "let's get started". i walked in, past the podium he'd been standing at. with one hand, i tipped it over, laid it down. by the time i got back around to that point of th circle, interns had carried it off. but the damage was done. later that morning, one of two key sponsors comes to me and says "fix it. my people are pissed." she happens to be the one who's got to sign my check. i tell her honestly, "now can do. it's in their hands now." on the second day, it started to be dealt iwth directly, our friend ted ernst raised an issue that began to put the two 'sides' together. we came up with tons of good stuff, over 2.5 days, but i think it took another couple of annual repetitions of this first event before everybody really felt like they were on the same side. didn't help, probably, that one sponsor was a foundation, funding some and not others. but that's the messiness we work in. i'm not sure that co-sponsor's view of the thing ever improved, though she did take a lead role in convening after-event meetings. a city-wide coalition came out of those meetings and is now active and very successful 9 years later.<br>
<br>then there is the client who -- after sprinkling a day of open space sessions into a week of meetings, 150 top people from around the world, fortune 150 company, all the c-folks there -- came to me, as the proceedings were just finished being printed, and said "the ceo says we can't distribute these. there's no time. he hasn't read them. etc." i pushed hard for a conversation with the ceo and got a very few minutes, in which i was able to convince notice that he was trying to stop them from giving out notes about waht everyone in the room was already thinking and speaking about. he agreed that it was more dangerous to get in the way of it than to just let it go. but he scuttled the session, can't recall the exact form, of the prioritizing or conversing or voting or something that was to be done with the rpoceedings. actually, i seem to remember people have to go through and tear out the ballot pages from the books. luckily spiral bound, so the page was never missed.<br>
<br>and then there is the client that thinks that all they need to do is call the meeting to order, the facilitator will take it from there, and they're off the hook forever. you think you've got them lined up, they get it, they're on for it.. but deep down they want out. this is the sponsor who might let slip in the opening intro "well, glad you all could get here. we have no idea what's going to happen. that's michael's problem now...". oops. checked out. and when the notes were all assembled, the client i'm thinking of mysteriously managed to avoid sending them out for several weeks. mostly the high-end consultants in this company, who'd travelled from everywhere to london for this meeting think this meeting failed. no follow-through. but... eventually one person, brand new in the office and company, stepped up, got the notes from the leader, sorted things out and sent them around to everyone. the conversation never recovered, but four years later, it seems that that moment of leadership on the part of the new person set her up to take on a leadership role in rebuilding their entire technology platform. again, failure depends on definition and time frame.<br>
<br>but mostly i don't think of open spaces that failed, as much as some were more fruitful than others, apparently, and moments when it was possible to take the easy way out, letting that ceo do what he wanted without challenge, instead of hanging in, and hanging with, no matter what, again, apparently, happens to me personally.<br>
<br>m<br><br><br><br clear="all"> <br>--<br><br>Michael Herman<br>Michael Herman Associates<br><br><a href="http://www.michaelherman.com">http://www.michaelherman.com</a><br><a href="http://www.ronanparktrail.com">http://www.ronanparktrail.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org">http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org</a><br><a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org">http://www.openspaceworld.org</a><br><br>312-280-7838 (mobile)<br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 3:23 PM, Harrison Owen <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net">hhowen@verizon.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Michael – it would be really interesting to hear some
actual situations where what you are describing is true. I’ve never seen
it, but I did hear of one. It happened in South Africa where a local consultant
took Open Space as a license for absence. He literally left for most of the
day. As it turned out (as I heard from one of the participants) the group
really didn’t miss him, and was basically sorry to see him return. And
that same participant was sure that there had to be something more than he had
seen. As a consequence he came to a “training program” (back in the
days when I used to do something like that </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Wingdings; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">J</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">) and subsequently opened
space all over the place. So I guess there was a happy ending after a rocky
start. Or something. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">But you really put your finger on something – “active
listening” – which is not so much about doing anything but rather
Being intensely. Definitely hard to describe but my best shot is the enigmatic
phrase – Being totally present and absolutely invisible. In my experience
this is a matter of intention and practice. And the best part is that it is all
definitely rewarding, not only in terms of facilitating Open Space, but equally
in terms of self understanding and personal presence. It feels good.</span></p><div class="im">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Harrison</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Harrison Owen</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">7808 River Falls Dr.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Potomac, MD 20854</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">USA</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Phone 301-365-2093</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank">www.openspaceworld.com</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a> (Personal Website)</span></p>
</div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Consolas; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
archives of <a href="mailto:oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</span></a>:</span></p><div class="im">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> OSLIST
[mailto:<a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Michael Herman<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, June 03, 2010 2:41 PM<div class="im"><br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
</div><b>Subject:</b> Re: On "Failure"</span></p>
</div><div><div></div><div class="h5">
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">i have a teacher who likes to
put little reminders on pencils and pass them around. one of my favorite
pencils says: "really easy is often quite difficult." <br>
<br>
i think this is true of open space. i've seen a number of situations
where the facilitator or the process itself was assumed to be a bit of magic,
so nobody needed to do much else to make it happen. this makes all kinds
of large and small "failures" possible -- all owing to some lapses in
the quality of attention, awareness, relationship.<br>
<br>
somebody once told me that carl rogers (some sort of psychologist, i think)
used to listen so intently that he would often break out in a sweat -- just
listening to someone. sometimes i think open space takes this sort of
quality or intensity of attention... or maybe of awareness. that the
heart is this active, even if the body is apparently doing nothing. like
when so many muscles are engaged in walking a balance beam, or timing a
jump. actively pulsing, checking, on and off, holding and releasing,
inviting and reporting. <br>
<br>
i'd guess a fair number of "failures" have their roots in forgetting
that os is this sort of active practice, even if a lot of the action is not
outwardly visible or dramatic or difficult. weirdenss seems to flow from
gaps in clarity, in attention, in awareness, in relationship. not so
much, i think, from gaps in actual outer logistics. <br>
<br>
m<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br clear="all">
<br>
--<br>
<br>
Michael Herman<br>
Michael Herman Associates<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.michaelherman.com" target="_blank">http://www.michaelherman.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.ronanparktrail.com" target="_blank">http://www.ronanparktrail.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org" target="_blank">http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org</a><br>
<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.org" target="_blank">http://www.openspaceworld.org</a><br>
<br>
312-280-7838 (mobile)<br>
<br>
</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 12:07 PM, VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE <<a href="mailto:mail@visuelle-protokolle.de" target="_blank">mail@visuelle-protokolle.de</a>>
wrote:</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: navy;">Harrison and all,<br>
<br>
Another example of an OS that went terribly wrong:<br>
<br>
It was a factory producing printing machines, both in Eastern and western
Germany, and the participants were mixed from both areas. We had the o.k. from
the four directors, to whom we had illustrated what to expect, and a final
conference after the OS was already determined. One of the directors, the one
who seemed to be the most employee-oriented, was choosen to say some words at
the end of the OS. Our partner in the company was a young man from HR, very active,
with good contacts to the directors. So he insisted that he should brief the
director what to say at the end of OS.<br>
<br>
Everything went fine. The groups worked with joy and enthusiasm. We accompanied
the whole OS with 3 people visualizing everything, and that was a big success,
because everybody could see what had happened everywhere. After we had
shown the pictures in a final slideshow, the director stood up and destroyed
everything within 5 minutes. He said that he was disappointed, had expected other
outcomes, and that the managers wood have a hard time to use some of the
results.<br>
<br>
That was the end of the project for us, but much worse all the participants
were angry and a big chance was lost for the company.<br>
<br>
Of course the mistake was to let the young HR-man brief the director. <br>
<br>
Reinhard<br>
<br>
Reinhard Kuchenmüller <br>
Dr. Marianne Stifel<br>
VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE<br>
Kuchenmüller & Stifel<br>
<br>
+39-0566-88 929<br>
<a href="http://www.visuelle-protokolle.de" target="_blank">www.visuelle-protokolle.de</a>
<br>
<br>
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br>
<br>
<br>
Am 03/06/10 18:12 schrieb "Ralph Copleman" unter <<a href="mailto:rcopleman@comcast.net" target="_blank">rcopleman@comcast.net</a>>:</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<blockquote style="margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Harrison and all,<br>
<br>
I've had a few that sort of fell flat.<br>
<br>
One involved a group concerned about availability of services for senior
citizens across an entire US state. Two-thirds of the room consisted of
seniors themselves and, frankly, a lot of them ran out of energy about an hour
after lunch. So they sat around, a number slumping in chairs with eyes
closed.<br>
<br>
Another involved an exploration of customer service issues for an airline.
Lots of corporate leaders from the airline present, along with their
booking agents (this pre-dates internet booking sites), frequent flyer
customers, and corporate travel execs who make travel policy for their companies.
A great mix, actually. We were set to go from 8:00 a.m to 4:00.
About 2:00, a group of participants more or less seized control of the
meeting somehow (I wasn't in the room when it occurred) and got everyone to
agree to shorten the meeting by a full hour. When I returned at 3:00,
someone simply informed me, and asked that I begin the closing circle. So
that's what I did. I never found out what actually happened.<br>
<br>
Not sure how to think about that last one, since I never found out how it all developed,
but the following one is more like a true failure.<br>
<br>
I was asked to convene a two-day open space gathering for about 200 folks from
around the US. It would be the annual meeting of an association of a
certain type of public health officer (cannot recall the details). The
whole thing was pretty dead from the outset –– I mean 200 people
posting a total of only 15 sessions for two whole days!? I found out the
theme was all wrong. The planning committee chose an idea that turned out
to have no juice for the association's members. I had spent hours in
conference calls with the leadership group and the planning committee, and
they'd assured me that the idea they chose was at the heart of the challenges
facing them and their organizations. Turns out that was dead wrong.
Nobody else cared. I don't know how I might have seen through this
situation ahead of time.<br>
<br>
I essentially agree with you, H. If the conditions are appropriate, it
will work. But, if the three experiences above teach me anything, it's
clear that stuff can always happens.<br>
<br>
Ralph Copleman<br>
<br>
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