there is the writing and emailing of the invitation. and this is another moment where we or a client/sponsor might lapse. it's easy to think that the invite goes out and magically people appear. that pretty much how it is for the facilitator, anyway. but the sponsor is seeing and talking with some of the invitees everyday, maybe. some of them are still trying to decide if they should come or not. some of them might be asking questions, like "what's the agenda?" or "what's going to happen?" or "why should i come?" maybe even "is so-and-so coming?" followed by "good, then i'm in," or "well, then i'm out." point is, there's a lot of what i usually call "supporting the invitation." i think chris' language is leaning more in the direction of "living the invitation." which is to say, "being inviting," not just "doing" an invitation. <br>
<br>so there is the writing stage, the supporting stage, the hosting/facilitating stage (during), and the after, recognizing and translating back into everyday practices and structures. the latter hasn't gotten much play here, but i think the crux of the challenge in after-care is mostly about helping sponsors/groups understand how the tools they usually have on their desktops, the structures -- calendars, meeting rooms, virtual tools, phones, emails, networks, whatever -- can be used in a way more or mostly or totally compatible with the spirit that shows up so often in open space meetings. lots of workplace tools seem to assume hierarchy and control, like this new maestro system that lets one meeting chair move people around between breakout groups, but i rather enjoy finding ways to tip those systems on their ends, in support of self-organization. like when chris and judi and i started tipping tables and leaning them up on their ends, to expand the wall space our group had for posting news.<br>
<br>i think, in some cases, it can feel like a failure when groups can't find a way to bring the energy of a good, 2.5-day coffee break back to their desktops. this sense of failure might be heightened if the facilitator or sponsor talks a lot about results or changes or movement before the meeting but there isn't any investment made in supporting the conversations needed to achieve those things after the meeting.<br>
<br>m<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 Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 4:40 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 bgcolor="white" link="blue" vlink="purple" lang="EN-US">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Chris – I am not quite sure
what you meant by, “often work closely with people not only to write an invite
but practice it as well,” but what I heard (or maybe wanted to hear??) that you
were talking about was what I guess could be called “coaching.” Doing an Open
space is one thing, but building upon that experience in an ongoing way to the
profit and betterment of the organization/group is the next level up, as far as
I am concerned. I am not talking about, “becoming an Open Space organization”
if only because I sincerely believe that all organizations are already there.
They may just not realize the fact, or are doing it badly (less than
optimally). Strange I suppose, but it all comes from the notion that we live in
a self organizing (Open Space) world, not as a matter of choice – but rather a
simple fact of our existence. Right up there with The Pull of Gravity. Comes with
the territory. But we can all live our lives elegantly and well or just bumble
through. This has nothing to do with resources or the lack of same. It is all
about personal and organizational style – although resources (education, money,
etc) certainly can help. But an abundance of resource is not sufficient, and in
fact may be a detriment. Fastest way to kill a good idea is to throw money at
it, I think. The key is fully utilizing All our resources – the full power of
the community. And here’s where coaching (can) come in. Helping people to
understand and practice the thought the full power of the community manifests
when, and only when, it is REALLY invited. You can’t command it, you can’t
control it, you can’t force it – you MUST invite it. Of course that invitation
can be refused, but that is the nature of a real invitation. Helping people to
get to that point would be a major opportunity, I think. So – Chris, even if I
have totally misunderstood (represented) you, thanks for the opportunity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">ho </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<div>
<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>
<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>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</span></a></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<div>
<div style="border-width: 1pt medium medium; border-style: solid none none; border-color: rgb(181, 196, 223) -moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color; padding: 3pt 0in 0in;">
<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>Chris Corrigan<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, June 04, 2010 12:22 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: On "Failure" / Invitations</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Echoing Michael's approach here. I learned this from him
many years ago, to pay attention to the clarity of the first five
minutes. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Where it gets sticky is in the gut check conversation and
that can take time too. But I also want to put in a plug for skillful practice
of invitation. I often work closley with people not only to write an invite but
practice it as well. In other words beyond just hitting the send button I find
that it supports action better if people use their networks to invite more
deeply. When the meeting is over these networks often become the place where
people continue to connect to execute action. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">And as for my OS that failed I will say that the shape
sometimes doesn't matter. I always try to put people in a circle but on the odd
occaision when that hasn't been possible i have still managed to do fine. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is rather something in what I can only call the energetic
architecture of open space that needs paying attention to. Even under dire
logistical conditions getting that right seems to make all the
difference. </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">That architecture consists of things like the real business
issue, the invitation, the authentic desire to let go of control and outcome on
both the client and the facilitators part and something about the quality of
the space. Get those things right and you have the actual conditions for space
to open. Get them wrong and even the most orthodox execution of the process
will fall flat and seem like a failure. And people will see that as "open
space doesn't work."</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">Chris</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">-----</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">CHRIS CORRIGAN</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.chriscorrigan.com" target="_blank">http://www.chriscorrigan.com</a></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal">Sent from an iPod, typed with thumbs...</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><br>
On 2010-06-04, at 7:03 AM, Michael Herman <<a href="mailto:michael@michaelherman.com" target="_blank">michael@michaelherman.com</a>>
wrote:</p>
</div>
<blockquote style="margin-top: 5pt; margin-bottom: 5pt;">
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">yes. this is exactly my
experience, harrison, with some exceptions for those cases where the sponsor
was already so thought-into the scene that they didn't tell a very clear
story. but for vast majority of cases, my experiene goes like this...<br>
<br>
phone rings. caller introduces self and says some version of
"calling about open space." then proceeds to tick off the
following... organization name, we've always been [whatever] sort of an
organization, we've had this success or that success, but now things are
different. (or now we want them to be different.) (or then must be
different.) we're up against this, that and/or the other obstacles or
deadlines or usual custom (we have this same meeting every year)... and we want
to do something different, so we thought open space might do the trick"<br>
<br>
then we talk about who's coming, or should be coming; wehre it might happen,
what's already in place, what sorts of documenting, how people already are
talking in org with current systems, and then it comes back to... now
what? and the only thing left is to pen the invite. "invitation?"
they ask, "what's that?" -- and i always point out that they
already said it, they just have to write it down and tidy it up a bit.<br>
<br>
there is a bit of reality/gut checking. there is a bit of fishing around
on my part to see if they just want to do a different dance or if they really
want it to rain this time. do they want a different meeting or a
different organization, but mostly, it's those first five sentences they give
me on the phone. <br>
<br>
i always pay very close attention to those first five sentences. not as
easy by email. sometimes when it starts that way we're able to recreate
it quickly on the phone. sometimes it takes a bit of swimming
upstream. <br>
<br>
and maybe this is one of those lapses in attention... if i miss that moment of
first, true clarity, when that space first opens and somebody dares to ask if
things couldn't be different... you used to talk about that moment of
"wondering...", harrison, then it might well be that no amount of
thinking and such can replace it. that's maybe the place where a lapse in
the quality of attention, in those first lines and first few conversations,
when client and i are still new to each other, where maybe things get more or
less lined up for success or failure.<br>
<br>
m<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 Fri, Jun 4, 2010 at 8:38 AM, Harrison Owen <<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net" target="_blank">hhowen@verizon.net</a>> wrote:</p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">One of the
themes that seems to be surfacing here is the whole subject of Invitations. The
Invitation (theme) is definitely important as it sets the raison d’être and
frame for the gathering. I know that some people spend terrific amounts of time
and effort crafting that invitation – but my experience has taken me in a
different direction. In fact I have found that the effectiveness of the
Invitation is (oddly) inversely proportional to time/effort expended. The key,
I think is the necessity for a “real business issue” as a first condition for a
functional Open Space. And a real business issue (no matter how you define
business) is something that hits you right in the face. You don’t have to think
about it very much, and in fact it is pretty hard to think about anything else.
It is also usually true that the folks in the organization (those who might
care) have already named it. That name might be something less than elegant and
seemingly lacking in precision as an outsider might see it – but for those in
the know, the people who care (exactly the right people for the Open Space) – they
will instantaneously recognize “it.” Some years ago I received a call about
doing an Open Space. After some initial, rather generalized conversation, the
person on the other end of the line said in some deep pain, “Our system is
broke in just about every way a system can be broken and everybody knows it.”
As it happened that system (business) resided in the state of Arizona – and
there was the theme and invitation. “Fixing Arizona: Issues and Opportunities.”
There was no reason to give all the details, motivational encouragement, pleas
for attendance. Everybody who cared already knew. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Actually when
you think about it, it is probably true that if you have to spend a lot of
effort developing and clarifying the focal issue the chances are you don’t have
a “real business issue.” That being the case, doing an Open Space may not be
the appropriate way to go. Without the passion, focus, and caring not too much
is likely to happen. I guess that is not too surprising as without passion,
focus, and caring not too much happens in any other part of life either.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><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>
<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">oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu</a>:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"><a href="http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html" target="_blank">http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<div style="border-width: 1pt medium medium; border-style: solid none none; padding: 3pt 0in 0in; border-color: -moz-use-text-color;">
<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 5:50 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: On "Failure"</span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">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" 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)</p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 at 3:23 PM, Harrison Owen <<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net" target="_blank">hhowen@verizon.net</a>> wrote:</p>
<div>
<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>
<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,
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
</div>
<div style="border-width: 1pt medium medium; border-style: solid none none; padding: 3pt 0in 0in; border-color: -moz-use-text-color;">
<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</span></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU" target="_blank">OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU</a></span></p>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Subject:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Re:
On "Failure"</span></p>
</div>
<div>
<div>
<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)</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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