<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:x="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:excel" xmlns:p="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:powerpoint" xmlns:a="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:access" xmlns:dt="uuid:C2F41010-65B3-11d1-A29F-00AA00C14882" xmlns:s="uuid:BDC6E3F0-6DA3-11d1-A2A3-00AA00C14882" xmlns:rs="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:rowset" xmlns:z="#RowsetSchema" xmlns:b="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:publisher" xmlns:ss="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:spreadsheet" xmlns:c="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:component:spreadsheet" xmlns:odc="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:odc" xmlns:oa="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:activation" xmlns:html="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40" xmlns:q="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:rtc="http://microsoft.com/officenet/conferencing" xmlns:D="DAV:" xmlns:Repl="http://schemas.microsoft.com/repl/" xmlns:mt="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/meetings/" xmlns:x2="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/excel/2003/xml" xmlns:ppda="http://www.passport.com/NameSpace.xsd" xmlns:ois="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/ois/" xmlns:dir="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/directory/" xmlns:ds="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#" xmlns:dsp="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/dsp" xmlns:udc="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:sub="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/2002/1/alerts/" xmlns:ec="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#" xmlns:sp="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/" xmlns:sps="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:udcs="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/soap" xmlns:udcxf="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/xmlfile" xmlns:udcp2p="http://schemas.microsoft.com/data/udc/parttopart" xmlns:wf="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/workflow/" xmlns:dsss="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/digsig-setup" xmlns:dssi="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/digsig" xmlns:mdssi="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/digital-signature" xmlns:mver="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns:mrels="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/relationships" xmlns:spwp="http://microsoft.com/sharepoint/webpartpages" xmlns:ex12t="http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/types" xmlns:ex12m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/exchange/services/2006/messages" xmlns:pptsl="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/soap/SlideLibrary/" xmlns:spsl="http://microsoft.com/webservices/SharePointPortalServer/PublishedLinksService" xmlns:Z="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:" xmlns:st="" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Dear Claudia and all,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>So far, there are a few good contributions to this topic thread on how OST works in business meetings of 2-4 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>In our Genuine Contact program way of working with Open Space Technology, the basics of the facilitation are exactly as taught to us by Harrison and covered in the User’s Guide. The ingredients of the form are important, each having their own role. We also work with our personal understandings of the essence of OST, each one deciding for themselves what the essence is and committing to the job of keeping the space open for this essence to do its work. The form can be done in a very short meeting. However, it is only one dimension of the whole of an OST meeting. In planning with the sponsor, we take care in ensuring the right theme, with accurate ‘givens’, for the right length of time, and whether action planning is intended. Sometimes, OST is the right meeting format. Sometimes, another format is better after going through this discernment process. We developed a meeting process with complimentary values to OST for use during the planning meeting, the debrief meeting, and to use if OST is not the right method but we still want to offer ‘maximum choice, maximum freedom’ to the degree possible. Our process is called Whole Person Process Facilitation. We also like to use World Café for a short meeting when OST is not the right fit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Most of our business clients have companies and agencies in multiple geographic locations. Thanks to a lot of experimentation, thinking, and contribution by members of our GC community, we have developed an incredible way of having distance meetings on line. The businesses we work with love this. The software environment for the meetings is Elluminate. The meeting facilitation platform is Whole Person Process Facilitation. We usually have a full day meeting (two three hour segments) within a WPPF meeting platform. The first half of the day is usually about getting familiar with subject matter, giving all persons the opportunity to understand. The second half of the day is held as an OST meeting within this WPPF meeting platform. It has been truly amazing. And, people from the company who have only the three hours, can join only for the OST meeting. One of the gifts of Elluminate is that within five minutes of the end of the meeting, everyone can have all of the documentation including any audio files that were made such as of the closing circle. People who were not at the meeting can then listen and view at their leisure, as can those at the meeting who wish to review.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>My thoughts are similar to those of Lisa Heft. For me, anything less than a three to four hour meeting is not an OST meeting in that I do not find that the space opens sufficiently for me to feel the ‘essence’ of OST. Four hours allows time for an opening, agenda creation, two sufficiently long session times, and a closing circle. It does not allow sufficient time for a good convergence, voting, and action planning process. My perspective is that if this is rushed too much, then people participating are simply in the same pattern that they are in during the work day of ‘too fast, too busy’ without sufficient reflection time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I do know from experience, that all of the opening needs to be done even for a short meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>If short cuts are taken, which I have been witness to sometimes, I, like Lisa, would not call this an OST meeting. It may be more of a self managed meeting than usual with some OST elements, but it is not OST in my opinion. For instance, I have come across several instances where people email their topics in ahead of time, they are given the basic overview of OST ahead of time, and when they enter the meeting, someone has created an agenda wall from the mailed in topics and people immediately head off into their breakout groups. Self managed, yes, OST, no.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Blessings,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Birgitt<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Dr. Claudia Gross [mailto:info@claudiagross.com] <br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, September 07, 2011 9:01 AM<br><b>To:</b> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [OSList] OS in business meetings (2nd question)<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#000099'>The 2<sup>nd</sup> issue I am interested to learn more about is “How does OS work in business meetings (2-4h)?” </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:#000099'>What’s your experiences and recommendations when facilitating such an event?</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>