Christmas came early this year! <br><div class="gmail_quote"><br>Yesterday, Chuni Li sent me a short note and a video link <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvB1dDGS0ik&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">MonmouthCaresOpen Space</a> of an Open Space that she facilitated for her organization. Then this morning in my facebook account, Jasmina Nikolic of Belgrade Serbia posted <u><i><b>nearly </b></i></u><i><u><b>1000 photos</b></u></i> of a major OS event that she facilitated less than 2 weeks ago titled: <span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Refless.Project.Serbia?sk=photos" target="_blank"><u>REFLESS Project Open Space Event - Reforming Foreign Language Studies in Serbia - TEMPUS</u>.</a> </span>She had attended the "Scrum beyond Software" open space event in Phoenix in the fall of 2010. <br>
<br>The only thing better than facilitating an Open Space is when someone
who attends an Open Space that you facilitated or worked at,
subsequently facilitates a major Open Space in their own organization. <br><br>As a former journalist, I love sharing the story of others knowing that often people hold back in telling their own story. I invite you to see the vibrancy of Serbia through the photos and to read the story of New Jersey and watch the wonderful video that goes with it. <br>
<br>
<p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">"This is a feature story, a human interest story about Open
Space.<span> </span>It is the story of a colleague
and a friend Chuni Li who facilitated an Open Space for her organization
MonmouthCares -- a strategic retreat as they embarked on their next ten years. <br><br></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal"></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">MonmouthCares, Inc., is a private non-profit agency in New
Jersey, an organization that works with families to facilitate positive change
so that children with emotional and behavioral problems along with their
families have the greatest opportunity to live, thrive, develop and lead as
free and normal lives as possible in their communities. <br><br></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">I had tears in my eyes recognizing the depth, significance and
power of Open Space and what happened in those two days. I celebrated knowing
that everyone connected to the wonderful mission of this agency, those who are
making a difference in people’s lives every day, had an opportunity to engage
and participate in creating the next 10 years of Monmouth Cares.<span> </span>I felt the courage
and care that went into introducing and planning this event. <span> </span>Courage because as often happens in Open
Space, when people are invited to something they don’t know or understand,
there is trepidation and yes even resistance.<span>
<br><br></span></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">Listening to the video, with Chuni narrating the basics of
Open Space, watching it unfold and feeling the purpose, mission and true spirit
of invitation spoken by Kathy Collins, the executive director of MonmouthCares,
seeing Chuni walk the circle and then the participants speaking their topics
and filling the Marketplace wall, I knew that what happened there was so very
special, special and magical in the way it is always is in Open Space when
people came together in the fullness and contribution of who they are as
equals.<span><br><br></span></p><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">When this happens in the
workplace, this is no small thing. No matter how progressive the organization,
its people and its leaders; the simple act of people getting together in a way
that invites everyone to discover, speak and share what they are passionate
about and then work together on the most important issues of an organization,
its present and its future,<span> </span>is no small
feat.<span> <br><br></span></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">So thank you Chuni for sending me this video and thank you
for allowing me to share your story with our Open Space community so that
others can learn and celebrate what happened at MonmouthCares. May it inspire
many to bring this gift of opening space to their workplace! <br><br></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">This story is also a story of connection. I met Chuni in New
York last January at the annual Open Space training program with Harrison,
Karen Davis and the late Ralph Copeland (in spirit).<span> </span>The theme was “Opening Space for Higher Purpose:
Peace and High Performance for Myself, Others and our Planet”.<span> </span><span></span>Fast
forward to the summer, Chuni and I had the opportunity to work together with
Gerry Kirk (a former client) on a major Open Space in New Jersey, a 2-day
event with 150 people.<span> Chuni </span>invited her
boss, Kathy Collins and a colleague at MonmouthCares, Jerome Scriptunas, and
the rest is history.<span> </span><br><br>So in closing, I
hope you enjoy this video as much as I did seeing its greatness in the
familiar, a familiar that has been repeated hundreds of thousands of times in
Open Space events around the world for more than 25 years. <br></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal"><br>Happy Holidays everyone and thank you for allowing me to share these precious gifts with you!" <br></p><span><font color="#888888"><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)"></span><p style="color:rgb(51,51,51)" class="MsoNormal">
Suzanne<br></p><span style="color:rgb(51,51,51)">
</span><br><br><br>-- <br>Suzanne Daigle<br>NuFocus Strategic Group<br>7159 Victoria Circle<br>University Park, FL 34201<br>FL <a href="tel:941-359-8877" value="+19413598877" target="_blank">941-359-8877</a>; <br>CT <a href="tel:203-722-2009" value="+12037222009" target="_blank">203-722-2009</a><br>
<a href="http://www.nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">www.nufocusgroup.com</a><br>
<a href="mailto:s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com</a><br>twitter @suzannedaigle<br><br>
</font></span></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Suzanne Daigle<br>NuFocus Strategic Group<br>7159 Victoria Circle<br>University Park, FL 34201<br>FL <a href="tel:941-359-8877" value="+19413598877" target="_blank">941-359-8877</a>; <br>
CT <a href="tel:203-722-2009" value="+12037222009" target="_blank">203-722-2009</a><br><a href="http://www.nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">www.nufocusgroup.com</a><br>
<a href="mailto:s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com" target="_blank">s.daigle@nufocusgroup.com</a><br>twitter @suzannedaigle<br><br>