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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor=white 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'>Dan – as with everything else in life, “context” is all. It is true that the “theme” for the USWEST Open Space looks like a statement – but for all the folks out there in those times it was the biggest question they faced as an organization, and everybody knew it. Their organization was broken, and THE QUESTION was How to fix it???? When we started nobody knew, which can plainly see reflected in the faces of the folks in the opening circle (see OS video). From where I sit, questions are not only important, but critical. Questions open space, I think.<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'>ho<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><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Harrison Owen<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>7808 River Falls Dr.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Potomac, MD 20854<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>USA<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'>189 Beaucaire Ave. (summer)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Camden, Maine 04843<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'>Phone 301-365-2093<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>(summer) 207-763-3261<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'><a href="www.openspaceworld.com%20"><span style='color:blue'>www.openspaceworld.com</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="www.ho-image.com%20"><span style='color:blue'>www.ho-image.com</span></a> (Personal Website)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;color:#1F497D'>To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST Go to:<a href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org"><span style='color:blue'>http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><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";color:windowtext'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";color:windowtext'> oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org [mailto:oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Daniel Mezick<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, March 24, 2014 7:06 AM<br><b>To:</b> oslist@lists.openspacetech.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [OSList] [OSLIST}; The OST Theme...frame as a question?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Is the OST theme always defined as a question? Is it ever offered as a statement? I'm not sure.<br><br>I'm not sure because in the USERS GUIDE TO OPEN SPACE book from Harrison, the story about the theme "Fixing Arizona" is not a question. So, I'm guessing a non-question is OK. For the record, I prefer a question. And I tell clients to frame it as a question, on the hypothesis that questions tend open space and statements tend to close space...<br><br>THE BRIEF USERS GUIDE (<a href="http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm">http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm</a>) is silent on the issue:<span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><BEGIN></span></em><i><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><br><em><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>THE THEME</span></em></span></i><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> -- Creation of a powerful theme statement is critical, for it will be the central mechanism for focusing discussion and inspiring participation. The theme statement, however, cannot be a lengthy, dry, recitation of goals and objectives. It must have the capacity to inspire participation by being specific enough to indicate the direction, while possessing sufficient openness to allow for the imagination of the group to take over.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>There is no pat formulation for doing this, for what inspires one group will totally turn off another. One way of thinking about the theme statement is as the opening paragraph of a truly exciting story. The reader should have enough detail to know where the tale is headed and what some of the possible adventures are likely to be. But "telling all" in the beginning will make it quite unlikely that the reader will proceed. After all, who would read a story they already know?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><END><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>-- <br><br><o:p></o:p></p><p class=p1>Daniel Mezick, President<o:p></o:p></p><p class=p1>New Technology Solutions Inc.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=p1>(203) 915 7248 (cell)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=p2><span class=s1><a href="http://newtechusa.net/dan-mezick/">Bio</a></span><span class=s2>. <a href="http://newtechusa.net/blog/"><span class=s1>Blog</span></a>. <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/danmezick/"><span class=s1>Twitter</span></a>.</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span style='color:black'> </span></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=p3><span class=s2>Examine my new book:</span><span class=apple-converted-space><span style='color:black'> </span></span><span class=s2><a href="http://newtechusa.net/about/the-culture-game-book/"><span class=s1>The Culture Game </span></a></span><span class=s1>: Tools for the Agile Manager</span><span class=s2>.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=p1>Explore Agile Team <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-training/"><span class=s3>Training</span></a> and <a href="http://newtechusa.net/services/agile-scrum-coaching/"><span class=s3>Coaching.</span></a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=p1>Explore the <a href="http://newtechusa.net/user-groups/ma/"><span class=s3>Agile Boston </span></a>Community.<span class=apple-converted-space> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></body></html>