<div dir="ltr">Thanks Michael and Harrison. Actually, I think, "opening space for action" might have been my line, Harrison, at least I've been saying it that way since osonos5 in Toronto (1997) and a session <span></span>convened by Peggy Holman called "Day 3 and convergence." I think "non-convergence" might have come out of that session, as well. I know it did for me. and then it came up very strongly for me again, in late 2001, after I facilitated a 200-person event that we ended with standard multi-voting. <div>
<br></div><div>that was about the same time that Chris and I captured and published the "user's non-guide" (<a href="http://www.michaelherman.com/cgi/wiki.cgi?OpenSpaceTechnology/UsersNonGuide">http://www.michaelherman.com/cgi/wiki.cgi?OpenSpaceTechnology/UsersNonGuide</a>) from the OSLIST conversations, so the "non-" part might have emerged then. i convened a session at tmn, the second version you invited us into, called "beyond convergence (and training)." the tmn conversation is long gone, but much of my original posting there is in the oslist archives and also on my site... <a href="http://www.michaelherman.com/cgi/wiki.cgi?NonConvergence" target="_blank">http://www.michaelherman.com/cgi/wiki.cgi?NonConvergence</a> <div>
<div><br></div><div>all that said, i can't remember hearing much about the logistical details of what folks are doing in this post-voting era, specifically in groups that are too big for sticky dots and also big enough (few hundred, maybe) to make reopening the space for action a bit more chaos than some groups/leaders will yet tolerate.</div>
<div><br></div><div>it's easy to imagine reopening the space for action, having new sessions created and convened in one final round on the morning of day 3 (or afternoon of day 2 or otherwise at the end of first, diverging sessions. new topics go up on the wall. they reflect perfectly all the learning that's been done since the first sessions went up in the original opening. if a group is large and leadership is quick, any "bounding" of the new opening on the third day can be articulated in the sponsors introduction to that morning. in some cases, the leader might even be the one making the invitation to name and discuss actions/projects. </div>
<div><br></div><div>in those sessions, the way(s) forward can be explored to the greatest extent possible within time constraints, specific links can still be made to various breakout sessions held in previous days (same as was done in the old convergence process), and immediate next steps articulated, recorded and compiled. all good. and what are we learning about grounding that work in the ongoing life of the organization? it seems that's what convergence/voting was for. have organizations really evolved from voting/crunching/priorities to ongoing opening for action? </div>
<div><br></div><div>so here are some more specific wonderings i have now:</div><div><br></div><div>1. what are you seeing in "the markets" where you operate. has non-converging or re-opening the space for action or projects really become the most common way of finishing (and restarting/continuing)? does anyone find much pressure/demand for standard sort of prioritization to finish events anymore? </div>
<div><br></div><div>2. how are you doing it -- specifically? what are the specific ways you are most often offering or proposing a non-converged/re-opened finale to clients? how large are the groups in which we have we gotten away with non-converging like this? for all the english speakers who don't live in one of chicago's oldest german neighborhoods, can we articulate something here in english about how those offerings are worked/working out... or asked differently, what kind of support are you offering and able to contract for AFTER all the notes are tied up in a document? how are you getting from that document, through the last day or session, into action -- and supporting folks in staying in action, in open space, in some ongoing ways? what is now possible? what are the specific things you're doing AFTER the proceedings are all packaged up? this "bazaar" process, or at least the naming here, is completely new to me. can you say more about the logistics of this Kari? i'm assuming this was the most recent berlin wosonos? </div>
<div><br></div><div>3. is our species learning? are we finding it's enough to open the space, capture the notes, re-open the space for action and then walk away? my original posting back in 2002 was actually titled "beyond convergence (and training)." in what ways are you able to help "re-opening the space for action" inform the ongoing structure and process of the groups you're working with? are we still selling events or does the end of voting point to greater opportunity for offering transformation? is training also dissolving into "just do it, just do what we've just done, just do it again"? this was the wish in my original posting. are we getting there? or are there things we still must do in "most" situations, to help our clients realize the promise and potential of ongoing open space? is it enough to sow the seed of "opening space for Actionable Issues and Opps?" </div>
<div><br></div><div>finally, Harrison, your bit about "actionable issues" seems especially ripe, and with your usual elegance in these things, cuts through, or really opens up all the group's assumptions about the possibility for change, movement, action and everything going forward. this allows everyone, not just the leaders, to collectively bound the new space. that one phrase might be the most important development I've heard in our story in the last decade. re-opening the space for Actionable Issues and Opportunities. i think "actionable" might be as important as "open" and "invitation." </div>
<div><br></div><div>and... on a purely technical note, sprung from my having just begun a long-awaited updating and clean-up of openspaceworld.org...</div><div><br></div><div>4. does the voting software still work on the newest PCs. should i continue to offer and explain it at <a href="http://openspaceworld.org">openspaceworld.org</a>?</div>
<div><br></div><div>thanks, m</div><div><br></div><div><div><div><br></div>
<div><br><br>On Thursday, August 28, 2014, Harrison Owen <<a href="mailto:hhowen@verizon.net" target="_blank">hhowen@verizon.net</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Actually I still have the old software, but I agree with Michael. There are much better ways. The problem for me with that software, as with all efforts (including Sticky-dots) to prioritize the issues that were raised on the first day or so of the OS is that it is measurement of “yesterday’s passions.” Very much like the most recent Quarterly Financial Report... all it tells you about is old news. On a standard 2 ½ day OS, when the 3<sup>rd</sup> day dawns, everybody had had a night to sleep on everything. Almost inevitably a lot will have changed. Hot issues will merge with other hot issues, hot issues will cool, new issues will have been thrown up thanks to the interaction of the preceding two days. There is also the question of Actionable Issues (which is the focal point of the 3<sup>rd</sup> day) which don’t necessarily include all the issues previously discussed. I believe Chris Corrigan started it all when he talked about “opening the space for action.” Anyhow that is what he did, and I do as well. Very simple procedure which I think I covered in the 3<sup>rd</sup> Edition of The User’s Guide. Nowhere near as elegant as Michael’s “Praxis” – but it will do in a pinch, and is not in German. </span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:rgb(31,73,125)">J</span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Harrison<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Winter Address<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">7808 River Falls Drive<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Potomac, MD 20854<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><a href="tel:301-365-2093" value="+13013652093" target="_blank">301-365-2093</a><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Summer Address<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">189 Beaucaire Ave.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Camden, ME 04843<u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><a href="tel:207-763-3261" value="+12077633261" target="_blank">207-763-3261</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">Websites<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><a href="http://%20www.openspaceworld.com" target="_blank"> www.openspaceworld.com</a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><a href="http://www.ho-image.com" target="_blank">www.ho-image.com</a><u></u><u></u></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)">OSLIST </span><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:Consolas;color:rgb(31,73,125)">To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of OSLIST Go to:<a href="http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org" target="_blank">http://lists.openspacetech.org/listinfo.cgi/oslist-openspacetech.org</a></span><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:rgb(31,73,125)"><u></u> <u></u></span></p><div style="border-style:solid none none;border-top-color:rgb(181,196,223);border-top-width:1pt;padding:3pt 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif">From:</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Tahoma,sans-serif"> OSList [mailto:<a>oslist-bounces@lists.openspacetech.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Michael Herman<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, August 28, 2014 5:41 AM<br><b>To:</b> OSLIST<br><b>Subject:</b> [OSList] is our voting software dead?<u></u><u></u></span></p></div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">
hi all, especially those of you who've used the old multi-voting software.<u></u><u></u></p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">i'm wondering when was the last time you used the multi-voting software to do prioritization at the end of an OS meeting? i'm trying to figure out if it's still useful on the latest PCs. i'm a mac guy, so can't test it locally here. <u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal">and if not using the old software, what are you using on day 3 of os events that are too big for dots? is there a new state-of-the-art when it comes to converging into action with larger groups? <u></u><u></u></p>
</div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><br clear="all"><u></u><u></u></p><div><p class="MsoNormal">many thanks, m<u></u><u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><u></u> <u></u></p></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12pt">
<br>--<br><br>Michael Herman<br>Michael Herman Associates<br><a href="tel:312-280-7838" value="+13122807838" target="_blank">312-280-7838</a> (mobile)<br><br><a href="http://MichaelHerman.com" target="_blank">http://MichaelHerman.com</a><br>
<a href="http://OpenSpaceWorld.org" target="_blank">http://OpenSpaceWorld.org</a><u></u><u></u></p>
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