i usually think and say something to the effect i don't think it's really about the length of that first or any meeting, but about the commitment to a long-term process and conversation. an evening might be the wedding dinner, but 2.5 days is still just the honeymoon. what i want to know about is the vows and commitments.
that said, i guess this new analogy works well for me, ralph. thanks! m -- Michael Herman Michael Herman Associates http://www.michaelherman.com http://www.ronanparktrail.com http://www.chicagoconservationcorps.org http://www.openspaceworld.org 312-280-7838 (mobile) On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 4:09 PM, Ralph Copleman <rcople...@comcast.net> wrote: > Shared with future search and open space listserves... > > Friends, > > Lately I've had some conversations with representatives of various > communities who are considering doing what we did here in my town to organize > our community-wide sustainability effort. We created the program with a > Future Search in the spring of '06, and we have used open space both before > and after that event. > > Questions from people in other communities revolve around issues you have all > heard before, namely: > > Do we really have to spend 2.5 days to do this, etc.? > > I used to offer up a medical or dental analogy, along the lines of... if you > come in with a toothache or need a new kidney, don't tell the doctor how much > time you have available to fix it. > > Now I think I may have stumbled on a more effective analogy, and I pass it > along for what it's worth. It goes like this: > > Trying to meet your long-term needs by building a meeting around short-term > concerns of convenience is like judging the likely success of a marriage > based on what you are served at the wedding dinner. > > Anybody got any other analogies or metaphors that really work? > > Ralph Copleman > > * > * > ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist > * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
