Hi John,
I wonder what kind of group your report of the [prescriptive gathering]
is describing.
I wonder if it is:
* an open-to-the-public event; like a conference, or
* a community-type gathering; like people in a community of practice, or
* an event inside a business org, like a corporation.
Regards,
Daniel
On 11/13/14 12:46 AM, John Baxter via OSList wrote:
So where are all the examples of failures to open space against the
tide? Who has those?
They're the ones we can really learn from...
A couple come to mind, essentially the same, not quite failure, but
non-events at least, that reflect the story that I mentioned earlier...
A small handful of people were fed up with a prescriptive
gathering.... mostly as a sense of lost potential.
Opportunity was taken to raise this concern with the whole group.
The organisers tweaked somewhat in response, but ultimately in a way
that did little to address the confines of the format. (In both cases,
the organisers had planned in 'open space' working time towards the
end of the event.) That absorbed the energy for rebellion. And in
fact it meant those groups of dissidents spent more time sharing
frustrations in what little space we could find, than actually getting
down to work as we so desired.
What didn't work
a. Raising dissent about the formal structure without either a
concrete plan of action, or sufficient space for a group to
self-organise to create one... And also when most fellow participants
are probably quite happy with the status quo. (Reflecting on this
thread, perhaps the better response would have been focusing not on
changing the existing structure, but on extending an invitation to
others from the group to work within the gaps of that structure to
have the conversations that mattered.)
b. Tacking on a little bit of open space (1-3 hours) to the end of a
prescriptive gathering. We know this is a bad idea, but it is
interesting how this then absorbs the energy for self organisation.
*/John Baxter/*
/Cocreation Consultant & CoCreate Adelaide Facilitator/
jsbaxter.com.au <http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/> | CoCreateADL.com
<http://CoCreateADL.com>
0405 447 829
|
@jsbaxter_ <http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_>
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On Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 4:02 PM, Suzanne Daigle <[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
John, some years ago I opened space in the middle of a 3 day
conference. National Alliance of Arts and Culture... 350 people in
a fancy hotel in Boston. No possibility of creating circle of
chairs but at least we had a market place wall. I opened the space
by inviting people to create a circle in their mind. Quite
surprising that it all worked. People were in their sessions
within the hour, super engrossed to the point where many skipped
lunch.Topics got added over the course of the conference.
Breakouts self-organized in unusual places with notes posted on
walls to meet at the bar or at breakfast. Was not ideal but it
seemed to work
Enough that they created an adapted monthly or bimonthly open
space like conference call for a year or two after. I was not
involved.
The sponsors were pleased and the participants were engaged. Not
what I prefer but if I had to do it over again, I totally would.
Suzanne
On Nov 12, 2014 7:38 PM, "John Baxter via OSList"
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Thank you everyone for your examples... I love the
demonstrations of Open Space incorporated symbiotically into
the structure of a more formal event. It is making me rethink
what is possible with gatherings... there is strong pressure
to have prescriptive formal structures even when everyone
agrees that open space is really needed... so I very much like
the idea of generative symbiotic combinations.
I'm curious about the Official Story that Open Space doesn't
work in parallel. Can anyone speak to that?
I look at Open Space Technology in this context as an attempt
to bring open space from the background or the cracks of a
prescriptive structure, into the foreground. So it should not
be surprising at all that those cracks can be expanded and
built upon with OST??
Thanks
*/John Baxter/*
/Cocreation Consultant & CoCreate Adelaide Facilitator/
jsbaxter.com.au <http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/> |
CoCreateADL.com <http://CoCreateADL.com>
0405 447 829
|
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/Thank you to everyone who came, helped or spread the good
word about *City Grill*!/
/Summary and links: cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary
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On Thu, Nov 13, 2014 at 10:39 AM, Harold Shinsato via OSList
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
The Open Jam events at the Agile 20xx conferences have
increasingly been the place where (at least in my opinion)
the cool things happen. Even though the official story is
that Open Space doesn't work in parallel, and I've
definitely seen it work horribly in a software conference
attempting to put OST in parallel - the Agile Software
community seems to really enjoy hanging out in this space
and holding interesting sessions on the fringes of a very
well populated main track. Even though it's not "official
OST", it's very Open Space like.
Thanks to the Agile 20xx conference folks, and to you
Diane, for having this as a constant feature in my Agile
20xx experience!
Regards,
Harold
On 11/12/14 3:16 PM, Diana Larsen via OSList wrote:
One more story:
Since 2008,, every year at the Agile 20xx conference
there has been an area called "Open Jam" (in homage to a
now defunct Music Festival analogy). It's usually
prominently located near the main traffic patterns of the
conference and arranged with a variety of sub-areas
variously décor-ed with chairs of different kinds, some
tables, some not, flip charts, markers and other supplies
for easy access, etc.
The "Open Jam" offers an opportunity each morning of the
five-day conference to propose new,
not-on-the-formal-program sessions that will run
throughout the day. It's right out in the Open, not sub
rosa at all, and for some attendees, it's the best part
of the conference. Every year different folks step up to
organize it with a very light touch.
Beyond the Open Jam, the conference organizers work with
the new venue to emphasize the importance of a variety of
seating + small conversation areas throughout the
facility. People use them a lot, and at some times of day
it can be hard to find a free one.
It's an acknowledgement of the "always open" nature of
spaces.
Diana
***********
Diana Larsen
"Your Path Through Agile Fluency"
http://agilefluency.com
On Nov 12, 2014, at 2:35 PM, Brendan McKeague via OSList
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
A wee story of
Last year at a 200-participant (tables of 8) conference,
myself and a colleague Peter Wilde (with the blessing of
the organisers) offered an 'alternative' space to the
mainstream process.
We introduced the notion of 'self-organising'
conversations at the beginning of the conference and set
up a 'market place' for offering/requesting
conversations during the breaks and alongside the
afternoon pre-planned workshop sessions. The market
place was on a wall in the main meeting area and people
were invited to go along at anytime and post their
topic, indicating where they would meet to host their
conversations. Needless to say, these conversations
started at the right time, at the right place and
continued until they were over...
It was a practical way to provide meeting spaces for
those who wished to connect with others - and it worked.
Cheers
Brendan
On 12/11/2014, at 4:37 PM, Jeff Aitken via OSList wrote:
I remember that story Michael! Some year afterward,
John Abbe came
south from Eugene and we cofacilitated a two day
'recent changes camp'
outside and inside of the Social Text offices in Palo
Alto. Folks from
Europe were there too.
Jeff
On 11/11/14, Michael Herman via OSList
<[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
first, to paul, yes i've definitely done as you say.
was a very small
group of us, not a conference but a "team meeting"
held too late in the day
and made everyone ripe for some harmless mutiny. i
led the charge or made
the suggestion, and the next day we did the team
meeting in open space. we
put up 8 issues, discussed only 3, and the next weekly
meeting looked like
all the previous ones, except that the team leader's
agenda was really just
an ongoing updating of our original 8 issues, which
were the answer to "how
do we get this project finished successfully?"
mission accomplished.
next, to the main question...
some years ago, ted ernst (who some here will
remember) and some other
friends got excited about wiki websites. they met up
in portland, drove to
seattle to pick up others, then drove all the way to
san diego, using
*part* of the minivan windshield as an open space
bulletin board,
discussing all the way, to a symposium called wikisym.
when they got there, this merry band made themselves
stickers that said
"ask me about open space." as they met folks, they
told the story and made
more stickers. pretty soon everyone knew about open
space, a bulletin
board was created on a wall in a hallway, sessions
went up and started
happening. the conference organizers came to the
merry band and asked them
nicely not to wreck the conference. since wrecking
was not the intention,
it was all worked out.
part of that is that the organizers asked ted to
facilitate open space at
the next symposium and make it official, so to speak.
another part was
that some of the merry band, having been teased by
these first attempts,
wanted to see what happened in a full-blown 2.5 days.
so they organized
"recent changes camp" which itself sparked a bunch of
other gatherings.
gerard muller can maybe say more about the follow-on
from the wikisym in
open space, as it was in denmark or nearby and i think
he ended up working
with ted on that one.
m
--
Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
312-280-7838 <tel:312-280-7838> (mobile)
http://MichaelHerman.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org
On Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 9:32 PM, John Baxter via OSList <
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
I hosted an 'Elephants' Gathering' at a conference
once upon a time.
I knew there were people there I wanted to talk to,
but the program was
of
little interest.
I didn't try to compete with the mainstream agenda, I
put it in the
evening.
Nobody had any intent on the formalities of Open
Space, but it was indeed
an open space, and the right people came (far less
than I thought would
come, but all the ones I wanted to talk to!).
Someone (Eisenstein?) wrote a post recently, I think
posted here, about
trying to subvert the structure of a conference and
being beaten down.
My
interpretation of events obviously...
The right people can always be found in the cracks
(at the bar, the
coffee
station etc). Some of them might need an invitation.
I don't think it's appropriate to force Open Space on
the others in a
gathering who have little interest.
Good on anyone that makes the call that Open Space is
right for everyone
and goes with it. But I fear that may likely more
driven by ego than
care
(e.g the above dramatisation).
Good discussion!
*John Baxter*
*Cocreation Consultant & CoCreate Adelaide Facilitator*
CoCreateADL.com
<http://cocreateadl.com/localgov%E2%80%8B>
<http://cocreateadl.com/localgov%E2%80%8B> |
jsbaxter.com.au <http://jsbaxter.com.au>
<http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/>
<http://www.jsbaxter.com.au/>
0405 447 829
|
@jsbaxter_ <http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_>
<http://twitter.com/jsbaxter_>
*Thank you to everyone who came, helped or spread the
good word about
City
Grill!*
*Summary and links:
cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary
<http://cocreateadl.com/localgov/grill-summary>
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On Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 1:55 PM, Skye Hirst via OSList <
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
yeah, indeed flash mob Open Space always a great
possibility. Thanks,
Skye
On Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 4:09 PM, Royle, Karl via
OSList <
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Great!
Sent by iPhone
Karl Royle
Head of Enterprise and Commercial Development
Faculty of Education Health and Wellbeing
University of Wolverhampton
01902323006
07815416698
@karlroyle. On Twitter
Karlr61 Skype
Www.academia.edu/karlroyle
<http://Www.academia.edu/karlroyle>
On 11 Nov 2014, at 20:51, "paul levy via OSList" <
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
<http://rationalmadness.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/w3.jpg>
<http://rationalmadness.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/w3.jpg>
I wonder if anyone reading this has experiences to
share of what I am
about to describe. Most published stories of open
space tend to go by
the
book. The book is often referred to as the *user *
<http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm>
<http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm>*guide*
<http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm>
<http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm>",
and it tends towards
a process that is largely based on an* instruction
manual*
<http://elementaleducation.com/wp-content/uploads/temp/OpenSpaceTechnology--UsersGuide.pdf>
<http://elementaleducation.com/wp-content/uploads/temp/OpenSpaceTechnology--UsersGuide.pdf>.
Dogmatic application manual can then lead, in my
humble opinion, not to
one
less thing to do, but often one more thing to do.
These are "guides"
not
rules, and that is the spirit in which they were
written. In many
cases,
the user guide proves remarkably resilient and
applicable. Yet there is
always the next moment, the new story, the moment
that needs something
playful.
There's a lot in the manual (and the many trainings
that have come into
being from it) about sponsors and invitations, and
the things that need
to
be done before an Open Space to ensure the open
spacer er... opens space.
I
have no difficulty with the manual. It's full of
good advice and is the
foundation you might just need to open some space.
But, hey, what about
this... I'm at a company away day that is looking
at product innovation.
It
is business critical, and it is floundering.
Powerpoint after
Powerpoint
has resulted in a stifled audience, and when they
get to breakout
sessions,
the flipcharts look empty, the energy is low, and
it all looks a bit
too
quiet. There's a feeling in the room that the event
is dying on its
feet.
Several sessions are lost in badly facilitated
action planning. I am on
the
team and the lead facilitator looks to me for any
ideas. It must be
because
I am silent and looking knowing and wise.
Actually I'm seething inside at this
over-facilitated, over-designed,
overplanned conference crash. Do you mind if I... I
ask, a bit pompously
and
the lead facilitator is up for whatever help he can
get. I leap up, and
step into the mess. I have a loud voice and it
can't get any worse than
this. An idea has just occurred to me and I decide
to hurl it into the
cluttered room. "Er, hey." I roar. "Why don't we
open some space?" I'm
loud. It goes silent.
This is what I say: "This is crap isn't it?"
Silence. "Can everyone
bring their chairs and let's get into a big circle.
Tuts, irritation,
doubt
and mostly relief. Two minutes later there's a big
circle.
I introduce open space in about four minutes and
quickly crab some flip
chart paper and tack it to the wall, creating four
corners at new
breakout
spaces.
I ask people to take their chairs with them and,
within about ten
minutes we have a whole bunch of different
sessions, many based around
action.
The bosses in the room are gobsmacked.
We have a two hour open space until wrap up and
there's a huge buzz in
the room from this pop-up open space.
The invite was improvised and spontaneous.
The space opened because it wanted and needed to.
It popped up and out
as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It transformed the
day
and sent the clutter fleeing for cover. It was done
without fuss and
chairs
from the main circle quickly went into breakout and
back again. The
facilitator team were edgy because they felt they
were supposed to be
doing
something and I dragged them away for coffee. We
chatted a bit about
"emergence" and I was looked on as if I'd done some
kind of magic. I
was
young and enjoyed the attention. I was also looked
as as if I was a bit
weird. Well, I am a bit weird. I do wonder if
pop-up open space could
and
should happen a lot more.
A lot of open spacers I know loved improvisation
and spontaneity, yet
when it comes to open space are a bit locked in the
process in the book
of
instructions -- the manual that tends to overplay
the "prep" for the
event.
So, I'm waving a flag for pop-up, guerilla open
space. Why not open
some
space even for the process of open space? Let's
shimmy it a little and
see
what falls out.
"Flash mob" open space has, I think, a big future.
My intuition tells
me
a fair number of facilitators have done it, and a
fair few of them
haven't
reported it, telling instead there more
"responsible" by-the-book open
space stories. But why not? Why not open some space
on the spur of the
moment? The invite is still there -it just takes a
hell of a lot
shorter.
The opportunity is always there where an
over-organised event is
disappearing up its own proverbial...
It is also there in an event that has some inbuilt
flexibility. Why not
throw some open space into the flexible mix? But
best of all, why not
open
space when space is there to be open?
Self-organisation is often crying
out
for a chance in the midst of failing over-organisation.
So, here's to some more pop-up open space...
On 11 Nov 2014 19:59, "Peggy Holman via OSList" <
[email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote:
Hi all,
I got the query below from my friend Tom Atlee. It
seemed like a
great question for the list. Since Tom isn't on
it, I told him that
I'd
forward any responses.
appreciatively,
Peggy
Begin forwarded message:
*From: *Tom Atlee <[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected]>
*Date: *November 10, 2014 at 12:51:54 PM PST
*Subject: **Guerilla Open Space?*
*To: *Peggy Holman <[email protected]>
<mailto:[email protected]>
Hi Peggy,
Thinking about the NCDD conference, I got the idea
for "guerilla Open
Space" to be used in conferences where you want to
open the space in
the
middle of a too-organized gathering. It would
involve a central
website
with instructions on what to do and why. It would
involve passing out
cards with messages like "Is there something that
you'd really like to
talk
about or do here that the agenda here is
preventing you from talking
about
or doing?" "Would you like to be learning,
contributing, and having
more
fun here?" with the web address on it. Tweets
might also be used.
Then,
on the main website it would tell people about how
to do a guerilla
open
space, referring them perhaps to meetup.com
<http://meetup.com> to arrange places to talk.
Or something like that. Have you heard of such
thing before? Do you
have any thoughts/responses?
Hugs,
Tom
_________________________________
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