Uwe and All: I have opened the space in strategic "management" situations with excellent results. I have yet to do it in a "technical" organization although I have a degree in electrical engineering. In one bank, the broad strategic directions were set by senior management and then we had a 2 day open space for the managers to determine the elements of the strategic plan. They did it in a way that the senior team liked and the committment to implementation was very high. They completed their plan ahead of schedule. The senior team took what emerged in the Open Space and fashioned it into the plan that they then used to go forward. They were clear to the managers assembled that they were developing the plan, but that the senior team had final say. We also set financial parameters for implementation that allowed teams to move forward if they got a yes and it fit under $100,000.
Larry
