Kay Vogt here. I finished my 3 day Open Space yesterday and wanted to thank everyone who repsonded to my pleas for help. The suggestions I got from many of you were very very helpful and I wanted to give back to the list by sharing what I did.
Before taking the job: Made sure I had the support of the top person and that he understood that he would not have control of the meeting but that his attendance was crucial. And that I wanted a meeting with his managers to explain the OS process, to surface resistance, and improve the probability of support for the outcomes of the OS. Four days before the event: (Next time I'd want more time, like 2 to 3 weeks before the event) 3 1/2 hour meeting with the 60 managers. Showed US WEST video, took questions about the process, and then did mini OS around the theme: What are the issues and opportunities around the use of OS. It was very interesting. A lot of fear and resistance came up as well as tremendous support and enthusiasm. Then a closing circle with one word from each participant. Though a little short and rushed, we did what we needed to do in this time. Next time would want at least 4 hours. 3rd Day - Instead of voting, which I have always hated, we did an Affinity process. Put all the topic titles (29) on small pieces of paper with tape. Gave instructions that people were to move the titles to groupings. Papers can be moved more than once, someone may move a topic and then someone else come along and move it again, and again, and again. Several times the topics were organized into 3, 4, 5 or more groupings. This was done in silence. Trick is "knowing" where to stop. We could have stopped several times, and there was some dissenion about stopping when we did. But it turned out well, with the 29 topics narrowed down to 5 or 6. Two big groups, one medium sized and 2 small. Each group was given one hour to figure out 1) Who was to carry the group on as convenor(s); 2) What are action steps (based on you know what to do, you need more information, you have no clue) 3) When the group would meet next. The closing circle was awesome, just awesome. It felt like a mystical experience to me, with one person even saying that he could hear our hearts beating in unison. I am so grateful to be doing this work.
