Folks: I have used Open Space in a variety of ways in what have been called "strategic planning" processes. If the whole group is to develop a "shared preferred future" or even a senior team before involving others I use a more guided process which has elements of traditional strategic planning. I call it "Engaged Strategic Discernment", and folks can get some of the information they need for a traditional plan from the processes that lead up to or follow Open Space events. I think that appreciating the story, clarifying strategic assumptions, articulating mission and vision need to be guided in some organizations as the writing of the final strategic plan, with vision, strategic directions and measurable indicators. The space can be opened at many points along the way and then opened again on specific aspects. Open Space can generate the vision, strategic directions, the elements of a strategic plan, specific implementation strategies flowing in and out of more guided meetings. I often use similar questions and approaches of Future Search to set the context for opening space in a "planning" process. Opening the space gets to engaged planning where intent to act and commitment emerge as actually more important than the plan specfics that end up on paper. Meg Wheatly talks about the importance of planning being the building of a community that can respond to unexpected situations. I suggest it needs to be a "community of intent". I think that governments are the hardest group to work with in this regard because they (at least in Canada) are still adopting the last trend even if the evidence is that it doesn't work well (Mintzberg).
Larry Larry Peterson Associates in Transformation 41 Appleton Ave., Toronto, ON, Canada, M6E 3A4 Tel:/Fax: 416-653-4829 [email protected] http://www.inforamp.net/~lpasoc
