Just completed a very successful open space over the weekend. I'll tell you about it.
Remember my question about elephantine post-its? You all sent seven other suggestions for alternatives to regular masking tape which could not be used on the painted walls of the rooms. The building manager said he would accept blue painter's masking tape, so we used that. It was fine; all the newsprint agenda items stayed up all weekend; only a few of the heavier 2x3 foot posterboards, on which the proceedings were written, fell down overnight. This was a network of theatre groups, many of whom were joining the network for the first time. We began Friday night with an evening of introductions to one another and to the intent of the conference. Saturday was a full day of open space with "evening news" and then two wonderful performances in a local theatre! The group of 50 people created 19 different agenda items. Sunday began with "morning announcements" and a morning session and a working lunch. By the end of the working lunch, every one of the participants was in the same breakout room deeply engaged in a conversation about the future of the network. It was not "over" until nearly 3 pm! I had planned to begin the convergence/synthesis by 2 pm, but I decided not to interfere in the obvious self-organizing energy of the group. It's a special treat when convergence begins to happen "by itself" - such has taken place a few times in my experience of two-day open spaces. I posted my convergence/synthesis design on the listserv awhile ago, as well as on Chris Corrigan's tmn.com website conversation. What we ended up doing was just a bit different. I invited each participant into a silent, meditative walk around the main room to read the proceedings (the posterboards were hung on the walls, all around the room). I gave them seven sticky dots each and invited them to "offer their guidance to the network - or the leadership of the network - for the coming year...if resources are limited, where shall it place its priorities?" I emphasized that every topic was valuable and could be followed up - but we were offering guidance in case of limited resources. I taped a sheet of typing paper to the bottom of each posterboard, so that a participant could place their dots on specific notes on the posterboard or on the sheet if they wished to select the entire topic. The process was smooth, and as the last person made their selections I invited volunteers to count the dots on each posterboard and write the number on the sheet. (The numbers, along with all of the notes, were transcribed on a laptop to be distributed by email to all participants. The posterboards were eventually taken by the steering committee so that the dotted items could be transcribed.) They returned to a large circle. I invited any reflections on the dot process; there were a few, appreciating the quiet reflective tone. We then moved into the next phase. I invited them to create a new bulletin board: to identify any action which they would individually commit to take in the coming year which would be of service to the network. It could be something they would do anyway and could be made helpful to others. I emphasized that there were no expectations; it was completely voluntary. We used typing paper sized sheets, and participants posted them on a fresh wall space. Nearly every participant posted something. I asked them to find common themes and to make clusters of these similar activities; we gave each cluster a short title and taped the title above. We ended up with seven clusters. Each cluster became an action group, and I sent them into different breakout spaces with the assignment to return with a list of their names, a contact person, a plan of action, and a next step. The groups met for 20-40 minutes and the energy was palpable. The seven groups then reported back to the large circle. Unfortunately we were reaching brain overload by this time. It seemed important to hear the reports, but I don't know how much was actually retained by others. There were a few questions and comments people seemed content with a job well done. And it was nearly 5 pm, time to leave the premises. I led a quick, hands-held closing circle. One person led a funny song, we looked around the circle and appreciated each other, and we broke to clean the room before dinner. I was concerned about completing the Open Space without a more reflective circle; but they were gathering after dinner for two more performances, and many were meeting the next day to organize next year's festival. So I trusted that they would say their goodbyes and find their completion before they flew away. I come away liking the combination of dot-voting on the proceedings, and creating a fresh bulletin board for action flowing out of the event. The action reports were also transcribed into the laptop for distribution. Thanks again for helpful (and in some cases unforgettable...) suggestions from the list. Jeff - Jeff Aitken Facilitator of Open Space Process Inverness CA USA 415.669.1924 415.669.7732 fax service [email protected] ...the universe is made of stories, not of atoms. (Muriel Rukeyser) * * ========================================================== [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected] Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html =========================================================== [email protected] To subscribe, 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign up -- provide an email address, and choose a login ID and password 3. Click on "Subscribe" and follow the instructions To unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: 1. Visit: http://www.egroups.com/group/oslist 2. Sign in and Proceed
