Jeff, Thank you for your story. I can see great benefits in the practice of creating a fresh bulletin board based on individual commitments, then grouping these to form action groups. I also like the idea of sticky-dots as a reflective process, as raw material for fresh commitments rather than as a mechanical tool for prioritization.
My question is: How important is it for action groups to report back to the circle? What are the pros and cons of such reporting compared to simply a Talking Circle closing? Chris Weaver ---------- >From: Jeff Aitken <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Subject: [OSLIST] OS case study >Date: Wed, Sep 6, 2000, 5:24 AM > > 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 * * ========================================================== [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
