I'll give this more thought, but for me, OS is all about passion and responsibility and so is the list...which makes me ask Juanita why she doesn't join us here!
:-) Chris On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 18:24:24 -0800, Lisa Heft <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Thanks for asking these marvelous questions. And my warm regards to you, > Juanita, whom I finally got to meet at the (US) National Dialogue and > Deliberation Conference in October. I LOVED experiencing World Cafe through > your kind and thoughtful facilitation. > > > > Here are my answers to add to this rich mix of questions and answers: > > > > What has enabled the Open Space listserv to flourish? > > > > I am thrilled to say that it reflects the principles and law of Open Space > and I suspect that our individual understanding of these principles and law > help us to thrive on this list and help this list to thrive. And the fact > that we all share this same knowledge and repeat it may indeed help us > collectively hold space for this list. No moderator (one of the most > fabulous parts of this list) – all is welcome because one can always > exercise the Law of Two Feet (played out here as the Law of Delete). > Passion bounded by responsibility. Again, Open Space has named these things > and we all hold these things and many of us live our lives in these ways. > So this community, as diverse as it may be, does hold a common language, as > it were. > > > > Speaking of that (in any tongue), any language is welcome. Periodically > someone pops in with a message in non-English and answers spring forth. > > > > Any level is welcome. From 'gee this is my first help me breathe' to folks > who have done many and diverse Open Spaces, all asking for wisdom from the > group / all offering wisdom to the group. > > > > It's free, with open membership. > > > > It offers instant gratification. Voices in the dark, wee hours of the night > get heard by one or some of us somewhere in the world. > > > > It's loving. Really in the truest sense: folks are generous with ideas, > materials, support. People demonstrate open hearts and minds. > > > > It doesn't break a lot (rare that it has technical problems). > > > > It helps one connect to one's tribe... > > > > I don't suspect that anyone feels that it's their 'job' to keep the > community going – so that it's up to everyone and has ebbs and flows, > breathes in and out with whatever anyone wants to put into it. > > > > In what ways has the listserv helped the Open Space community of practice to > evolve? > > > > New ideas are written out clearly – experiments are shared – so it's easy > (with a deep breath sometimes) to try (for example) different forms of > convergence, or action planning through reopening space towards the end of > an event, or doing OS with people who are more oral (who have greater > challenges reading), or documenting OSs in different ways, and so on. > > > > Folks generate new ways to gather information, ask new questions, share new > information (OS and Appreciative Inquiry, researching the impact of OS on > organizations, and so on). > > > > Folks get a bit of a sense for each other, so perhaps that helps when some > folks want to collaborate with others they've not worked with before – > still, they have a sense for style, approach, values they may share (or > which may nicely contrast with each other). > > > > As we're as experienced as our 'on-the-ground' experience *plus* our shared > stories, an OS practitioner of any level or with any specific experience can > say to a potential client not 'gee, I've never done OS in that > industry/setting/culture/etc.' but instead own the collective experience of > the group and say 'yes OS has been done in that > industry/setting/culture/etc.' and therefore be invited into a new > experience but with client faith and a while tribe of people sharing wisdom > if/as needed for that particular instance/variation/approach/situation. So > individual practitioners evolve and share stories and learnings with each > other, thus evolving the whole OS community of practice. > > > > As a means of communication it's also a means for sharing materials, lesson > plans, designs and more. > > > > Any question can be asked into cyberspace and answers just come floating in > in delightful ways. > > > > In what ways has it affected you and your own practice to evolve? > > > > I've found (and been found by) event partners, gotten (and given) materials > translated into different languages, announced my workshops, met new people > who share the same heart, learned about different cultural approaches, > wondered out loud, asked, answered and in answering have learned more, built > a library of materials and resources to share with others, become a > specialist and a member of a world community of professionals, friends, > homestay hosts (!), play partners and more. I am an independent and like > Peggy and others mentioned, feel I have the power and support of an > international consulting group behind me. I can refer people to clients if > I cannot do a job and know that those clients are in great hands. I've been > able to teach learners of OS and potential clients of OS about this method > through the words and pictures of others so that the 'voice' is global and > diverse and speaks to everyone. > > > > What wishes do you have for the list's future? > > > > I would love to see more people sharing their toughest OSs, largest, > smallest, strangest, most surprising, what you tried that didn't work and > what you learned for next time – I LOVE when you all do that and I learn so > much. I promise to do better at sharing my own stories in the near future – > I promise you the story of my toughest OS ever (so far), by the way. Coming > soon to a computer monitor near you... > > > > I look forward to it continuing to be loving, changing, rich, diverse, open, > shifting. > > > > I hope the people who get the Digest form have an easier time of it (seems > as if it's awkward at sporadic times for some of you on Digest with lengths > of combined messages or switching in or out of Digest, from your periodic > emails...) > > > > I hope the archive is a bit easier to navigate in future (such as links > changing color after you explore them and go back to the list of links) – I > build a lot of papers out of our combined words to share with you on my > website and elsewhere and it's a challenge during the research phase of > these papers. > > > > I hope it lives and breathes as nicely as it is and has been doing with > co-created community. > > > > I hope those of you who listen and do not post feel just fine doing so – any > communication has the partnership of voicing and witnessing and both are > precious. I also love it when I see a new voice and hear familiar folks pop > back in when they've been gone for awhile. > > > > I love the poetry 'contests' (hmm...non-competitive name possible? > 'flurries'?) > > > > I love all the ways that we continuously hold the principles and law to > heart even as we read and write or emails to each other. > > > > I love the trust that folks share their thoughts with an unseen community of > and with faith toss out butterflies of thought into cyberspace without > having to own them. > > > > - - - > > I love that you're so patient with my long messages – or maybe you have > already used the Law of Delete ! > > > > Take care, all, and thanks for asking, Juanita and Peggy. Cheers to all > from rainy Berkeley, California, > > > > Lisa > > > ________________________________ > > > > L i s a H e f t > > Consultant, Facilitator, Educator > > O p e n i n g S p a c e > > 2325 Oregon > > Berkeley, California > > 94705-1106 USA > > +01 510 548-8449 > > [email protected] > > www.openingspace.net > > > > > > * * ========================================================== > [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, > unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > [email protected]: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about > OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * > * ========================================================== > [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, > unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of > [email protected]: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about > OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist -- ------------------------- CHRIS CORRIGAN Consultation - Facilitation Open Space Technology Weblog: http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot Site: http://www.chriscorrigan.com * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
