In a message dated 3/24/05 9:34:12 PM, [email protected] writes:
> But I also > recognize that is a great challenge for me to make that client more open, > step by step, word by word, conversation by conversation an perhaps, more > sooner than later we will be initiating an OST event. Too much persistence? > What does the rest of you in the list think about this? > > I do not want to talk the clients into agreeing to something they do not really want to support. But I want them to see the great possibilities that Open Space offers, before they say "Yes" or "No." I was in a meeting talking about Open Space conferences with the management team of an organization. The associate director asked if there were any conditions where Open Space was known not to work. I replied that it would not work if the leaders wanted to keep control over the outcomes. "Well, now I know what my challenge will be, because I want to be in control. But what we are doing now is not working well enough. I want to try Open Space, and learn to work that way." I thought this was an honest and courageous statement. The management team decided to begin with an Open Space conference, and let the rest emerge from that. We worked together for a year, everyone learned a lot, and the project accomplished just what they had hoped. You are right--this is the kind of client I want to work with! If you have a client who is unwilling to learn, I doubt that they will be open enough for an Open Space to succeed. If the client is willing to learn, then I think your step by step, word by word strategy might work. Thanks for sharing these heartfelt questions--and your english is easy to understand, without the dictionary. Joelle Everett Shelton, Washington, USA * * ========================================================== [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
