Somehow OSLIST munched the formatting of the piece I just sent rendering it (to me) basically unreadable. So I thought I would try again.
**************************** DO YOU LONG FOR WIDE OPEN SPACES? Want to get some real work done? Forget meetings. Throw out the agendas prepared in lengthy meetings that are never followed. Scrap the PowerPoints and flowcharts and make your next meeting an "un-meeting" with open space technology. That's the advice of Harrison Owen, the originator of "open space technology" and the author of Open Space Technology: A User's Guide (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 3rd Edition, Spring 2008). Owen, along with 85 other "brave" souls, originated the open space concept back in 1985 at the Third Annual International Symposium on Organization Transformation, held in Monterey, Calif. When participants arrived at the event, the only things they knew were when it would start, when it would end and what the general theme of the conference might be. There was no agenda and no planning committee, and the only facilitator in evidence disappeared after several hours. The 85 participants sat in a circle. As each person determined that he had some area of exploration he would like to pursue, he wrote a brief description on a small placard, announced his topic to the group, posted the placard on the wall and sat down. When no further topics were posted, the original proposers determined the time and place for meeting, and anybody interested in a particular topic signed up. That was it. Two-and-a-half hours later, an agenda for a three-day event had been completely planned, including multiple workshops -- all with conveners, times, places and participants. The result? Excellence, profound accomplishment, and breakthrough learning, according to Owen and thousands of others, who have been facilitating open space gatherings at conferences and within organizations for 23 years. To date, Open Space has been used in excess of 100,000 times in 134 countries. The actual process has changed little, if at all, over the years. However the necessary "start-up" time has fallen to somewhere between and hour and an hour and a half, even with groups of 2000 and more. Training Executive Exchange recently spoke to him about how open space can be put to work by trainers and managers within their own organizations - either as an alternative to meetings or as an alternative to training itself: TEE: If trainers want to use their money wisely, should they spend less time organizing, planning and designing instruction and more time gathering employees together in open space environments? Owen: I think so, and so would thousands of my colleagues, but I am sure others would disagree. It seems that some people actually enjoy all the organizing, planning and designing even though no meeting or conference ever ran the way it was supposed to. Somehow or another, the schedule slipped, the agenda was not followed, and that careful design had to be revised multiple times during the course of the gathering. A worst case scenario, which actually happened to me 25 years ago - after spending one full year in the planning/design process, the great occasion occurred and everybody (myself included) found the best parts happened in the coffee breaks. So much for one year's effort! But I learned something. Forget all the rest -- just have one big coffee break. And that is precisely the genesis of Open Space Technology. TEE: Say I want to try using open space at my company. Are there "right" conditions for doing so? Owen: Open space is appropriate in any situation where there is a real business issue to be solved marked by high levels of complexity, in terms of the issues to be resolved, high levels of diversity in terms of the people needed to solve it, high levels of conflict (potential or actual), and a decision time of yesterday. Given these conditions, open space is not only appropriate, but always seems to work. I should also note that size is irrelevant. Open space works with groups of all kinds, ranging in size from five to 2,000-plus. Having said all that, it is important to specify what "works" means. If "works" means that the group will create and pursue its own agenda in multiple task groups without any facilitator intervention - I have never seen a situation where that did not take place. If "works" means the group will arrive at some useful conclusions, which usually have never been thought of before - my answer would be the same. However, if "works" means that 5 years after the event, everything is going swimmingly, I think the jury is still out on that one. TEE: How might these "right" conditions apply to determining whether open space is an appropriate alternative to a given training program? Owen: If the specified conditions are present, the decision to use Open Space or some other approach (Future Search, Realtime Strategic change, and to some extent Appreciative Inquiry, to name a few) seems to depend largely on the style and comfort levels of the sponsor and the facilitator. If both these individuals are prepared to fully trust the people involved to responsibly pursue the issue at hand, and genuinely believe that the people on the firing line are probably the only ones who fully understand that issue and the best ones to find a solution - then Open Space is the obvious choice, I think. On the other hand, if there are some reservations, small or large, then some other approach would probably be in order. There is an old mantra: Trust the Process! In the case of Open Space that trust would seem to be warranted, given the global experience. But personally, I think there is another mantra which is even more important: Trust the People. TEE: What are the benefits of open space, in your estimation? Owen: Open space creates an environment that allows diverse, often conflicted groups of people to manage hugely complex issues in minimal amounts of time, with no advance agenda preparation, and little, to no, overt facilitation. Typically, by the conclusion of a gathering, the following has been accomplished: * Every issue of concern to anybody had been laid upon the table. * All issues were discussed to the extent that anybody cared to do that. * A full written record of all discussions existed and was in the hands of all participants. * All issues were ranked in priority order. * Critical "focal issues" had been isolated and next-step actions identified for their resolution. TEE: Say I'm holding an open space gathering. How do I get participants on board with the concept? Owen: If by "get the participants on board" you mean how you get things moving, the answer is almost ridiculously simple. Invite the people to sit in a circle, post their issues of concern on a bulletin board (usually a large wall), negotiate time, space, participant arrangement in a market place - and go to work. And for the facilitator, it is time to get out of the way. I usually go for a good walk or take a nap. On the other hand, if what you mean is how to convince participants to use the concept - my answer is - I never try. Prior to the gathering when meeting with the client/sponsor, I am quite happy to describe the process (see above) and outline the global experience (100,000+ iterations, 134 countries, 23 years, for purposes including designing buildings, peacemaking in the Middle East, corporate strategic planning). But they will have to choose if it is right for them. The simple fact of the matter is that what happens in Open Space violates virtually every principle and practice I know of in terms of the organization of meetings, indeed organization itself. It is often perceived as counter-intuitive and wrong. Explanations under these conditions usually make the situation worse. And I certainly make no attempt to "explain" Open Space when starting an actual event. It usually takes 15 minutes, or less, to bring the group from passively sitting in a circle to overt, self-initiated action. From that point on, the role of the facilitator is minimal to invisible. More to the point, explanations are no longer necessary. Why explain when the people are already at work? I grant that all of this may seem very cavalier, but over the years I have discovered that most people, with the exception of strange people such as ourselves (facilitators and trainers) - are not interested in process. They want results. And when the results start to come in, they are even less interested. I must also confess that I have become profoundly interested in the question: Why/How does Open Space work? In the beginning I had to admit, there was nothing in my prior experience, or knowledge of the organizational literature which suggested that it could work. But it did. More recently, the Open Space experience has become a wonderful natural experiment into which I have serendipitously fallen. The answer, I think, has everything to do with what we are now learning about self organizing systems. I have written a number of books on the subject, and for the curious, clients or participants, I am always happy to share. If you want more information you might check out my website www.openspaceworld.com of the website of the Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org TEE: Are there any absolute no-nos that those interested in doing something like this should keep in mind? Owen: Relinquish control: The only way to bring an open space gathering to its knees is to attempt to organize and control it. Don't do it! Open Space Technology works because self-organization works. Organizing a self-organizing system is not only an oxymoron; it is also frustrating, non-productive, and a real pain. So relax, and stop working so hard. www.trainingsummit.com Want to learn more about open space technology? See it in action for yourself at Training magazine's upcoming Training Leadership Summit. The event, which gathers together an exclusive group of senior in-house training professionals, is slated for May 4-7 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, Calif. An entire day of the conference (May 6) will feature open space, with Owen himself as the facilitator. To learn more or to register, visit www.trainnigsummit.com. Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org Personal website www.ho-image.com OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html> * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
