The other day I had a participant in an Open Space-meeting telling me that she had a not so good experience in something called Open Space where the facilitator used an alarm-clock I guess to tell participants when it was over and on top of that the alarm went off every now and then so it seemed not even the alarm-clock could be managed... That participant, by the way, signed up for our upcoming training in October...
One thing I do is to provide participants with an invitation to start with a round at hte start of each session. That gives everyone the opportunity to use his/her voice directly and share what thoughts they brought to the session why they chose to come and also presenting their name to the workgroup. My experience is that this adds to the conversation and highlights that there is such richness in the group straight at the start of their meeting. Ive personally experienced working sessions in Open Space where one or a few people in the group occupied the space talking and talking and of course yes I used my feet... Cheers Thomas Herrmann _____ Från: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] För Jack Ricchiuto Skickat: den 8 april 2009 22:22 Till: [email protected] Ämne: Re: [OSLIST] Bad OS experiences Thanks Harrison, and I resonate with the "no bad open space" experience because it always does in a community exactly what it can to reveal, heal, evoke, provoke and connect. It may not satisfy obsessions with speed and scale, but often delights the tenders of organic growth. With gratitude, Jack -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- DesigningLife.com On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 3:36 PM, Harrison Owen <[email protected]> wrote: How wonderful to return to find BAD OPEN SPACE! I didn't know there was any, and truthfully, I never met an Open space I didn't like. But then again I am biased. My own experience is that as long as the conditions are OK (Real business issue, voluntary self-selection, lots of diversity, lots of complexity, real passion/confusion, and a decision time of yesterday) and the procedure followed (sit in circle, create bulletin board, open market place, go to work) just about everything comes out perfect. Does that mean that everybody is 100% happy? Have they ever been? -- and if not, why now? The president of a company whose employees decided to dissolve the company; he was un-happy. Control freaks that were sure that their way was the only way -- they were unhappy. People who suffer from Freedom Shock pretty well go out of their gourds. People who think so little of themselves that they permit the blowhards of this world to brow beat them without employing the Law of Two Feet are definitely unhappy -- and must also understand that they alone are responsible for their misery. Neither Open Space nor anything else will turn raving idiots into towering Einsteins for silk purses do not ordinarily come from sow's ears -- and that is a bad rap on sows! Goodness me -- we have problems. But are those problems attributable to Open Space? All of that said most people, most places, most of the time find the ordinary to be extraordinary, the mundane to be magnificent. Just an average day in Open Space, relishing the wonderful world of self organization -- which truthfully is the only world we have. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training 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 -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Elisabeth Tepperk Kofod Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 2:14 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Bad OS experiences I believe the key is in preparing the right question or issue. Elisabeth Tepper Kofod Venezuela -----Mensaje original----- De: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] En nombre de Larry Peterson Enviado el: miércoles, 08 de abril de 2009 10:52 a.m. Para: [email protected] Asunto: Re: [OSLIST] Bad OS experiences Bui: In Toronto, I've also experienced some people who were not happy with their experience of open space. Some people prefer the sense that somebody is in control of a meeting (particularly in Canada). Others, particularly in healthcare, who are used to dominating get upset when they are not able to do that. To me a critical component is the preparation of the sponsor by the facilitator. This is especially important in smaller groups from my experience. How they frame the space that is opened before the facilitator asks the question has a big impact on the sense of freedom that participants have or do not have. It is also important to have enough time in open space to get beyond the usual suspects shaping the discussion particularly when the culture of the group has not encouraged participation in the past. Certainly the setup of the room and the breakout spaces particularly in smaller group have a real impact. A clear articulation of be done with the results is also critical. I have led many open space events of 15 or fewer people that were lively, new ideas emerging, new leadership surfacing, over six hours to two days. Some individuals, however, are not quite ready to be full participants in riding waves. They only find this out in the experience of open space. Larry Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation Toronto, Ontario, Canada [email protected] 416.653.4829 http://www.spiritedorg.com -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bui Petersen Sent: April-08-09 10:11 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [OSLIST] Bad OS experiences Hi everyone, Having almost settled in living in St. John's, Newfoundland, I am looking for opportunities to open space. It is a slow process to introduce something that people are not familiar with, especially as I am new in a town where everyone seems to know each other. My question is, what do you do in cases where you meet people who HAVE been exposed to OST but did not have a good experience. My wife for one participated in one OS forum, and she is not at all convinced. Her experience was that the usual suspects did all the talking and those that usually are quiet, stayed that way. I wasn't there myself, but from what I gather there may have been some factors that contributed to this such as, the size of the group (only 15), the breakout spaces had tables and a couple of other factors. Nevertheless, my wife is not convinced it could have been much different. What do you more experienced think is a play? My own experience is limited so I'm not sure what to say about this. Is it the case that some OS events just don't have the right energy and don't work out that well? If so, what can you do to make people consider doing it again? The best I have come up with is that even if OST may not be perfect, it is better than most other things I have tried. Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks, Bui Petersen * * ========================================================== [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 * * ========================================================== [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 * * ========================================================== [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
