Hi, all
Thank you all for this practical-theoretical discussion.
I always have done it with grid.
Why? No reason, I had not even thought about it.
It seemed "natural" to me. I am a physicist by my original academic
training.
So this not-thinking seems to have been triggered by that (secondary )
"nature" of mine.
So I started thinking now and I will myself do the step from
"rectangular grid order" towards "letting the pattern emerge".
In two weeks I'll do my next os-facilitation in Bruxelles ...
Bernd
Bernd Weber
web...@gmx.at / skypename: syswitz//Austria landline +431 5968657/
mobile +43 664 1354828//Sri Lanka landline +94 11 2799081/mobile +94
71 6090838
Am 05.08.2009 um 02:32 schrieb Lisa Heft:
Hi, all.
I love this sharing of experiences about grid versus zero grid
versus things in-between.
I tried out a grid some years ago and used it for a few times,
thinking it reduced a step (zero post-its - you simply bring your
topic sheet up to the wall and place it). And then I stopped
because of a few impressions: It implied a finite number of topics
(when in my further experience I know now to always have a few
additional discussion spaces 'in my back pocket' to pull out if the
wall fills up - I like the 'no limits to the number of topics
possible' idea). I noticed also that if a very few number of topics
went up sometimes that would make a group feel 'we didn't do enough'
- and we all know that creativity and passionate discussion need not
be measured by 'how many'. And: and here is something I also do
when working with groups not in Open Space - a grid / lines have
people thinking a bit more on a linear basis, and often it can be
very useful / help the brain think in different ways if everything
is not on straight lines. They see relationships and patterns
differently - as Harrison would say, they feel it differently, too.
So I thought about how to help those visual learners who seek
patterns. Without intervening in their process at the wall. I went
back to zero grid, and instead, I used colors.
Imagine the 'blank' agenda wall has across it, way up high on the
wall, the discussion time zone signs (10:00-11:00) - let's say that
one is on *pink* paper.
The post-its that match that time zone (yes, i'm back to post-its
because it engages folks in interaction and thought) are also in
pink, to match.
The 11-12:00 time zone sign is in blue. And so are the corresponding
post-its.
All folks have to do is place the corresponding topic / color under
the time zone color. And the wall fills up - not linear, but
clustered, and you can see what's happening in each session time -
either by color or by the writing.
So as the groups go through their discussions - after the 10-11:00
discussion is over, the newsroom coordinator or I pull all the
10-11:00 topic signs off the wall. It's a great way to help the
newsroom coordinator organize / track which notes are coming into
the Newsroom, things like that. Participants - including new
participants - can always see what discussions are currently in
session, just by looking at the wall. In fact participants say
things to newly-arrived folks like "we're currently in the orange
discussion session" just as much as pointing to the time. And yes:
they help each other.
So, to me, this inclusion of color helps those visually-oriented
people, while at the same time keeps the non-linear nature. And
brings some more lovely color into the room, which is an additional
benefit in the 'not like your normal meeting' environment.
Okay. So having said all this, I invite you, dear colleagues, to
experiment to see how you feel about the two approaches, if you have
not already done so. Or note your experience when you participate
in another facilitator's Open Space with a different set-up than
yours. See what you notice.
My hope is that any variations, adjustments or changes in the tools
we use (Open Space and otherwise) are done with thoughtfulness about
who we are serving, and what our adjustment does to the living
system, what it affects, improves or impacts - rather than a
projection of our own anxiety ("will the chaos unsettle them?""will
this group be unlike other groups of humans?").
By the way - a few years ago I consulted with some international
teams doing conflict transformation work using Open Space in
Northern Iraq, East Timor, Lebanon... exploring how this tool can be
used in such hot zone situations. My dear colleague Dr. Zach Metz
feels that using a grid - when literally, bombs are exploding right
outside the doorway - can give people a sense that - at least in
this room, in this time we are together - there is a frame - a
container, bringing down the exterior chaos by just a notch, as we
create a safe space together.
Lisa
Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Opening Space
lisah...@openingspace.net
www.openingspace.net
Join me for the Open Space Learning Workshops
August 5-7 and December 9-11, San Francisco
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