Dear Lisa,
I stumbled myself with the notion that open space, as some other tools,
is a tool for generating ideas. Generating ideas is not a bad idea and
it may happen, too, in open space. What I have observed repeatedly is
that OST expands time and space for the unfolding of the forces of
selforganisation, something I have not observed so overtly with any
other approach.
The "signs" for me, aside from generating ideas (come ot think of it, I
have rarely seen just "ideas" generated in open space but rather stuff
such as action) are:
-navigating in a complex environment
-investing in community
-leading (one, several, all, some at one time, others at other times)
-taking action
-striking deals
-collaborating
-
-
Granted, all this stuff happens in every day life (ungoing open space)
but it does come in a deluge in OST settings I have experienced.
I also stumbled myself with the notion of overwhelmed clients. Maybe the
client as a person (like the guy who pays my fee) is occasionally
overwhelmed, frustrated, full of fear of losing control etc. but the
"system" (assembled body, group) I never find overwhelmed, seems it can
navigate slews of raw data or whatever we find to be overwhelming with ease.
I often get the sense, that facilitators are overwhelmed, especially
when I see this happen to me. Its a wonderful sign telling me to step
back, take a break, get out of the way, not mess with selforganisation...
Cheers, see you in London in October!
mmp
PS: By the way, any rumors on where the WOSonOS in 2013 will be? (If I
recollect the sacred rules, its supposed to be neither in Europe nor in
the Americas but in "another" place)
On 08.02.2012 03:38, Lisa Heft wrote:
/No matter what version of brainstorming happens the end result is
raw data. The next steps are super critical: stepping back looking
for emerging patterns and organizing to see what the picture is once
you take into account the group's resources vs. the impact. /
Well said, Kas. And not all of that may happen in the same event - it
may serve to step away for a time to allow for some reflection and
integration of the data before stepping back to look for emerging patterns.
Whether using Open Space, kinesthetic modeling, mind-mapping or other
tools for generating ideas around issues and opportunities.
Too often I have seen some process or design used for a meeting without
connection to what comes just before, what follows, and how the
information generated will be used - including things like context,
culture, and organizational capacity.
I think most of this becomes apparent in the pre-work as long as we do
not look too narrowly just at our own event in the chain of things...
I have also seen good rich fabulous raw data generated and the client
has been overwhelmed.
I think that this too can be helped with thoughtful pre-work - knowing
the realities and capacities of an organization or community to use what
comes out of an Open Space (or other) event can help us not overwhelm an
organization with new info but instead to design documentation - or
different ways to group or look at the documentation - so it is useful
both to participants and to the hosting organization both immediately
and long after the event.
I look forward to hearing others' experiences...
Lisa
Lisa Heft
Consultant, Facilitator, Educator
Fellow, Columbia University Center for International Conflict Resolution
Opening Space
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
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