Sorry...I forgot to put a subject line and it came back to me...here it
is again.
Hi everyone...
I've been "listening" to the conversation intently as it has unfolded,
both the earlier conversation on the Open Space Listserv which several
European folks referred us to, as well as to the most recent sequence
following the wonderful Evolutionary Salon that Peggy and I (and
others) helped to host. I'm hopeful, Harrison, that you have by now
received the gift copy of our recent book (also published by Berrett
Koehler!) which helps to frame the living systems underpinnings of
the World Cafe and honors the incredible contribution that Open Space
has made over the last two decades. I offer these reflections in the
spirit of learning with and from others on this listserv about the
unique individual and combined contributions of the World Cafe and
Open Space.
I think, as do many of our other colleagues who use a variety of
conversational and collaborative learning approaches, that the World
Cafe and Open Space are extremely compatible. I completely understand
Harrison's concerns with "structure" and "control"--wanting to offer
participants the full freedom to self-organize from the get go. At
the same time, even self-organization requires "initiatiing
conditions" to be successful, which, as I have seen with Open Space
over the years, are extremely carefully set and followed throughout an
Open Space gathering. Peggy Holman beautifully exercised these during
the Evolutionary Salon, creating both the physical spaces, the
expectations, the sign-ups, the clarity of the "laws/principles," and
the discipline of the reporting processes (both written in terms of
the report back sheets and oral in the reflection circles).
Each of these processes, as well as others which have been discussed
on the list, have their strengths and limitations, depending on their
purpose. The World Cafe is especially useful when:
1) you have a limited amount of time (ie as little as 1 1/2 to 2 hours)
2) a lot of people (we've worked with 1200)
3) questions that matter to the people gathered, that they either they
frame themselves or that a representative sub-group has helped to
shape (at least initially)
4) the intention to build community, strengthen relationships and
engage everyone's unique contribution and voice using both verbal and
visual modalities (even the timid or less verbal ones).
5) you want to access collective intelligence based on discovering
patterns of meaning in emergent, unexpected ways that come from the
intentional rapid cross-pollination of diverse perspectives and ideas.
While World Cafe and Open Space share many, although not all, of these
intentions in common, the design of the World Cafe creates what we'd
call a "conversational greenhouse" focused on the extremely rapid
propagation of actionable knowledge (we consider inquiry as integral
to actionable knowledge ). The World Cafe design intentionally
fosters people's rapid capacity to see patterns and "sense the whole"
rather than be focused primarily on the part of the whole that their
personal passion initially leads them to. Once people have this
awareness, they begin so see how their own passion (taking
responsibility for what you love) might connect to the larger whole in
a very embodied way. We find that the World Cafe intentionally creates
an "inquiring system" through the disciplined use of questions (not
topics or issues) as well as creatively cross-pollinating ideas in
varied ways that enable people to feel, literally, the "whole system
thinking together" in a very short period of time.
We find that World Cafe helps to ease the "freedom shock" that
Harrison and others describe, while still giving the space for
emergence and surprise. I have to admit that perhaps my "nurturing
side" welcomes the opportunity to support people in feeling
comfortable in the early phases of a gathering, which is why we create
the Cafe ambiance when that is possible and appropriate. We find
that the combination of focus (carefully setting the context, the
disciplined use of questions and the intentional patterns of
cross-pollination) create a different (not better, just different)
type of collaborative learning that many people seem to find useful as
they enter this world of emergence--and even more useful when combined
with complimentary approaches like Open Space and an appreciative
stance.
Our goal in Cafe conversations is for people to experience themselves
being an integral part of a living web/network of relational thinking
and of experiencing conversation itself as a co-evolutionary force for
accessing co-intelligence on behalf of life affirming futures and the
conscious evolution of social systems. So, perhaps the key learning
goals of World Cafe and Open Space are somewhat different....but still
complimentary in my humble opinion.
I'd love to learn about others experiences when they've designed
meetings or gatherings in which both Open Space and the World Cafe
were effectively engaged together to create generative outcomes.
I've responded to Alan's questions below in caps...and welcome our
exploring these questions together among colleagues who are using
both approaches and want to learn with and from each other.
Fondly,
Juanita
On May 31, 2005, at 5:08 PM, Alan Stewart wrote:
G'day Peggy and All
It's wonderful indeed to have the comprehensive account of your
observations and experience to complement Tom's enthralling report.
Maybe Juanita would wish to add her's too ...
Several queries for you Peggy:
. At what stage were the OS principles and law introduced to the
participants? Was this at the first evening circle or at the Open
Space the following afternoon? AT THE OPEN SPACE THE FOLLOWING
AFTERNOON
. Did you have any sense that issues/questions posted in Open Space
were related to those which emerged in the opening Cafe session? I
THINK THE WORLD CAFE SET A BROAD "FRAME" FOR THE INQUIRY IN A
MUTUALLY COMPASSIONATE WAY WHICH HONORED ALL OF THE DISCIPLINES AND
PERSPECTIVES BEING BROUGHT INTO THE ROOM--WHICH THEN ENABLED WHAT WE
CALL THE "MAGIC" TO BEGIN RIGHT FROM THE START AND "HOLD" THROUGHOUT
THE THREE DAYS. SINCE WE DID IT THE WAY WE DID, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER
THAT WOULD OR WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AS EASILY IN A SOLEY OPEN SPACE
FORMAT.
. You mentioned that you got to participate in the Cafe. I wonder if
Juanita did likewise in the Open Space? (I CERTAINLY DID AND LOVED
IT!)
. I wonder too if what you interpreted as 'freedom shock' was related
to the fact that participants did not know each other, whether or not
they came from different backgrounds. I ACTUALLY DIDN'T EXPERIENCE
THE PARTICIPANTS AS HAVING THE INTENSITY OF FREEDOM SHOCK I'VE
EXPERIENCED IN OTHER SETTINGS WHERE A NEW AND DIVERSE GROUP SIMPLY
JUMPED INTO AN OPEN SPACE EXPEERIENCE-USUALLY THE MORE LOUD OR
OUTGOING FOLKS ARE THE ONES WHO JUMP OUT FIRST IN OPEN SPACE--BUT
WHEN WE'VE COMBINED WORLD CAFE WITH OPEN SPACE THERE SEEMS TO BE A
MORE EVEN DISTRIBUTION IN THIS REGARD WHICH HAPPENS QUITE
NATURALLY--AND MAY (I'M NOT SURE) TAKE A SOMEWHAT LONGER TIME (FOR
THE LESS TALKATIVE/OUTGOING FOLKS WHO ARE RETICENT IN LARGE
GROUPS--PARTICULARLY IN OTHER CULTURES) IN OTHER OPEN SPACE SETTINGS
WHERE THE COMBINATION IS NOT USED.
I ask this because I have used the two processes in combination - in
the same order - with people from very diverse backgrounds and who
had encountered each other previously (they were members of a
leadership program). They did not manifest this kind of distress, at
least in my observation. Mind you some of them were quite taken aback
initially by the very notion of turning to face each other rather
than their accustomed experience of someone speaking to them!
With love
Alan
Hong Kong
----- Original Message -----
From: Peggy Holman
To: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 2:04 PM
Subject: The World Cafe meets Open Space
You've seen Tom Atlee's description of the recent "Evolutionary
Salon". Here are my reflections, mostly on the partnership between
TWC and OS.
We began our first evening in a circle with a check in, people
speaking to what attracted them to the Evolutionary Salon. We
described the process that we'd be using for the conference as a
living experiment in being an evolutionary social system. This let
us use our real time experience as a mirror for our learning.
The next morning, Juanita Brown took us into a World Cafe. I got to
participate. We focused on a question about our burning questions.
I think I had the honor of experiencing TWC at its very best.
Juanita is a master of her craft. When reflections were harvested at
the end of the session, people said they were touched by the
experience, discovering the feeling of connection to each other, the
synergy among their burning questions. They expressed excitement at
the sense of intimacy and kinship they felt.
I have to admit that as a participant, I felt as I did the last time
I experienced TWC: constrained by the expectation of staying at the
table. It was quite a contrast for me to hear the excitement of
others in the room!
We began the Open Space in the afternoon. Of course, people jumped
in with their sessions. They seemed to be doing just fine. Come the
closing circle, several people expressed distress at their
experience. One went so far as to ask if we could go back to the
comfort and intimacy of a cafe-like format. I thought to myself,
"freedom shock" is alive and well. The mix of people at the
conference included scientists and people of spirit. It seems there
was something of a clash of cultures going on in many of the
sessions. I just listened -- no defending, no fixing.
As is my practice in multiple day events (learned from Spirited
Work), the convening group met to reflect on how things were going
after the evening circle. The meeting was open to any who wished to
join us. A few people did. One wondered if we needed to do
something to "push the group" in the direction we wished them to go
(as if we knew what direction that was!). We discussed the fact
that the discomfort people experienced wasn't necessarily a bad
thing, that it provided an opportunity for something new to emerge.
I encouraged my nervous sponsors to trust that things were going just
fine.
That evening I found myself in a butterfly conversation with a couple
of people distressed by the "yang" energy they ran into, feeling
unsafe to express their "yin" selves. We talked at length about what
it means to take responsibility for what you love. They left the
conversation thinking about how to come fully present tomorrow in all
their "yin" glory.
The next morning, someone announced 3 new "yin" meeting
spaces. There was much laughter as people bantered about yin-ness
and yang-ness and its intersection. Turns out there had been LOTS of
butterfly conversations and those who had felt distressed, found
their way, dissipating the angst before it became a real issue. In
fact, from that point forward, the OS just flowed.
A reflection on how TWC affected the dynamic.
It was clear that people had a felt sense of community very quickly
through TWC. I think that the move into OS created that condition
that Harrison calls "freedom shock". It's possible that the contrast
heightened the shock. That said, I believe the sense of connection
created during TWC enabled those who were distressed to seek out the
friends they had made rather than completely check out (of course,
being in a remote location would have made it difficult to leave!).
I wonder if that is a benefit of a cafe prior to OS -- to create
relationships that might support people to stay engaged if they have
a tendency towards freedom shock?
THE TWC MEETS OS EXPERIMENT
The OS continued as usual over the next couple days. During our
preparation for the conference, the planning team (Tom Atlee, Michael
Dowd and myself) discussed the possibility of convening evening
sessions on "what are we learning?" On the third evening, Tom and I
decided that it would be useful to do so and that we'd do it using
"TWC meets the law of two feet".
Our session question: what patterns do you see emerging? About 12
people came. We started in groups of 4 with an agreement that we'd
come together as a whole to see what we'd uncovered in about an
hour. In the meantime, people were invited to stay or move as they
wished. As context, I said that we knew from the cafe
experience that patterns become visible quickly when people move
around periodically, so moving is useful. At Juanita's suggestion,
we had blank cards in the clusters so that groups could send an idea
to another group if they wanted. They could also send an emissary.
That was it. Basically, it was OS with groups of four discussing the
session topic. What happened was a kick. Two groups were quite
intent in their conversations, clearly not moving, just going deeper
and deeper. The third group eventually dissipated, a couple people
going to sleep, the others joining the two hot groups. And then
others started arriving. They just opted for one or the other of the
groups. The conversations were animated and intense. At one point,
the group I was in sent a card with an idea to the other group. In
all, I think about 20 people were there by the end of the evening.
After about an hour, we came together as one. First one group
described what they'd learned, then the other group did the same.
The second group mentioned that they used the idea they'd received on
the card. The remains of the original third group added their
thoughts into the mix. Llyn Peabody, new to graphic recording, but
clearly in her element, took notes, drawing an incredible visual map
of the weave of our stories. The result was electrifying and became
the basis for some breakthrough ideas the last day!
One side note -- someone said during the session that they often
looked for what was missing to understand a situation. I pointed out
that the yin/yang laughter in the morning signaled something rather
remarkable that was missing from our living experiment of an evolving
social system: angst. Rather than fragmenting into conflict, people
had transcended it. That drew a raised eyebrow or two as people
digested how the space had made room for conflict to be embraced with
grace.
A reflection on the TWC meets OS experiment
Next time I'm a participant in an OS and have a large group, I'd
likely split up again in this way. It was a great way to reflect on
our question when the group was large.
THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE
Juanita and I talked the next morning about our impressions of the
intersection of TWC and OS. We discussed several strengths of TWC --
creating a sense of community and uncovering patterns quickly.
Given my own biases, I wouldn't use TWC as an opener unless the
client had some specific situation that moved things that way.
I can imagine experimenting with doing an evening reflection with
people beginning in small groups. I can see this as a natural flow
of the energy as people wander in, talking together before
coming into a single circle. I think this could be a low key
transition that actually makes it easier to convene the evening
circle. By following the energy of people arriving for the close,
inviting them into reflection as they arrive rather than waiting for
everyone before beginning, I think something simple and useful could
occur.
Juanita suggested explicitly encouraging people post their sessions
in the form of questions. It made me smile when Harrison recently
posted:
I think of every Open Space gathering as a (potentially) question
rich environment. That is why I always suggest to people that they
phrase the theme as a question, as opposed to a statement.
Questions are certainly a place of coming together.
So, that's about all of my musings on this subject.
yours, on a warm evening in Seattle,
Peggy
_______________________________________
The World Café
Living Knowledge Through Conversations That Matter
http://www.theworldcafe.com
To subscribe to the World Café listserv send an email to:
theworldcafe-requ...@communityfrontiers.com
Type the word Subscribe in the subject line of your message
*
*
==========================================================
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
_______________________________________
The World Café
Living Knowledge Through Conversations That Matter
http://www.theworldcafe.com
To subscribe to the World Café listserv send an email to:
theworldcafe-requ...@communityfrontiers.com
Type the word Subscribe in the subject line of your message
*
*
==========================================================
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