Your questions have been working me, Chris. I've been trying to wait until OSonOS to think them through for myself but they are working me today.
My first thought when I read your questions, Chris, was this: I recalled that in my daughter's first grade school, there were a few simple principles posted in all the rooms in the school to remind both the students and the teachers of the school's collective vision. I can remember going in to that building for various meetings. . . or just to pick up my kid. . . and taking note of those principles. The simple fact that they were posted throughout was an effective echo for me, a soft reminder of the best intentions of that school community. I don't know how it impacted others but it affected me. There were less than ten sentences and they addressed behavioral expectations and learning expectations. Words like respect and responsibility. I recall making a point to read them to my daughter each time I encountered the list because she had not yet mastered the skill of reading. I wanted those principles to be working her and to work for her, which they could not do if she was not conscious of them. A friend in my Spirited Work community works at Boeing. He has the principles of open space posted on a wall in his office. You ask, Chris, how to integrate an open space approach into an organization after an 'open space event'. I know that you know, Chris, that an organization has to want to continue to integrate the principles of open space, first and foremost. But, assuming a client organization does aspire to tap the power of 'being' and open space organization, why not posted OS principles throughout the organization. A small, butterfly-effect kinda thing. I have another suggestion, which is not new or anything. I believe that only those organizations that consciously gather to collectively practice OS can become collectively conscious organizations. Just as an individual meditates to develop their consciousness, I deeply believe that human collectives have to consciously gather to consciously practice collective consciousness. Yeah, that last sentence was awkward but it reflects what I am trying to write. Virtually everyone who has been active in Spirited Work for a period of time finds the quality of their collaborations with other Spirited Work folks to be tangibly different from interactins. Which is not to suggest that Spirited Work folks are the only way to have a collective, conscious practice. Not at all. The element that Spirited Work folks have in common is a conscious, collective aspiration to trust the principles of Open Space, steadily. Folks on this list get this, I'm sure. If I had a client organization that wanted to integrate OS or some kind of collective consciousness, I would recommend that the organization build a conscious participation in OS into the organization. A weekly self/whole development hour?! A biweekly OS? Lunchhour OS? Monthly OS's for teams. I did not develop my personal meditative process after a single training. Developing conscious organizations require conscious, ongoing, collective practice. If there is a conscious commitment to aspire to grow organizational consciousness, that's what will happen. . . but practice would be very useful. I know you weren't particularly soliciting discussion on this list for your questions, Chris but they have been quite alive for me ever since I read them. Thanks. -- Warmly, Tree Fitzpatrick * * ========================================================== 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