hi matt.
sounds like a great opportunity! great work!
below is a story i put on the oslist about five years ago. i just found it
by searching archives.
i'd definitely follow Eva's advice of putting up the signs indicating that
this is a taste, etc.
i'd probably approach the theme as something like
Google's future: Issues and Opportunities
i've done other similar experiences since then. sometimes the group decides
to break out into small groups for short discussions. other times they have
opted to all stay together and have discussion and questions and answers.
the key is to give people the option to do what they want ; ) surprise,
surprise.
here is my first time open space in 60 minute story:
I want to share a first time experience for me that occured yesterday.
During my time here in Georgia, my friend who is Chair of Anthropology at
Berry College arranged for me to come speak with her students and anyone
else interested. Yesterday at 5:00 pm, I had one hour to explore the theme,
"How can North Americans help meet the needs of today's world?" People came
because they were interested in the subject. No credits would be received.
It was not replacing a regular class. My friend and I thought it might draw
10 maybe 20 people.
60 came and crowded into a relatively small room. Participants, which
included students, the College's provost, the dean of students, and several
department chairs sat in a circle. I shared that I had two objectives for
the time: help them have an idea about my work in Haiti, and provide them
with a powerful tool for organizing and empowering people. I asked them to
imagine that our group was going to be spending one or two days together
instead of one hour. The room was set up with all the normal open space
props.
By 5:35, the group had responded to my invitation and 12 subjects were
posted on the bulletin board by students and two department chairs. I had
created the possibility for a session to last from 5:30 to 5:50, and one to
be dealt with in cyberspace using Beyond Borders' discussion forum.
Someone present proposed that instead of breaking up into groups, with such
limited time, people would have the opportunity to ask about results using
Open Space, and be able to discuss in a large group, how subjects which were
posted might be dealt with after the group dispersed.
Students, the provost, professors asked good questions. People also asked
questions of the people who posted subjects. It was determined that another
open space meeting lasting a half to a full day would be organized to treat
the subjects. My friend, the Anthropology chair, who has never done an open
space, volunteered to facilitate.
At 6:00 pm, when I closed the meeting, I received an energetic applause.
Numerous people stayed after to express their intrigue and satisfaction in
learning about Open Space.
As Brian Bainbridge and others have expressed to me, "You open space however
you can and in whatever circumstances you can and normally it will lead to
the creation of more open space."
http://circlesofchange.com participatory learning & leadership in Haiti
http://johnengle.net Open Space facilitation
email: [email protected]
telephone: 202-236-6532
P.O. Box 337
Hershey, PA 17033
From: Matthew Blom <[email protected]>
Reply-To: OSLIST <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Open Space intro at Google Headquarters--I'm looking for intro
ideas
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2006 12:13:28 -0500
Dear people who open space,
My name is Matthew, and I'm new to the list and a half-year new to open
space facilitation (trained by the bunny lovable Lisa Heft). I've been so
jazzed by the idea of getting open space to Google, a place which already
explores many new ways of behaving in the business world.
Yesterday, I got an in.
I'll be doing a "tech talk" on May 3rd, and I am now running multiple
scenarios through my head about how to introduce open space there. These
talks are usually an hour, and I imagine it being rather boring to talk
"about" open space, and I'm unsure how to go about actually experiencing it
in that short a time frame.
Ideas I've had thus far--kick, bite, and scream for more time (what's an
ideal intro. time frame? 3 hours? How long should the sessions be?)
Try an experience of it with very short sessions--like 10 minutes long?
I'm also wondering about a theme. I'll need to talk more with someone
out there about that piece.
Any ideas and/or experiences from those who have done something like this
would be very helpful!
peace,
Matthew
************************************************
"Once man begins to think about the mystery of his life and the links
connecting him with the life that fills the world, he cannot but accept,
for his own life and all other life that surrounds him, the principle of
Reverence for Life.
He will act according to this principle of the ethical affirmation of life
in everything he does. His life will become in every respect more
difficult that if he lived for himself, but at the same time it will be
richer, more beautiful, and happier.
It will become, instead of mere living, a genuine experience of life."
-Albert Schweitzer
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