Dear Bui - there only one thing I can add: If YOU are convinced that OS is worth doing - do it. What's a "bad" experience anyway? In the past 10 years I've had the privilege to organize some 50+ OSs, small (20 people) and large (>100 people) - I encountered managers who told me up front "that this OS is all BS and will not work" and after all was set and done they loved it. Others came with expectations and went home disappointed - why? Most often they had an agenda in mind which they could not force their co-participants to follow - was this a "bad" OS?
Based on my experience, if you authentically believe in the power of self-organizing, spirit and human ingenuity you will not fail. You might stumble once in a while, but that's part of the game. Nothing is 100% foolproof. What helped me a lot when I struggled was (and still is) the Tao Te Ching, for example: (from TAO 2, translation by Stephen Mitchell): "Therefore the Master Acts without doing anything And teaches without saying anything. Things arise and she lets them come; Things disappear and she lets them go. She has but doesn't possess, Acts but doesn't expect. When her work is done, she forgets it That is why it lasts forever" I found this helpful - good luck - Uwe Uwe Weissflog, GbR Pathway Guidance - Europe Rinnengärten 1 De-34516 Vöhl www.pathwayguidance.eu uwe.weissf...@pathwayguidance.eu T.: +49 (0) 5635 99 11 97 F.: +49 (0) 5635 99 39 34 M.: +49 (0) 175 521 7656 -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: OSLIST [mailto:osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu] Im Auftrag von Bui Petersen Gesendet: Mittwoch, 8. April 2009 16:11 An: osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu Betreff: [OSLIST] Bad OS experiences Hi everyone, Having almost settled in living in St. John's, Newfoundland, I am looking for opportunities to open space. It is a slow process to introduce something that people are not familiar with, especially as I am new in a town where everyone seems to know each other. My question is, what do you do in cases where you meet people who HAVE been exposed to OST but did not have a good experience. My wife for one participated in one OS forum, and she is not at all convinced. Her experience was that the usual suspects did all the talking and those that usually are quiet, stayed that way. I wasn't there myself, but from what I gather there may have been some factors that contributed to this such as, the size of the group (only 15), the breakout spaces had tables and a couple of other factors. Nevertheless, my wife is not convinced it could have been much different. What do you more experienced think is a play? My own experience is limited so I'm not sure what to say about this. Is it the case that some OS events just don't have the right energy and don't work out that well? If so, what can you do to make people consider doing it again? The best I have come up with is that even if OST may not be perfect, it is better than most other things I have tried. Your thoughts would be much appreciated. Thanks, Bui Petersen * * ========================================================== 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 * * ========================================================== 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