Rose - Thank you for sharing and do be careful with all that "planning." I have found that the best preparation for an Open Space is to do it. And choosing the opportunity is not rocket science, but it does take some thought. First thing is to make sure that the appropriate conditions are present. They are: 1) A Real "Business" Issue, something that people REALLY care about - it is not sufficient that you care, or that "The Administration" cares - but the people care. My rule of thumb is that if you have to think about this for more than a second, you don't have an issue. Of course it may take a little longer to phrase it for the Invitation, but that is a different thing. The issue needs to hit you in the face, and if it doesn't, it is not an issue that will get the people who care to come. 2) Lots of complexity - in a word nobody knows the answer. 3) Lots of diversity - as in differing points of view, backgrounds, genders, ages, etc. 4) Lots of passion and conflict - There is some real heat not just a flash in the pan sort of thing. 5) Decision time of yesterday - otherwise known as a feeling of urgency. My experience has been that unless the organization is dead there are 4-5 such issues on the plate if people care to face them.
When the conditions are right, "organizing" an Open Space is virtually instantaneous if you have the people and the space. Almost any space will do, and reaching the people who "might" care to come can happen in amazingly short times when the issue is the sort I am talking about. I happened to be in Cape Town RSA when Mandela got off the island. Just about everybody was sure there was going to be blood in the streets, and nobody was really sure what to do or not do. My hostess happened to manage a hotel so we had the space. And in 24 hours the "guest list" was full for an Open Space to take place 48 hours later. And when the issue is hot, take your time - one day for sure and two days to go really deep. And if you need to go deeper, just do it again. In 48 hours 100+ folks were sitting in a circle, creating a bulletin board, opening a market place and going to work to become, as they said, "The new South Africa." Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20854 Phone 301-365-2093 Skype hhowen Open Space Training <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> www.openspaceworld.com Open Space Institute <http://www.openspaceworld.org/> www.openspaceworld.org Personal website <http://www.ho-image.com/> www.ho-image.com OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: <http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html> www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html -----Original Message----- From: OSLIST [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rose Tassone Sent: Sunday, November 08, 2009 6:36 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Bullying and OST Thank you kindly - To all the people who commented, for the very helpful questions posed and the number of useful suggestions that were made. All your responses are going to help me stay busy in unpacking what preparation is required prior to facilitating OS, the impact of psychosocial and developmental stages on individuals and group dynamics, the principal's and teachers' input and in particular my part in all of this. To begin with, I can now see in hindsight that I was way too ambitious in what the participants were capable of and the principal really wanted to believe that she was leading a community that did want to take responsibility, so much so that the students were probably too enthusiastically encouraged to accept the invitation. The parents were probably the true barometer of the community as they did not show a significant interest and trust to turn up. It seems that much more is needed at the consulting and planning stage with all parties to determine their interest, willingness and capacity to be part of creating a better community prior to the OS event. Regards Rose Tassone * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected]: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
