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OSI Volume 3 Issue 1 Spring 1998 Inside This Issue 1 Our Web Site (p. 2) PUBLISHED BY THE OSI More Space Being Opened More organizations and leaders in I recently led another Open Space with all 500 employees of a major pharmaceutical firm. Of course, senior management was concerned that those on the packaging line would feel uncomfortable – partly because many were recent immigrants. Open Space did its magic as employees led meetings and pursued the vision. It was beyond expectations. As we learn, we are also trying new approaches. We are discovering the power and possibilities of this way of being in organizations. This edition is to keep us going and exploring. Larry Peterson $40 will cover cost for lunch and meeting site. How do we deal with the dead moose when it arises in Open Space? Where do we go from there? If you plan to arrive by bus or train, the most direct route for the taxi
to Thanks Joan Joan DeNew has been our stalwart editor and communications leader for the past two years. She is now pursuing her current passion, Spiritual Dowsing. Thanks Joan for all your hard work and the contribution of your insights and caring manner! You will be missed. If you are interested in Spiritual Dowsing, call Joan at (905) 549-7956. If you want to take on the next newsletter, call me. Growing Our Now This CD provides guided experiences for coming into the present moment.
Michael , who is from Our Global Open Space Web Site "http://www.geocities.com/athens/oracle/9215" Thanks Barry for all your volunteered hard work! Open Space Books Harrison Owen’s Books are still available through CORHE Group
at Expanding Our Now is only available and Open Space Technology is also
available from Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Their distributor in Opening More Space While Concluding an Open Space By Diane Gibeault, facilitation and training consultant of D. Gibeault & Associates How can we keep the spirit of Open Space while narrowing the explored
issues down to priorities and concrete action planning? At the last Open
Space on Open Space meeting in Using the key elements of this new scenario, I opened space for a few events, one for planning a national fair on women’s issues, another for positioning and reorganizing a social service lobby group and one identifying “the next step” for change management teams in the federal government. My colleague, Jacqueline Pelletier also applied it with a health related organization facing deep structural change. Here is how it went. On the last day, we moved from a divergent to a convergent mode. Reports of group discussions were circulated. Participants were invited, as they read the reports, to identify two priorities by answering the following question: ”Considering the results of all the issue discussions, what are the priorities on which we need to make an action plan?” The focus now moves to the ”next steps“, the ”how“ and even to the “who does what and when”. A new bulletin board type of set up was organized on a wall other than where day one discussion topics were still posted. A simulation of a tree trunk with six or seven main branches was created using masking tape. The theme of the meeting was posted on the trunk, large branches represented main priority areas, and related ideas would become leaves along the branch. Regrouped in the circle, participants were asked to individually note with a marker on separate sheets of paper, two topics, which constituted their personal priorities, topics for which they had an interest in developing a next step type of action plan. They signed their sheets just like when issues are put up on the first day. Participants were then invited to announce one of their priorities. That person would then stick the priority action sheet on one of the branches. Contrary to the opening on day one, this time, the focus was on convergence. If a priority topic had already been posted, identical ones were not to be repeated. Furthermore, topics with a common thread were put on the same branch. On the other hand, a priority topic could be posted on more than one branch if a participant felt it was relevant to more than one area. Priority areas were identified as follows: after a few topics appeared on a branch, the group was invited to give a title that described the priority area of that branch and a colored sheet with that title was placed on the branch near the trunk. The number of topics was evidently fewer - five or six - and more focussed than on the first day. As participants read their priority sheets, they would gradually automatically name the existing branch where the priority was going or choose a new branch if none corresponded. When all priorities were on the wall, a dot voting exercise gave a reading of the weight each priority area had for the group. Participants applied two dots on specific topic sheets or on branch title sheets representing their top two priorities. This provided an interesting reading of sub-priorities as well as of larger priority areas. Assigning rooms for priority-action planning discussions followed. Since
all these discussions were taking place during the same one-hour time frame,
additional meeting sites were identified, even hallways were designated as
meeting places. All were listed on a flip chart sheet for quick reference and
post-it notes appeared beside each room. The person who authored the first
sheet on a branch chose a meeting room and put the Post-it note on the branch
title sheet. Additional Post-its room names were available for participants
or groups who wished to organize discussion groups on specific priority
topics within the branch. The branch group would choose someone to lead the discussion. Reporters were asked to write reports clearly because, typed or not, they would all be posted on the wall, immediately at the end of that hour for participants’ review. The same reporting forms as day one were used except that the words “Action Plan” were added at the top. Generally, groups met as a whole priority branch that included everyone that had signed up to any topic on that priority area. The group could still decide to subdivide in order to discuss the planning of a single priority topic or to combine a few topics. The discussion title was posted at the entrance of the meeting place so that bumblebees could move around effectively. In one case, day three was a full day so that there was time to discuss
action plans in plenary. Participants were invited to read action plans
posted on the wall, identifying with sticky dots, their top two choices for
plenary discussion. It was now Where the last day of Open Space was only a half-day, participants regrouped in the circle and shared verbally the key points of their action plans. During that time, their action reports were being photocopied. That part of the report could also be sent out later on that same day through fax or e-mail so that it awaits participants as they start their normal activities the next day. They are equipped for immediate action! To conclude, I found that opening space for priority setting at the end of an open space event really injects a second spur of energy into the group and reinforces the attitude of openness. Titles given to priorities are more thought out, there is no duplication and they are now worded differently as a result of two days of explorative discussion. They are a better indication of where the group is at. The purpose of day three or rather of the concluding or closing process is to align and to bring focus. It is also there to connect the openness of the first part of Open Space to the reality, through actions and commitments. As was so well said at the OS on OS meeting, “the last day done this way, both grounds people in “what next” and reminds them that the space is always open.” Diane Gibeault is an experienced bilingual consultant in facilitation and organizational change. She works in partnership with Jacqueline Pelletier a skilled facilitator who, like Diane has trained on Open Space Technology with founder, Harrison Owen. They are both members of the Open Space Institute of Canada. For more information please contact: Diane Gibeault Associé.e.s/Associates, in A Swarm of Bumblebees By Marcelene Anderson & Larry Peterson In a wilderness setting in We flew into the Northern Quebec Cree community in a twenty-seat aircraft
owned by Air Creebec. The announcements were in English, French and Cree.
With about two feet of snow and temperatures at Marcelene had worked with this band 20 years ago to create a comprehensive shared vision and plan for the relocation of the First Nation to their current site. The Band had been forced to move from their original site because of a threat that a dam would flood their community. The James Bay Hydro-Electric project was the largest hydro electric project in the world when it was built. In time it has flooded a vast area of Cree land in the territory. Although the original community was not flooded, the First Nation members had been forced to leave their settlement and their lives were disrupted. They lived in uncertainty in two different communities, separated from their family groups for several years. As a result of the negotiated James Bay Northern Quebec Agreement, funds were allocated for relocating and reestablishing the First Nation. To assist the Band with this momentous task, Marcelene, then working for a major consulting firm, proposed to the Cree regional leadership to carry out a comprehensive community planning process with the First Nation Band. Marcelene and Ron Clutz, who had extensive experience working with grass roots community members, led the team to plan and facilitate the community-planning event. More than one hundred Band members and fifty advisors and experts from a wide range of areas essential to community life tented at the chosen site for five days. The Community Consult was conducted in a circus tent and smaller tents were used for break out groups. At the end of the Consult, the First Nation had created a shared vision with some 120 vision elements that wanted in their new community and had created a practical plan for achieving their vision. Twenty-one years later, the Chief asked Marcelene and Raven Associates to work with the Band again to develop the next strategic plan. Over the intervening years Marcelene has worked with many Cree and other First Nations to plan their future as well as to develop First Nation staff for new and evolving roles and responsibilities. Marcelene saw the possibilities of using Open Space to enable the community to explore their visions for the future. She asked Larry to work with her to plan and facilitate the First Nation Strategic Planning process, using Open Space to engage the community in exploring their future. In an initial meeting with the Chief and Council, we showed the Open Space video and they agreed it looked “interesting”. Our Community Consultation was held in the new Fire Hall -- one of the accomplishments not included in the first plan. The fire trucks had not arrived yet and there was no other large meeting space available. Large sheets of plywood were erected in the corners for posting topics. It was -25 C outside and the main heaters sounded like jet planes. To reduce the noise, additional heaters were placed throughout the room to provide warmth. The floor had been painted a sky blue, chairs brought in and snacks and lunch arrived regularly. One wall held the sound system for music during breaks, for collections of pictures of the community over the years and the computer tables. The afternoon before Opening the Space, we acknowledged and celebrated the past accomplishments of the band and its elders. We compared the 1977 shared vision to the actual accomplishments Almost all of the 120 vision elements that had been stated twenty years earlier were accomplished. In addition, it had a significant list of other accomplishments not foreseen. Over the years the tents had become houses, roads built, a gas station, a store, a school with a Cree principal and teachers and much more have been accomplished. After we celebrated the past, we asked the participants to draw pictures of what the Band might look like twenty years from now. The fifty participants had no trouble drawing colourful and explicit images of the community. A group of youth drew a site plan in substantial detail with all of the landscaping. Later that evening, the elders who participated in the planning 20 years ago were honoured with plaques in a moving ceremony. When we Opened the Space the next morning, we walked the circle together. We were a bit concerned about the traditional reticence of some aboriginal people, particularly the women. Marcelene stated the theme and Larry encouraged participants to see the resources in the room and to keep breathing. The Chief interpreted what we said into Cree. Many of the trappers found Cree easier to understand. Marcelene proceeded to open the space with the usual ritual and with the Chief interpreting from the second mike. We were surprised by the response. A number of men and women jumped up to get the markers and post topics. The Chief put up three topics himself. When the flurry of activity was over three were more topics than people present and all the meeting spaces were taken. They had a lot of passion for the future of their community. We watched to see how the excess of topics would be handled as they went to their first sessions. Marcelene could see that the community had obviously developed a lot of skills in twenty years. The initial community planning event, twenty years previous, utilized a highly facilitated process with break out facilitators and was the right process for the Band at that time. Open Space, in contrast, was the right intervention for where this First Nation and its members are today. The Open Space group leaders immediately went to the newsprint and recorded the discussions. Even though most discussions were in Cree, the newsprint recording was in English without a pause and with marvelous penmanship. By the second session, we began to see something that we had not seen before in an Open Space. A group of predominantly women starting flowing from meeting area to another generating discussion and then reports on the topics that they had posted. Larry expected there would be a few bumblebees going from group to group. However, what we witnessed was not individual bumblebee, but a whole group of them, “a swarm” buzzing around the meeting space. This “swarm” went from one breakout space to another, quickly dispatching a topic and moving on to the next. They would go to an area marked by a flip chart and the person who put up the topic took the lead. A recorder would start the flip chart record and the discussion would buzz in Cree. The energy was electric. The swarm would cover a topic in 15-20 minutes and then move to the next meeting space and cover the next one. Others, both men and women, would join the core swarm for specific topics. The leaders did enter many of the reports themselves on the computers. However, we had computer support for entering other topics if so desired. Over the two days of the Open Space, a swarm formed at least three times to address a series of topics that might not have been addressed otherwise. Throughout the two and half days of Open Space, it was clear that the First Nation members felt extremely comfortable with the Open Space process. The numbers of participants varied throughout the Open Space event. The flexible nature of Open Space permitted people to come and go from their other responsibilities, e.g. the Band administrative and maintenance staff came in and out of meetings, depending on work priorities. The local radio station host played music by native performers during breaks. At the end of the two days, the energy was so high for the last topics that the closing was delayed a half-hour. We had asked the Chief what to use for a “talking stick” for the closure and what direction to pass it. He told us that “talking sticks” were not part of their tradition, but that the Cree rattle, called a “She She Quin” is a traditional object that most had seen as children. It was made of Caribou skin, beads and ash with blue markings. The Chief brought his rattle to use. When Marcelene closed the space, it became clear it was the right “talking stick” to use. Although we do not know precisely what people said, as their comments were in Cree, we do know that we could hear the emotion in the voices and that many were moved to tears. These were tears of joy - to be together again to participate in planning their future as a FN. The elders were also pleased that the youth were involved. Many people spoke. Of course, the stranger did arrive. This time it was in the guise of a CBC film crew who had come to record the story of the award winning “Zero Balance Rent Club” initiated in the First Nation. The crew observed quietly and then barged into the circle, filming some of the closing and then left. The crew was part Cree and part Quebecois. We later heard that none of them had seen a Cree meeting in a circle, apart from a healing circle, and they had never heard of a Cree community using a talking stick. On the last half day of the Community Consultation, Larry led the converging process. In conversation with the Chief, we developed a method of voting that was in keeping with the community. “Penny Socials” have become a weekly occurrence in the community. At those fundraising events, people buy tickets and put them in a small plastic bag in front of the item they wish to have. Then one ticket is drawn from the bag and that person wins the item. Of course, the hope is that there are enough tickets to pay for the item and make a little profit. For the converging of Open Space priorities, we put the Open Space topics around the room on newsprint with a large envelope on each. Each participant got ten paper votes to put in the envelops of their choice. Marcelene recruited counters for the envelopes, and it did not take long to see that getting a bank in the community was the top priority item. The original Open Space group leaders then took the top ten items into discussion groups. They were able to determine who was going to give ongoing leadership to that topic and the next steps. The Open Space (did) provided a burst of spirit in the community and a renewed direction for the FN members and staff. Since the original consult, First Nation members have wanted to participate again in planning their future as a community. The Chief, Band staff or others were already pursuing some of the ideas that came from the Community Consultation. However, many of the items do require new effort. The Chief did meet one of his goals in the Open Space. With those who came to one of his sessions, he was able to draft a Band mission and values statement. Following the Open Space event, we worked with the Band Staff as well as the Chief and Council to develop strategic directions, operational plans and budgets for the Band toward accomplishing the community’s vision. One of the real effects of the Open Space will be a change in the way meetings are held. One of the Band staff led a meeting the week after the Open Space. He decided to have the Cree Trappers Association meet in a circle rather than rows for the first time. He was amazed at the results. The Chief is quite pleased with the results of the Open Space. There is certainly interest in doing it again, and learning how to do it with local facilitation. The Chief and Council realize that planning every twenty years is not enough in these fast changing times. They also see that Open Space provides an approach that engages spirit for this community. It certainly engages swarms of bumblebees. Marcelene Anderson, specialist in participative approaches, has worked
with Tribal Councils, First Nations and aboriginal organizations over 20
years. She has assisted these groups planning their future, developing human
capacity to meet current and future challenges and increasing the
effectiveness of their organizations. Her extensive consulting experience
also includes major corporations and community groups across Larry Peterson has facilitated over 120 Open Space events since his first workshop with Harrison Owen in 1990. For 25 years, he has assisted organizational transformation and spirited performance in non-profit, church, government and business organizations. He is a founder of OSI Canada, workshop leader and has written numerous articles. He can be reached through Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation, 416-651-6913, lpasoc@inforamp.net UPCOMING EVENTS - - - Sixteenth Annual Symposium Organizational
Transformation: - Open Space on Open Space VI Monterey,
California:
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