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OSI Canada News

Vol. 1, No. 2 January 1997

Published by the Steering Committee

Communications Headquarters: 870 Main St. E. Hamilton, ON. L8M 1L9

Research offers vital opportunity for new learnings

The upcoming Open Space event to explore research, learning and publishing on Open Space (February 20 - 22 in Toronto) could not come at a better time.

This past November, a group of Open Space Institute members and friends gathered for an Open Space in Kingston. One of the small group discussions focussed, among other things, on the potential role that a critical mass of documented learning - a body of knowledge - could have in helping to create "safe space" for Open Space. This was noted in the context of some of the damage done in communities which have experienced what Joan De New christened "pseudo-Open Spaces." Thanks, Joan! Some in the group felt that a body of knowledge could become an important tool in helping individuals and communities discern what is - and what isn't - Open Space. While the oral and written storytelling tradition which has accompanied Open Space will continue to be critical, more intentionally developed and documented research initiatives can be complimentary contributing ingredients in growing this larger body of knowledge.

This potential contribution is given some added impetus due to the growing popularity of "large group interventions." As 'neutral' observers (as opposed to practitioners) occasionally attempt to cram "open space technology" into what sometimes appear to be arbitrary categories, those of us committed to Open Space are challenged to find more rigorous vehicles which will allow Open space to speak for itself. Posing critical questions, comparing outcomes, documenting and critically assessing process, tools and experience, measuring organizational productivity and assessing organizational spirit pre- and post event, courageous1y examining and dissecting "failures," identifying and giving away what we know about opening and holding space open . . . all of these, and more can be part of a timely and energizing research adventure. And as the body of knowledge grows, so too will the exciting possibilities for engaging spirit.

All of us are at different stages in our commitment to and use of Open Space technology. We all bring different experiences with research. The possibilities for sharing, discussion and action are therefore, robust.

Plan to attend the event in February if you are able. And if you cannot join us, please be in touch with us. Hope, to see you in February.

Jody Orr

US Open Space Institute incorporates in Seattle

Possibilities of collaboration offer great potential

A regular feature in our Open Space Institute of Canada newsletter will be news from other Open Space Institutes. It will be an opportunity to acknowledge our growth, develop our relationship to one another, and celebrate each other.

At present, there is one other institute. A terrific group of Open Space folks in Seattle met with Harrison Owen in July to spearhead an Institute for the United States. Such issues as membership fees were worked out. With the help of a wonderful lawyer with Quaker roots who finds the Open Space community like home, papers were filed for incorporation. I had the good fortune of visiting with Anne Stadler in Seattle in August. At the "pot luck" supper she organized with old and new Open Space friends for me, the incorporation papers arrived fortuitously. So it was that 1 became the unexpected unofficial Canadian "representative," at the ensuing celebration, was included in the official photos, and given opportunity to congratulate them on behalf of 0SI Canada.

There was lots of fun and kibbitzing that evening. I was teased for being part of an institute that, while "older," was not incorporated. Taking on the challenge of "one-upmanship," I became almost apoplectic when the, lawyer stated that their next step was "trademarking." Could they prevent OSI Canada from continuing to use our chosen name? His rationale was that the Quakers hadn't trademarked, and look what happened to their name. The world now has Quaker Oats (but not Catholic Cornflakes). And we all had a good laugh. In the US, however, there are reasons why trademarking might be really important, so we discussed the possibility more seriously and will communicate with one another on explorations into this matter.

The Seattle folks, as those in 0SI Canada, want to apply Open Space principles to ourselves as we grow organizationally. With two Institutes growing at the same time, we have opportunity to support one another and learn to be bigger organizations together. Exciting possibilities for joint learning!

On December 2, 1996 (which was also the birthday of Harrison Owen, "founder" of Open Space), the Open Space lnstitute, Inc., based in Seattle, had its birthing. 0SI Canada wishes our new sister organization well, and assures it of our desire to grow together in love with it.

At the 0SI Canada's Open Space in Kingston in November, two sheets were transformed a with paints, handprints, and footprints into twin masterpieces. One was sent with Harrison to be presented in Seattle. The other we have kept to remind ourselves of our new international link.

Birgitt Bolton

Report from the 1996 Conference of the

Organizational Development Network

"Safe Space for Open Space" and emerging concern

"Safe Space" for Open Space may seem a far-fetched concern for those of us who believe so much in the power of Open Space where enabling Spirit can be made manifest, but my recent experience at the Organizational Development Network of the US meeting brought this to centre Stage for me. My friend, Jody Orr, coined the, phrase, "safe space for Open Space when we were debriefing about my experience. Now is the time for us to define what Open Space is to the world, and for the world, before others place it in a constricting box where its effectiveness could be hidden.

The Organizational Development Network annual conference is well attended by professionals in the field, as well as company representatives wanting to review methodologies that could work well for them. It feels like a combination of professional upgrading and a trade show.

I felt Open Space was badly represented at the 1996 meeting in Florida this past summer. People were invited to experience it on Monday evening from 8-11 pm. They were asked to "Leave a headline and your name on the newsprint provided at the welcoming table near registration. We'll post them for you at the Open Space Net-working." This is not quite congruent with Open Space essentials! In addition, it implies that Open Space's usefulness is only raising issues for discussion. Many conference participants were then exposed to a first and very limited view of what Open Space is and is not.

A pre-conference workshop led by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban about large group interventions had previously alerted me to concern that Open Space was vulnerable to limited interpretations. They have just released their new book, Large Group Interventions, which I highly recommend. They do a good job on their chapter on Open Space: I think Harrison Owen had a chance to go over it before it went, to print.

Unfortunately, the authors position Open Space as an intervention to be Used in whole system participative work. It is, therefore, not placed under the other two headings, Creating the Future Together, and Work Redesign, although Open Space is very effective in these categories as well. While Bunker and Alban may have good intentions, I sensed with some alarm that the boxing of Open Spacc had begun. I believe their book will have great influence on the use of large group interventions, as will their workshop based on the book's categorizations.

In response to my question, the authors agreed that there was more to how Open Space is used now, but they claim that this is a result of convergent processes that have been added to the divergent process that is really Open Space. They assert that the additional convergent processes that are not really Open Space are what make it possible for Open Space to do future Searching, but contend that Open Space itself does not allow for this. They therefore can't acknowledge it under multiple categories.

I am convinced those of us working with Open Space, need to take time now to state very clearly what Open Space is, and enable that word to get around. I believe our two new Institutes should ensure that Open Space gets fair exposure within the Organizational Development Network.

Birgitt Bolton

New Book compares large group interventions

Barbara Bunker, Billie Alban. Large Group Interventions: Engaging the Whole System in Rapid Change. Jossey-Bass. 1997, ISBN 0-7879-0324-8

Large Group Interventions is the first book which tries to fit Open Space into a niche with other methodologies. It provides an important opportunity to compare Open Space with other approaches that claim some, similar results.

Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban have done, a great service to those of us with a passion for Open Space. They describe it accurately and with sympathy. They acknowledge that it is quite different from the other interventions in the book. They also position Open space in relation to other Large Group interventions in a helpful, if limited, way. My own view of Open Space is now clearer after reading the book. I think their description will also assist in legitimizing Open Space approaches. I am concerned, however, that the book has some real limitations, but first I will give you a brief tour of its contents.

This book Begins by exploring the distinguishing characteristics of large group interventions. "Getting the organization in the room" for two to three days can speed up the change process. Assembling a "critical mass" of people, when done well, seems to have much greater impact on an organization than a traditional trickle (or even cascading) down of changes. In some of the interventions, the critical mass is much more representational (40-60 people) than in others (2,500). As any good network or conference organizer knows, however, a large event that works well can have a significant impact.

Historically, the development of these large group interventions is seen to come mainly from the limitations of other approaches that have been tried in the past. The authors trace the conceptual roots of large group interventions back to Kurt Lewin and NTL, Von Bertalanffy and General Systems Theory, and to Wilfred Bion and Tavistock. The authors are not sure where, to place Open Space, but tie it most closely within the Tavistock movement. I believe they miss most of its roots, but try to put Open Space in a context most academics can understand.

Participation is the key to all of the approaches described. In them all, the consultants assist the participants to discover their own data and make their own decisions (to the extent permitted by the sponsor). Some approaches, however, emphasize alignment of participants' ideas and actions, while others strive toward a more democratic workplace. The meeting process in Real Time Strategic Change is highly structured and timing is tightly controlled by the facilitators, although there are elements of participation. In Participative Design approaches, the facilitators do a lot of education of management and employees before facilitating a work design process built from the bottom up (within the parameters set at the senior level). Only in Open Space does the facilitator "disappear" for a good portion of the event.

The authors also develop a typology of large group interventions, based on what they try to accomplish. Bunker and Alban examine twelve different approaches in three categories:

Creating the Future:

The Search Conference
Future Search
Real Time Strategic Change
The ICA Strategic Planning Process

Work Design:

The Conference Model
Fast Cycle Full Participation Work Design
Real time Work design
Participative Design

Whole-System Participative Work:

Simu-Real
Work-Out
Open Space Technology
Large Scale Interactive Events

The authors present the approaches well by telling a real story of their use and describing their major components. Bunker and Alban then attempt a results-oriented evaluation of each, while recognizing that
long-term data is limited for all of the approaches. Even though I have read about or experienced all the approaches, I found the descriptions helpful and concise. I could see more clearly how I have used aspects of many of these approaches in my own work.

Their description of Open Space exceeds my expectations. They acknowledge the possibilities of emergent agendas and the importance of good facilitators being prepared to deal with the unpredictable. They acknowledge some of the versatility of Open Space in both small and large settings. Open Space is not only a large group intervention.
In their concluding chapters, the authors also recognized that large scale interventions are still emerging. In practice, people are using a variety of combinations of these approaches. I have, for example, often used elements of Future Search or Real Time Strategic Change in ways that set the context for Opening the Space. I have done this over multiple meetings or during a longer event. I am sure that exploring such possibilities will continue as facilitators and consultants become more conscious of them.

As I stated earlier, however, I believe that there are some real limitations to this book.

1) The deep roots of Open Space Technology are in the spiritual and shamanic traditions and in the "new" science of chaos and large scale adaptive systems theory. The, authors miss this altogether. There is real compatibility with Tavistock and General Systems Theory, but that is not where Open Space is rooted.
2) Open Space is also much more than it is positioned to be. It can be an "intervention" or tool for large or small groups. It can also enable the discovery of emergent shared vision or work design. The approach can also, however, be much deeper. The authors describe the "collective unconscious" that influences all large groups. Open Space, more than any other approach, creates a space within which this can emerge and be productive. It intentionally identifies this with "spirit" and all that word has come to mean for individuals and organizations. It is more possible to experience and talk about this level of reality. Open Space expands the consciousness of the whole organization and what is possible for individuals to do and decide "now" in often surprising ways.

Even with these limitations, I heartily recommend the book. Open Space has now emerged in a mainstream Organizational Development book, and I think that we are better for this.

Larry Peterson

Steering Committee Report

The Steering Committee of OSI Canada met during the Kingston Open Space event on Thursday, November 21, 1996. Those who participated included Larry Peterson, Birgitt Bolton, Joan De New, Jody Orr, Judith Evenden and Estelle Vincent-Fleurs.

Income has been received from book sales, membership fees, and conference fees. Expenses have included book payments, conference costs, shipping costs, membership application printing, newsletter printing and mailing costs. As designated "keeper of the purse," Larry provided the committee with a detailed cash flow report, which indicates that we have sufficient operating capital on hand to do the current work of the Institute. (The exact current balance is not available, as some bills were outstanding.)

It was agreed that the January newsletter be the last mailing to the extended Open Space listing, and that future newsletters be sent only to those who have paid their fees for 1997. (New members since November will be considered paid for 1997.)

Larry Peterson will coordinate local arrangements in Toronto for the planned Open Space Research event February 20-22, 1997. Estelle and Larry will confer and arrange internet advertising.

Birgitt shared her concerns about the ODN Large Group Intervention event,and reported that a proposal was presented to do two simultaneous events at the ODN conference next year, one a traditional event, the other in Open Space. Birgitt suggested that OSI Canada and OSI USA volunteer to organize that Open Space. She will discuss this with OSI USA and send a letter on to ODN if appropriate.

The question of future OSONOS conference sponsorship was raised in light of the existence of the two new Institutes. Birgitt will talk with OSI USA re their interest in approaching HH Owen and Co., the past Sponsor, about possible, co-sponsorship.

It was agreed that the newsletter editor attend all OSI Canada sponsored and endorsed events with registration fees waived so she can report on them. She will be responsible for her own expenses.

Larry agreed to email the Steering Committee notes to OSI US.

Larry Peterson with Joan De New

Conference host receives "Pedantic" memento

Steering Committee member Eleanor Belfry-Lyttle was rewarded for her much appreciated efforts in organizing the November Open Space event in Kingston with a presentation by Harrison Owen of two large inflatable pink plastic feet! He had received them a few days earlier at the conclusion of an Open Space conference on breast cancer in Orillia which he and Birgitt Bolton co-facilitated as a memorable reminder of the increasingly famous Law of Two Feet. We await a photo for the OSI Canada archives of Eleanor wearing her new footgear!

Thirteen people attended the November Open Space gathering at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Kingston on November 21. Six workshops met in the three time slots. How we can help women discover Open Space as a way to their empowerment, how storytelling fits in with Open Space, and sharing on personal internal preparation for facilitating were the other topics not already reported on in this newsletter. Thanks again to Eleanor, and her assistants Linda Gibeault and Judith Evenden.

Totally Fulfilling Business Conference cut back

Eleanor Belfry-Lyttle reports that the Canadian segment of the second annual conference on Totally Fulfilling Business: Pursuing the Triple Bottom Line regrettably has been cancelled. This event, endorsed by OSI Canada, unfortunately did not attract the minimum numbers required to cover on-site expenses. It would have allowed participants in Kingston, Ontario to connect via internet with participants in Philadelphia and Tampa, where discussions on the same theme would be taking place in Open Space. Eleanor believes the main reason for low response in Canada at this time is most business people's preoccupation with cut-backs and downsizing. The Tampa event was also cancelled.

Ralph Copleman of Philadelphia, host of the first Totally Fulfilling Business conference in 1995, reports that 30 people have registered for his site, down from the 81 who attended last year. He believes strongly in the Open Space assertion that "whoever comes is the right people," however, and is looking forward to a productive and empowering event. There are still a few copies left of last year's proceedings for those who are interested. Cost is $5 US, while this year's report will be $10 US. You may order these from him:

Touchstone Partnership Ltd.
44 Titus Ave.
Lawrenceville, N.J
08648- USA
Phone: 609-895-1629
e-mail: Ralph SC@aol.com
http://www.tmn.com/tfb
Cheques are payable to Touchstone.

Joan De New

New anthology recommends spiritual dimension

Twenty four key thinkers share their experience and insight

Two new books published this fall which relate to transforming the business paradigm have come to my attention. One, a hardcover anthology edited by John Renesch and Bill Defoore is The New Bottom Line: Bringing heart and soul to business (New Leaders Press/Sterling and Stone, San Francisco, 350 pp, ISBN 0-9630390-9-0, $33.95 U5) organizes the contributions of 24 different writers into seven categories in a discussion of the potential for combining business and spirituality.

Some of the distinguished contributors include The Body Shop's Anita Roddick, Finding Spirit through service, "One Minute Manager" Ken Blanchard, The Spiritual Workplace, and anthropologist Angeles Arrien, Shape Shifting the Work Experience.

This anthology includes pictures and brief CV's of all contributors. It also contains an 8-page index, six packaged pages of Bibliography, a listing of recommended organizations and publications, and the addresses and phone numbers of all the, contributors. These features add to the user-friendliness of The New Bottom Line.

I believe that future business decision-making must incorporate the spiritual dimensions this valuable text highlights. I recommend this book, both for consultants, and as a resource for clients.

Joan De New