[ajug-members] AJUG Open Space conference PSA #3: The Four Principles

[Barry Hawkins]

This Public Service Announcement is brought to you by AJUG:

In addition to the Law of Two Feet, there are four principles of Open
Space that all participants should keep in mind:

 Whoever comes is the right people.
 Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
 Whenever it starts is the right time.
 When it is over, it is over.

Here's some unpacking of those four principles from the Open Space site:


Whoever comes is the right people.
"The first principle reminds everyone of the obvious fact that those
present are the only ones there. Whatever gets done will get done with
them, or not at all. There is little point, therefore in worrying about
all those who should have come, might have come, but didn't come. It is
essential to concentrate on those who are there. The experience is that,
in some strange way, the group present is always the right group.

In more practical terms, it has been discovered that if the group is
deeply involved in the issue at hand and excited by the possibilities,
that involvement and excitement are contagious, and others will soon
join in. Even if the technical expertise present is not of the highest
order, a committed group will find the needed expertise. However, if all
the time is spent in telling each other that the group is neither right
nor competent, it is always the case that the group will live down to it
expectations."[0]

Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
"Given the theme (job) at hand and the people in attendance, whatever
happens is the only thing that could have. Change the people, time,
place, or theme, and something different will result. It is, of course
possible that the result of the gathering could be a miserable failure,
but experience shows that such a negative result is usually the product
of negative expectations. Expect the worst, and you will very often get it.

Expectations are in fact critical. Be prepared to be surprised --
positively. Those who come to an Open Space event with a precise and
detailed list of intended outcomes will be frustrated. More than that,
they will inevitably miss the positive and useful things that occur.
Never before, and never again will the assembled group gather in that
time and place. No one could possibly predict the synergism of effect
that will take place when those particular people assemble."[0]

Whenever it starts is the right time.
"The third principle will seem essentially wrong to those whose lives
have been dictated by the clock, which is basically all of us. The
conventional wisdom says that if you want to get something done, you
must start on time. The conventional wisdom is right so long as you know
what you are going to do, and how. On the other hand, when creativity,
and real learning are involved, the clock can be more of a detriment
than an assist. Things will start when they are ready, and whenever they
start is the right time. In fact, when the creative learning moment
arrives, it seems to create its own time, or put another way, clocks
don't seem to matter much anymore. The Open Space environment provides
the nutrient setting for creative activity, and those who would lead in
that environment must keep their eye on the creative process and forget
about the clock. When "it" happens, it will happen in its own time, and
scheduling a breakthrough for 10 am is not only an exercise in futility,
it is consummately destructive of Open Space."[0]

When it is over, it is over.
"Deep learning and creativity both have their own internal life cycle.
They may take more or less time, but when they come to completion, they
are over. Occasionally this means that we have to spend more time than
we had planned, but more often than not, the reverse is true. The
creative moment has a nasty habit of occurring very quickly, and just
because the session or meeting was scheduled to take two hours is no
reason to sit around and waste time after the moment has passed. When it
is over, it is over."[0]

[0] - http://www.openspaceworld.com/users_guide.htm

Expectantly,
-- 
Barry Hawkins
All Things Computed
site: http://www.alltc.com
weblog: http://www.yepthatsme.com

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