These are the proceedings from our Annual Membership Meeting for 2017, held December 11, 2017 from 6-8pm Eastern on qiqochat.com. The full original proceedings can be accessed by browsing through qiqochat itself, here: https://qiqochat.com/e/yYYXKvjwyrYbqeEHgeZxRHdbY/dOdqNOUybJUIcitXiTdZYBjiF
The theme was: "How to Open Space? Whenever, Wherever, Whoever"
Theme: How to Hold Space for Open Space?
6:00pm EST - Arriving - Settling In
6:10pm EST - Introduction
6:20pm EST - Opening Ceremony - Marketplace - etc.
6:40pm EST - Session 1
7:00pm EST - Session 2
7:20pm EST - Session 3
7:40pm EST - Closing
Thank you video (2.5 minutes) for Suzanne Daigle
Extended video (6 minutes)
Marketplace
Session 1 (6:30-6:50pm EST):
Table 1: [Head Heart Gut … Creating Open Spaces for the emotional response to transform intention into action. ] - [Vic Desotelle]
Table 2: [Open Space in Work and Problem Solving] - [Jon Jorgensen]
Session 2 (6:50-7:10pm EST):
Table 1: [EXTENDED FROM SESSION 1]
Table 2: [EXTENDED FROM SESSION 2]
Table 3: [What is the Open Space Institute - How can we help?] - [Tom Brown]
Session 3 (7:10-7:30pm EST):
Table 1: [International House _ The Magic of It - Help us Invite] - [Suzanne Daigle]
Table 2: [Ideas on new projects on initiatives that you would recommend for OSI-US? Or hotline thoughts ] - [Tricia Chirumbole]
Closing (7:30-8:00pm EST)
In Attendance
Harold Shinsato, Paul Levy, Karen Davis, Mark Sheffield, Stuart Turner, Tricia Chirumbole, Doug Marteinsson, Suzanne Daigle, Kevin O'Brien, Jon Jorgensen, Vic Desotelle, Skye Hirst, Tom Brown
Session 1 Table 1
Head Heart Gut … Creating Open Spaces for the emotional response to transform intention into action
Attendees: Vic Desotelle, Skye Hirst, Kevin O'Brien, Harold Shinsato, Tricia Chirumbole, Doug Marteinson, Karen Davis
We had two meetings for a while - one at the main table - and one at Table 1
We have a model of Head/Heart - highly informed, or highly compassionating.
We leave out the gut, the emotional response, that we spend a lot of time managing.
Vic has been doing a lot of work with this using Restorative Justice, specifically in places in worship where there has been child sexual abuse - instead of just heady - but in environments where people safely express themselves. Not just release but use the negative feeling energy to create positive change in the world.
Heart Brain (Institute of Heart Math)
The research shows that the heart sends more signal to the brain, and it determines it's own way of beating. A regular rhythm communicates to t
Enteric Brain (gut)
The whole body informs the decision making process. In Open Space you honor the role of the body in making such decisions.
In the basis of the whole body iknowing - is this my time - does this feel right to me? Whole body leadership is encouraged in Open Space.
Dr. Umbright - initiated Restorative Justice work - there is a legal aspect to bringing the bad guy - horrific stuff - heavy duty. Like with murders. Or sex abuse. That's possible, but there are softer collaborative processes for survivors or victims of abuse. This could go well beyond sexual abuse. One out of every 4 women are sexual abused, and one out of five men. If we could just heal that - in Open Space healing environment.
Paul:
Invitation - what to invite and who to invite
An invitation can be to talk but also to take action
Need to trust the potential of self-organising human beings
Do facilitators need to truly get out of the way?
Head (thinking), heart (feeling/emotion), gut (the will/doing)
Tip: Don't over-engineer your desired outcome (whatever your good intentions)
Session 2 Table 1
What is the Open Space Institute - How can we help?
Initiator Tom Brown
Session 1 Table 2
Open Space in Work and Problem Solving
Initiator: Jon Jorgensen
Interested in how Open Space can be used in knowledge work. Would like to see more of it. - specifically in software industry, finance. Human interactions - super important to productivity. Problems in project mgt and product dev. A growing schism of Agile Practitionners who are agile / others not. From outside looking in - non agilist are more tolerant than the Agilists. Maybe Open Space can bring us together.
Factions are forming and there's not much open communications about it. Folks speaks in their own faction about the other faction. Frustrating, Jon... "I don't belong to either faction."
When reading Jon's public writings Suzanne sees the power of Scrum and Agile in the world. So appreciative of the work that has preceded. The agile principles and values that are making an impact. Agile and Scrum have so much to offer beyond technology.
It is sad to see the lack of invitation. I support this topic.
Jon lives in Omaha... grateful. Talks about staying in a B&B as he works with his client. What's great is that at night he has a place to come home to. His host used to work for that company - quite bureaucratic. His experience of the Agile community is that they are completely unconcerned about having a forecast for when a project will be done. When he asks, he is dismissed. You don't know what Agile is. and told he is a nuisance and go away. He is a VP, not there to impose a structure. He's been asked by his CEO to inquire. As he asking basic simple things, to these agilists, these questions are dim-witted. From his perspective, he just wants it to go away. He feels Agile is worse than Waterfall. I can't deny that says Jon, about the ridicule and lack of introspection and unwillingness to come to the table - it's worse than dismaying. Abysmall I don't think our Agile community is willing to deliver. Disbelief.
Where do you go from there. The underlying principles of OS and Agile should produce good work together. I realize the battle of words that is not conducive to the good work that is out there. This "us" and "them" attitude (agree with you on Agile side. I think there are valid reasons to use waterfall if you know what to do.
On the encouraging side, met an Adjunct Professor at Columbia - 9 students - She has invited me to be an Agile coach to that team in that context. University not yet convince, but discussion on-going. Not in a strictly software environment - also in a theatre environment - also hierarchical. Devoted and Disgruntled (Phelim McDermott) in the UK - using an iterative way of doing things - young people seekng this. Started pulling Scrum and Agile ways and they said yes, let's do it that way.
Principles and Values - lethargy (Harrison might say) versus the doctrine and dogma. Putting it into practice. It is being budchered horrible. The church is corrupty when ? is valie. Misapplying what they're learning. So much vitriol in the community - if there is not enough people that want to resolve, I will just continue to ply my trade. Right now Agilists have the political upper hand. There will be a snap back.
What I hear you describing is a very closed space - lots of conflict there for various reasons. It could be virtually any situation with lots of emotions on both sides. Spaces closed and keeping spaces closes.
How can we advance the idea to open space and get to real problem solving.
I've asked myself that. I can take what I believe (principles in Agile Manifesto) and take that to the mgt community (like a PMI chapter). I don't know what will happen when I do. There are invitations I've received in PMI. That's probably the extend of what I can do in my part of the world.
What about the others? Do you face those situations where you want to open more space?
Yes it's the same around the world. Something I've been working on for 15 years. Firstly trying to see or discover on something I saw as a massive step forward and wanting to suggest it to a colleague and upset that they weren't getting. Thinking they may be incapable. Had a journey on why. Still now have real problems with senior people in organizations - past experience need to be experts. any sort of help is diminishing their status Edward Schin's books ? and Humlbing Inquiry.
Opening the space... asking..
The problem is Control - the opposite is Trust. How do you build that trust so they can loosen. Scared to death if they let go control. They don't realize what can happen.
1. Suzanne's perception when reading online, feels a huge criticism in the community, what people are doing wrong "ScrumBut" or even deeper than that. I feel very intimidate to do anything. In AZ in 2010 Tobias Mayer hosted the first Scrum Beyond Software, I was opening space, as nervous as heck. There was a lot of unity. I feel so troubled by this. I feel there are amazing people in the agile community. I live in the other world. I thought, and the geeks and nerds are different and proud to be different. They blasted the gates off a lot of stuff. Who wants to play and get around the boardroom table and understand what the real issues are. We collude to put them on pedistals. It's a big mess.
What do we do about that. If you're somewhat tolerant, that some people are still in the waterfall space.
I was a controlling manager once, and you think you're doing the right thing. If we were inviting people, and the theme was a real issue, I trust that one day if it's Open Space, it will start gaining power. Focus on Change and providing dignity to people doing the work.
I did agile with 50 people at WOSINOSIS we worked as a project all day, called Harold. The leaders were so anxious, because they were freaked out did know agile. They had a lot of fun. I put head and heart into it. I was scared not to represent it well. Those people were so greatful. I had this thing called "Team Up" I put all their faces there, I elevated the agile community. I said take the manifesto, let's go out there and lets make a difference. I've never admitted the distress, and I'm too scared to.
It is disconcerting. Thank you for being authentic. YOu are going to have a bit impact on those people in Germany. Mural of who the Pioneers were. Cool...! Going outside of It. I would suspect that there are many people that feel the same way, terrorized the tribes of Agile, Non Agile.
Maybe inviting people in Open Space to talk about this. We can talk about the ominious responsibility to be an Ambassador. It's not easy to convey. I'm an Agile Coach - this is what is helping me put my kids through school.
I've been upset by people calling me touchy-feely. Harold... saved me.
I'm very excited about something. I've been hoping to work with you because I've not seen anything to be looking at this from a different perspective (constellation). So many of the wonderful things i have learned have been with the Agile communty. Feel strongly that the work we are doing in the Agile community is important to the human species, heart, gut, brain. (the other session also went to amazing direction). there is somethnig about bringing this to other communities without losing relevance, very complex, not being aware of our responsibility coming from or not coming from that space. Being Open Space was a seminal experience - people were there at Gangplank.
Shifting the Effort/Reward Ratio of Science paper by the Friends of Science
Funding is not always going to the research that it should go to.
That event was after the GangPlank one.
They are vicious in Science, because they are proud of not being like everyone else. Not like capitalists, etc.
The Technology community. -GangPlank came to Washington, NYC.
The Scientists respected the technologists.
Being authentic about talking about this....I would beg you to call me to talk about this.
I'm not really good about conflict. But, I know the format of Open Space, that we need to get things ready, organized about producing value by holding space.
I'm no hot shot, but used to working with leaders, I've never had a conversation like tonight.
There's too much need. We need to figure out ways to partner together.
It's bringing hierarchies together.
The leaders. Ghanda said first they laugh at you, then they fight you, then they embrace you.
Sometime it drives you crazy.
You might take a look at Open Space Agile.
https://www.facebook.com/Agile-Open-Space-1396288047345891/
I think we can do things together. If we collaborate on what's possible. Just getting the word out, people can respond. This awesome conversation.
Ideas on new projects on initiatives that you would recommend for OSI-US? Or hotline thoughts
Session 3 Table 2
Initiator Tricia Chirumbole
Some conversations about the Open Space Institute
Tricia introduces what is OSI - US and the projects that it supports, as well as inviting ideas about what initiatives the group would like to see supported under the theme of "holding space for open space"
Group agreed the community would benefit from a well-developed and publicly available resource that described Open Space, and that videos and a curated video repository, possibly including one or more done in graphic recording style would be valuable.
Harold shared that there may be a place for Research into the Open Space. Brene' Brown's work offers a formal research method called Grounded Theory.
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=the+power+of+eight
The Book The Power of Eight has an outline a new way to do research.
