Open Space Technology: The 4 Principles as introduced on a paper napkin…
We will be writing our charter as part of an Open Space Technology (OST) conference and forum, and so I thought I’d begin explaining what OST is all about. Here is a little background… enjoy!
-Jesse
This is the front page of the Business Section of the San Jose Mercury News for July 13, 2006 it features the Principles of Open Space and asks - How can you plan anything in Silicon Valley using these rules?
“Open Space Technology is a simple way to run productive meetings, for five to 2000+ people, and a powerful way to lead any kind of organization, in everyday practice and ongoing change…”
Harrison Owen describes OST as:
“At the very least, Open Space is a fast, cheap, and simple way to better, more productive meetings. At a deeper level, it enables people to experience a very different quality of organization in which self-managed work groups are the norm, leadership a constantly shared phenomenon, diversity becomes a resource to be used instead of a problem to be overcome, and personal empowerment a shared experience. It is also fun. In a word, the conditions are set for fundamental organizational change, indeed that change may already have occurred. By the end, groups face an interesting choice. They can do it again, they can do it better, or they can go back to their prior mode of behavior.
Open Space is appropriate in situations where a major issue must be resolved, characterized by high levels of complexity, high levels of diversity (in terms of the people involved), the presence of potential or actual conflict, and with a decision time of yesterday.
Open Space runs on two fundamentals: passion and responsibility. Passion engages the people in the room. Responsibility ensures things get done. A focusing theme or question provides the framework for the event. The art of the question lies in saying just enough to evoke attention, while leaving sufficient open space for the imagination to run wild.”
Update 1/14/07: Ted Earnst blogged about us on OpenSpaceWorld’s blog.
Add comment January 13th, 2007
