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The four practices of Open Space

3 or 4 years back I experienced “Open Space” on my own body for the first time. It was great fun, it was at reboot, it was HIGHLY productive for those who saw the potential and not just felt they paid a lot of money to entertain them self’s. It was one of my first open-minded-joint-participating-experiences.

Today I found a post and a post about Appreciative Inquiry and “Open Space” and by that I re-discovered the very good principles.

Have you tried being a part of an “Open Space”-proces. How did you feel? Did you lead the process? If not, who? How did he do/manage?

“Open Space” has 4 principles:

1. practice of opening. it's about willingness. willingness to see, to know, to open. it's personal and reflective, but can be felt physically in body and charted in organizations.

2. practice of inviting. it's about goodness. finding benefits TO others, as in what's in it for them, and also benefits IN others, as in recognizing what they can add to the process of achieving what is desired personally in the first practice. it makes that first practice social, collective, organizational, and cultural, but also documented in invitation emails, letters, posters.

3. practice of holding. it's about supporting movement and change. providing space and time, structures that support without making decisions for people, giving attention, carrying in awareness or carrying forward, holding in one's heart or home or conference room. it creates room for others to expand, explore, experiment... to bring new things out in the world. it is simultaneously logistical, mental, and emotional.

4. practice of practicing. it's about sustaining, returning, realizing, and making real. this is action, taking a stand, making progress, going somewhere, documenting results. this implies the continuation and diffusion of the above. standing ground, staying the course, seeing things through. it is the personal and individual (I, me, my) pursuit of the good that WE invite, in the space that WE provide. It can look simply mechanical and become deeply meditative, as we go round again, starting with Opening. (note... this might also be called the practice of 'participating,' perhaps 'making,' or simply 'doing' or 'changing.' stay tuned.

Do you see your self in those principles? Be honest.

Posted by Hans Henrik H. Heming on August 15, 2005 in Design Process | Permalink

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Comments

Hans,

This is GREAT stuff. More!

Niti

Posted by: Niti Bhan | Aug 16, 2005 2:18:35 AM

Hans, to read this post after a long day is very refreshing. My feeling is that in the course of our work, complicated as it inevitably is with diplomacy, procedures and processes and perhaps conflict, we lose sight of the fundamental goodness in people and the real benefit that empathy and openess can bring to our lives both professionally and personally.

When I do encounter the kind of qualities expressed in your post on the principles of "open space" in a group process with colleagues or some other professional situation I am thankful, and perhaps a little surprised.

You ask for honesty in our responses. I can say that although I too aspire to these kind of interactions in my experience it is common to lose touch and get caught up in the political quagmire and territorialism that often besets large organisations.

I'd suggest it takes a very special kind of manager to realise these clearly admirable goals. Awareness is a great start though. I think I'll start to spread the word on this. Thanks.

Posted by: Ian McArthur | Aug 16, 2005 10:51:35 AM

One other thing to note is that these are facilitation practices used for opening space, or facilitating Open Space Technology meetings, which I believe need to be congruent with living a life which includes these practices.

The principles of Open Space are also worth noting:

* Whoever comes are the right people
* Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
* When it starts is the right time
* When it's over, it's over

and the law of two feet: if you find yourself in a situation where you are neither learning or contributing, go somewhere where you can.

Taken together these principles and the law create the conditions for optimal self-organization in groups IF the facilitator uses the four practices to open, invite, hold and ground that self-organization.

It's a subtle art, and fun!

Posted by: Chris Corrigan | Aug 17, 2005 12:57:42 AM

Chris; your right - thank you for your additional principles...

/Hans Henrik

Posted by: Hans Henrik | Aug 20, 2005 1:29:43 PM

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