cameron and green making-sense-of-change-management

Emerging inquiriesdiscussions, that the real excitement and energy used to burst out in thecoffee breaks. He wondered if it were possible to make the symposiumone big coffee break.An open space session is typically a large gathering that is clearlyfocused around one topic, has no set agenda, no organizing committeeand a small band of facilitators. The agenda is discovered by participantswho wish to pursue topics posting these on a noticeboard, seeingwho signs up and then running these various conversations simultaneously.People can move from one conversation to another, and a recordof each discussion with issues ranked and next steps identified for thecritical issues is given to every participant. It seems that open spacerepresents Owen’s belief that the one thing we spend our time doingso much of – organizing and seeking control – is not only unavailablebut unnecessary.When is it appropriate? It works well when there is a very pressingissue that needs to be sorted out yesterday, when there is a great deal ofcomplexity, when there is conflict and when there is a lot of diversity inthe people who need to get together to solve the issue.There are four Principles and one Law of open space sessions. The fourPrinciples are:1. Whoever comes are the right people – people demonstrate that theycare by showing up;2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have – this helpspeople to focus on the here and now, not what could have been, orshould have been;3. Whenever it starts is the right time – creativity is not dictated bythe clock;4. Whenever it’s over, it’s over – don’t waste time! When the conversationis finished, move on.The one Law is called ‘the law of two feet’, whichmeans when you are no longer listening orcontributing, move on to somewhere more to yourliking. This is not just about pleasing yourself, butabout taking responsibility for your own learningrather than sulking or blaming others for notmaking things more stimulating. Owen says that the Principles and Law324