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

Complex changeare not really what makes open space work, it’s just that these statementsfree people up to do what they would do naturally, given a chance.Future searchFuture search is a way of conferencing that is underpinned by researchby Weisbord et al (1992) into the conditions under which diverse groupsseemed to be able to cooperate. Previous work by North American andAustralian social scientists was also highly influential. Future searchinvolves many people getting together for a large planning meeting,and is based on principles that enable diverse groups to get togetherand cooperate, be very task-focused, and quickly translate their energiesinto action.These principles are:• get the ‘whole system’ in the room – inviting a cross-section of allparties who care about the issue;• explore the ‘whole elephant’ before acting on a part – get everyonetalking about the same big picture;• put common ground and future focus at the centre, and treat conflictsas information, rather than items to be ‘sorted’;• encourage self-management and responsibility taking for action byparticipants.The conditions for success are:• encourage full attendance – discourage part-timers;• meet under healthy conditions – with food and snacks, and adequatebreaks;• work across three days (sleep twice) – things need time to be absorbed;• ask for voluntary public commitments to next steps before peopleleave.325