Open Space Technology - Stoking the Volcano of Actionable Creativity

A Toolbelt Blog Entry

by Leslie C. Lewis

If someone were to ask you to describe your business environment right now, what would you say? Unpredictable? Fast-moving? Fluid? Demanding? Yes! All of those words capture the moment, and strategizing requires an approach freed from set time frames, rigid methodologies, and linear thinking.

 I have found that Open Space Technology is the perfect planning tool for today’s shifting business ecosystem, meeting an enterprise’s external complexity while drawing on its internal capacity to engage the creativity and experience-derived acumen of its members.

 Here are a few key characteristics of Open Space:

  • The agenda for a planning session/retreat is established in real time by EVERYONE at the meeting. You may think this is impossible. It is not.

  • There is a starting question or theme that drives how people shape the agenda.

  • Planning sessions/retreats can work with groups as small as 10 (some would say smaller) and as large as 1,000 (some would say larger).

  • Each person has agency.

  • Each person has accountability.

 Originated by Harrison Owen, it is particularly powerful when nobody knows the answer, the situation is complex, and the ongoing participation of a number of people is required to deal with the questions.

 Open Space always delivers on the following promises:

1. Every issue of concern to anybody will have been raised, if they took responsibility for doing that.

2. All issues will have received full discussion, to the extent desired.

3. Priorities will be set and action plans will be made.

4. A full report of issues and discussions will be in the hands of all participants.

My 3 Stories Consulting business partner, Deb Witzel, and I recently had the privilege of co-facilitating a company-wide Open Space retreat for CivicActions (CA), an open design and technology services company. Coming together for the first time since COVID, 115 CA employees convened in Denver and co-created 3 days of 50+ different meetings addressing the question “In what ways will we build a world that works for all, spark collaboration with one another, and inspire personal connection to the vision?” To find out more about this experience and what it might be like for you to engage with Open Space, read CA’s terrific blog post.

All too often, when coming together for planning sessions and retreats, we desire clarity, forward momentum, and unity of purpose, but fall short of the goal. Open Space cuts through disproportionate emphasis on less important agenda items and needless discussion by putting the power for innovation, decision-making and implementation directly in the hands of those responsible for outcomes. If you need to shift your business-as-usual to business-as-meeting-the-moment-and-beyond, consider using Open Space to spark the creative fire in your enterprise.

 #OpenSpaceTechnology; #StrategicPlanning; #OrganizationalDevelopment; #RestorativePractice; #LiberatingStructures