BW
Birgitt Williams
Fri, May 2, 2025 2:04 AM
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology,
a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about
upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings
are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which
Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that
I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well
deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe
a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied
this from the newly updated workbook.
Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt
Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way
of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of
the Genuine Contact Program.
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of
Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization.
The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had
become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t
worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers
and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about
organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t
know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that
this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of
the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational
transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it
out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I
learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and
organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in
the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members
who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with
members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that
I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences.
I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable
to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged
agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization
hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still
hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development
peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This
small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins
of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual
conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that
didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of
posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a
number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of
these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an
interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he
published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking
about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and
development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers
the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their
organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational
transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational
development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an
opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open
meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational
transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of
what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his
facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the
participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was
passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more
than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and
talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the
conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the
conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place,
Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the
Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology
was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology
out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills
with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing
global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to
dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a
result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she
convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open
Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training
in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would
take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution
of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space
for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational
transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in
successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a
User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of
capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could
facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement
of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a
good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method
Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that
although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to
use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was
credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in
helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open
Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several
times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering
these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was
invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to
Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space
Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in
Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if
a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system
chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass.
This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one
grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development
consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with
large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking
critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category
of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban
in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group
Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as
Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the
Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space
Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide
that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described
prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his
training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or
to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in
Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and
the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was
captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open
Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned
his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might
simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots
of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he
didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed
to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts
to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the
training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some
donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The
theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the
intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting
should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for
the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day.
It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of
people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the
organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the
volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared
about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch
and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people
who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and
caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one
organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to
work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that
they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I
decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing
our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to
the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was
one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of
these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational
transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a
conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what
Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the
Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison
for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced
during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community
(south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization
in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could
have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into
action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we
all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently
with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a
transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward
movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the
silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a
great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one
OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I
come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of
the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been
sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those
barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post
conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action?
Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on
people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our
organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was
possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great
success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was
felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said
that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was
that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about
doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in
our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting
was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself
included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me,
I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was
against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we
didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience
in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such
enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a
difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and
OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to
understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were
‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action
being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we
realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting,
making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more
OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling
the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be
talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it
came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was
aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first
organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry
out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as
an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn
together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the
Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision,
community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the
transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology
module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved
when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating.
Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an
organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space
Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space
Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is
substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a
conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations
that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or
their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used
successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is
now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day.
For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the
longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or
longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne
continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t
agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in
which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of
the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of
freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him,
it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a
law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a
law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
Birgitt Williams
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 &
19, 2025 | Online
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology,
a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about
upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings
are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which
Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that
I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well
deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe
a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied
this from the newly updated workbook.
*Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology*
*The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt
Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way
of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of
the Genuine Contact Program.*
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of
Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization.
The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had
become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t
worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers
and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about
organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t
know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that
this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of
the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational
transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it
out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I
learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and
organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in
the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members
who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with
members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that
I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences.
I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable
to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged
agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization
hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still
hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development
peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This
small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins
of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual
conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that
didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of
posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a
number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of
these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an
interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he
published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking
about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and
development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers
the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their
organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational
transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational
development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an
opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open
meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational
transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of
what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his
facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the
participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was
passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more
than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and
talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the
conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the
conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place,
Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the
Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology
was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology
out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills
with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing
global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to
dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a
result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she
convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open
Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training
in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would
take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution
of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space
for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational
transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in
successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a
User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of
capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could
facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement
of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a
good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method
Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that
although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to
use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was
credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in
helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open
Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several
times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering
these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was
invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to
Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space
Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in
Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if
a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system
chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass.
This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one
grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development
consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with
large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking
critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category
of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban
in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group
Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as
Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the
Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space
Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide
that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described
prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his
training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or
to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in
Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and
the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was
captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open
Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned
his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might
simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots
of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he
didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed
to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts
to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the
training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some
donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The
theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the
intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting
should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for
the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day.
It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of
people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the
organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the
volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared
about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch
and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people
who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and
caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one
organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to
work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that
they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I
decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing
our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to
the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was
one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of
these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational
transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a
*conference.* By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what
Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the
Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison
for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced
during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community
(south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization
in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could
have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into
action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we
all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently
with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a
transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward
movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the
silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a
great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one
OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I
come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of
the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been
sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those
barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post
conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action?
Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on
people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up *meetings* within our
organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was
possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great
success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was
felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said
that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was
that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about
doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in
our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting
was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself
included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me,
I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was
against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we
didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience
in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such
enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a
difference between OST for a *conference*, OST for a single *meeting*, and
OST used on a *regular basis within an organization*. It was important to
understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were
‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action
being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we
realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting,
making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more
OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling
the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be
talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it
came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was
aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first
organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry
out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as
an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn
together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the
Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision,
community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the
transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology
module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved
when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating.
Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an
organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space
Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space
Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is
substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a
conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations
that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or
their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used
successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is
now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day.
For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the
longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or
longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne
continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t
agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in
which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of
the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of
freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him,
it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a
law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a
law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
*Birgitt Williams*
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
*Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.*
www.dalarinternational.com
*Upcoming Workshops*
*Holistic Leadership Development* | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
*Individual Health and Balance for Leaders* | November 29, December 5, 12 &
19, 2025 | Online
>> Learn More & Register
<http://www.dalarinternational.com/upcoming-workshops/> for any of these
workshops here.
*Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net> to see the
public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact
trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training
for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams
<birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to
discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.*
16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
Phone: 01-919-522-7750
Like us on Facebook
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CC
Chris Corrigan
Fri, May 2, 2025 4:37 AM
What a beautiful a valuable history Birgitt. Thank you for taking the time to put it together. It brings back so many beautiful memories of those days in the 1990s when we were all fresh faced and enthusiastic and met our Elsers in Anne and Harrison who so beautifully us into the world that was waiting for us.
Fondly remembering our learning moments in Vancouver in 1999/2000 and appreciation for the journey, friendship and colleagues met along the way.
Chris.
Sent from my iPhone
On May 1, 2025, at 7:06 PM, Birgitt Williams via OSList <everyone@oslist.org> wrote:
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied this from the newly updated workbook.
Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of the Genuine Contact Program.
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization. The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences. I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place, Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass. This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day. It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action? Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me, I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting, making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision, community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating. Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him, it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
Birgitt Williams
Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
>> Learn More & Register for any of these workshops here.
Go to www.genuinecontact.net to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.
16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
Phone: 01-919-522-7750
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PH
Peggy Holman
Fri, May 2, 2025 7:34 AM
Birgitt,
Thank you for your story. As Chris said, it beautifully captures the beginnings of our journey of discovery to transform whole systems by liberating human spirit such that each of us flourish and our organizations and communities thrive.
Peggy HolmanSent from my iPhone
On May 2, 2025, at 7:38 AM, Chris Corrigan via OSList <everyone@oslist.org> wrote:
What a beautiful a valuable history Birgitt. Thank you for taking the time to put it together. It brings back so many beautiful memories of those days in the 1990s when we were all fresh faced and enthusiastic and met our Elsers in Anne and Harrison who so beautifully us into the world that was waiting for us.
Fondly remembering our learning moments in Vancouver in 1999/2000 and appreciation for the journey, friendship and colleagues met along the way.
Chris.
Sent from my iPhone
On May 1, 2025, at 7:06 PM, Birgitt Williams via OSList <everyone@oslist.org> wrote:
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied this from the newly updated workbook.
Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of the Genuine Contact Program.
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization. The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences. I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place, Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass. This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day. It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action? Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me, I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting, making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision, community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating. Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him, it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
Birgitt Williams
Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
>> Learn More & Register for any of these workshops here.
Go to www.genuinecontact.net to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.
16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
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TP
Thomas Perret
Fri, May 2, 2025 7:52 AM
Birgitt,
I’m wondering about givens, and I read "realizing that they fell into categories” and wonder which you have found and hoe you have benefitted from categorising – will you disclose?
Kindly,
Thomas P
On 2. May 2025, at 5.04, Birgitt Williams via OSList everyone@oslist.org wrote:
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied this from the newly updated workbook.
Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of the Genuine Contact Program.
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization. The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences. I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place, Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass. This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day. It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action? Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me, I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting, making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision, community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating. Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him, it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
Birgitt Williams
Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com http://www.dalarinternational.com/
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
Birgitt,
I’m wondering about givens, and I read "realizing that they fell into categories” and wonder which you have found and hoe you have benefitted from categorising – will you disclose?
Kindly,
Thomas P
> On 2. May 2025, at 5.04, Birgitt Williams via OSList <everyone@oslist.org> wrote:
>
> Dear friends and colleagues,
> Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
>
> In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied this from the newly updated workbook.
>
> Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
>
> The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of the Genuine Contact Program.
>
>
> As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization. The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
>
> I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I learned.
>
> I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences. I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
>
> In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational development to learn.
>
> Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the participants.
>
> Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place, Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology was created.
>
> Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
>
>
> Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was invited to do so in the world.
>
> Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
>
> A core concept researched and written about at that time including in Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass. This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
>
> At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
>
> Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
>
> To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and the technique could be understood.
>
> I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed to its creation by others.
>
> I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
>
> Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day. It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that they had been part of.
>
> With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational transformation forward.
>
> We learned a lot…together.
>
> The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently with each other.
>
> Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action? Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
>
> The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was felt again during these meetings.
>
> After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me, I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to understand this difference.
>
> The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting, making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
>
> From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision, community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the transformation.
>
> Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating. Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an organization.
>
> The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or their organization.
>
> For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or longer).
> Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him, it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
>
> Birgitt Williams
> Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants
> Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
> www.dalarinternational.com <http://www.dalarinternational.com/>
>
> Upcoming Workshops
> Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
> Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
>
> >> Learn More & Register <http://www.dalarinternational.com/upcoming-workshops/> for any of these workshops here.
>
> Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net/> to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams <mailto:birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.
>
>
>
>
> 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
> Phone: 01-919-522-7750
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> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
BW
Birgitt Williams
Thu, May 8, 2025 1:27 AM
Hi Thomas,
you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I think it best
if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes about the
givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even some
wisdom.
Warmly,
Birgitt
Birgitt Williams
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 &
19, 2025 | Online
Birgitt,
I’m wondering about givens, and I read "realizing that they fell into
categories” and wonder which you have found and hoe you have benefitted
from categorising – will you disclose?
Kindly,
Thomas P
On 2. May 2025, at 5.04, Birgitt Williams via OSList everyone@oslist.org
wrote:
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology,
a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about
upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings
are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which
Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see
that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well
deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe
a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied
this from the newly updated workbook.
Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt
Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way
of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of
the Genuine Contact Program.
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of
Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization.
The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had
become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t
worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers
and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about
organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t
know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that
this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of
the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational
transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it
out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I
learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and
organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in
the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members
who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with
members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that
I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences.
I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable
to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged
agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization
hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still
hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development
peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This
small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins
of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual
conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that
didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of
posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a
number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of
these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an
interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he
published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking
about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and
development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers
the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their
organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational
transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational
development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an
opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open
meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational
transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of
what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his
facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the
participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was
passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more
than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and
talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the
conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the
conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place,
Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the
Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology
was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology
out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills
with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing
global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to
dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a
result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she
convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open
Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training
in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would
take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution
of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space
for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational
transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in
successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a
User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of
capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could
facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement
of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a
good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method
Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that
although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to
use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was
credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in
helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open
Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several
times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering
these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was
invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred
to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space
Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in
Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if
a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system
chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass.
This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one
grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development
consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with
large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking
critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category
of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban
in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group
Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as
Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the
Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space
Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide
that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described
prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his
training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or
to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in
Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and
the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was
captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open
Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned
his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might
simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots
of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he
didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed
to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts
to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the
training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some
donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The
theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the
intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting
should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for
the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day.
It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of
people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the
organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the
volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared
about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch
and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people
who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and
caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one
organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to
work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that
they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received,
I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing
our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to
the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was
one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of
these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational
transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a
conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what
Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the
Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison
for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced
during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community
(south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization
in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could
have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into
action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we
all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently
with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a
transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward
movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the
silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a
great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one
OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I
come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of
the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been
sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those
barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post
conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action?
Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on
people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our
organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was
possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great
success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was
felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said
that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was
that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about
doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in
our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting
was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself
included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me,
I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was
against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we
didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience
in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such
enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a
difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting,
and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was
important to understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were
‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action
being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we
realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting,
making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more
OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling
the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be
talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it
came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was
aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first
organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry
out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as
an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn
together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the
Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision,
community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the
transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology
module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved
when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating.
Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an
organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space
Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space
Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is
substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a
conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations
that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or
their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being
used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it
is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half
day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues
to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half
days (or longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne
continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t
agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in
which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of
the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of
freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him,
it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a
law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a
law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
Birgitt Williams
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12
& 19, 2025 | Online
Hi Thomas,
you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I think it best
if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes about the
givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even some
wisdom.
Warmly,
Birgitt
*Birgitt Williams*
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
*Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.*
www.dalarinternational.com
*Upcoming Workshops*
*Holistic Leadership Development* | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
*Individual Health and Balance for Leaders* | November 29, December 5, 12 &
19, 2025 | Online
>> Learn More & Register
<http://www.dalarinternational.com/upcoming-workshops/> for any of these
workshops here.
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public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact
trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training
for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams
<birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to
discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.*
16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
Phone: 01-919-522-7750
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On Fri, May 2, 2025 at 3:52 AM Thomas Perret via OSList <everyone@oslist.org>
wrote:
> Birgitt,
>
> I’m wondering about givens, and I read "realizing that they fell into
> categories” and wonder which you have found and hoe you have benefitted
> from categorising – will you disclose?
>
> Kindly,
> Thomas P
>
>
>
> On 2. May 2025, at 5.04, Birgitt Williams via OSList <everyone@oslist.org>
> wrote:
>
> Dear friends and colleagues,
> Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology,
> a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about
> upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings
> are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which
> Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
>
> In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see
> that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well
> deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe
> a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied
> this from the newly updated workbook.
>
> *Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology*
>
>
> *The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt
> Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way
> of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of
> the Genuine Contact Program.*
>
>
>
>
> As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of
> Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization.
> The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had
> become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t
> worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers
> and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about
> organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t
> know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that
> this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of
> the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
>
>
> I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational
> transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it
> out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I
> learned.
>
>
> I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and
> organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in
> the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members
> who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with
> members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that
> I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences.
> I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable
> to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged
> agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization
> hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still
> hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
>
>
> In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development
> peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This
> small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins
> of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual
> conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that
> didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of
> posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a
> number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of
> these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an
> interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he
> published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking
> about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and
> development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers
> the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their
> organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational
> transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational
> development to learn.
>
>
> Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an
> opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open
> meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational
> transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of
> what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his
> facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the
> participants.
>
>
> Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was
> passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more
> than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and
> talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the
> conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the
> conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place,
> Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the
> Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology
> was created.
>
>
> Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology
> out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills
> with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing
> global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to
> dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a
> result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she
> convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open
> Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training
> in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would
> take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution
> of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space
> for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
>
>
>
>
> Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational
> transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in
> successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a
> User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of
> capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could
> facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement
> of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a
> good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method
> Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that
> although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to
> use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was
> credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in
> helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open
> Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several
> times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering
> these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was
> invited to do so in the world.
>
>
> Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred
> to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space
> Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
>
>
> A core concept researched and written about at that time including in
> Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if
> a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system
> chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass.
> This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one
> grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
>
>
> At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development
> consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with
> large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking
> critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category
> of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban
> in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
>
>
> Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group
> Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as
> Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the
> Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space
> Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide
> that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described
> prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
>
>
> To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his
> training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or
> to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in
> Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and
> the technique could be understood.
>
>
> I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was
> captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open
> Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned
> his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might
> simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots
> of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he
> didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed
> to its creation by others.
>
>
> I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts
> to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the
> training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some
> donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The
> theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the
> intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
>
>
> Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting
> should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for
> the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day.
> It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of
> people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the
> organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the
> volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared
> about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch
> and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people
> who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and
> caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one
> organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to
> work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that
> they had been part of.
>
>
> With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received,
> I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing
> our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to
> the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was
> one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of
> these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational
> transformation forward.
>
>
> We learned a lot…together.
>
>
> The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a
> *conference.* By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what
> Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the
> Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison
> for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced
> during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community
> (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization
> in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could
> have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into
> action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we
> all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently
> with each other.
>
>
> Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a
> transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward
> movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the
> silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a
> great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one
> OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I
> come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of
> the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been
> sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those
> barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post
> conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action?
> Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on
> people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
>
>
> The action I took of organizing follow up *meetings* within our
> organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was
> possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great
> success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was
> felt again during these meetings.
>
>
> After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said
> that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was
> that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about
> doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in
> our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting
> was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself
> included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me,
> I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was
> against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we
> didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience
> in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such
> enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a
> difference between OST for a *conference*, OST for a single *meeting*,
> and OST used on a *regular basis within an organization*. It was
> important to understand this difference.
>
>
> The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were
> ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action
> being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we
> realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting,
> making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more
> OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling
> the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
>
>
> From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be
> talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it
> came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was
> aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first
> organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry
> out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as
> an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn
> together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the
> Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision,
> community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the
> transformation.
>
>
> Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology
> module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved
> when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating.
> Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an
> organization.
>
>
> The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space
> Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space
> Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is
> substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a
> conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations
> that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or
> their organization.
>
>
> For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being
> used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it
> is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half
> day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues
> to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half
> days (or longer).
> Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne
> continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t
> agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in
> which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of
> the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of
> freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him,
> it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a
> law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a
> law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
>
>
> *Birgitt Williams*
> *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
> *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
> development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.*
> www.dalarinternational.com
>
> *Upcoming Workshops*
> *Holistic Leadership Development* | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
> *Individual Health and Balance for Leaders* | November 29, December 5, 12
> & 19, 2025 | Online
>
> >> Learn More & Register
> <http://www.dalarinternational.com/upcoming-workshops/> for any of these
> workshops here.
>
> *Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net/> to see the
> public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact
> trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training
> for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams
> <birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to
> discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.*
>
>
>
> 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
> Phone: 01-919-522-7750
> Like us on Facebook
> <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=6677c35b38&e=e7zyhHfiqG>
>
> Connect on LinkedIn
> <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=c26173f86b&e=e7zyhHfiqG>
>
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>
>
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> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
T
thomas@peerland.fi
Thu, May 8, 2025 7:59 PM
Hi Birgitt,
I appreciate your answer and … I’m still wondering about categories …
I read archive posts on “givens” and “categories” starting from 1997 and found it fascinating, especially to listen to different persons’ perception of the term and topic. I could understand also objections … depending on the level of zooming in time, if outside the gathering there’s formal rank etc.
Givens as such is clear to me, when it comes to caring for the caring within an organisation –– long-term. The reason I’m asking about categories is that I suspect there might be something of gold here, as I have found your perception quite laser and the sentence stood out …
Should you find something worth adding, know that it’s well received.
Kind regards,
Thomas P
Birgitt Williams wrote:
Hi Thomas,
you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I think it best
if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes about the
givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even some
wisdom.
Warmly,
Birgitt
Birgitt Williams
*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants *
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com
Hi Birgitt,
I appreciate your answer and … I’m still wondering about categories …
I read archive posts on “givens” and “categories” starting from 1997 and found it fascinating, especially to listen to different persons’ perception of the term and topic. I could understand also objections … depending on the level of zooming in time, if outside the gathering there’s formal rank etc.
Givens as such is clear to me, when it comes to caring for the caring within an organisation –– long-term. The reason I’m asking about categories is that I suspect there might be something of gold here, as I have found your perception quite laser and the sentence stood out …
Should you find something worth adding, know that it’s well received.
Kind regards,
Thomas P
Birgitt Williams wrote:
> Hi Thomas,
> you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I think it best
> if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes about the
> givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even some
> wisdom.
>
> Warmly,
> Birgitt
>
> *Birgitt Williams*
> \*Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants \*
> *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership
> development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.*
> www.dalarinternational.com
CK
christine koehler
Fri, May 9, 2025 6:12 AM
Début du message réexpédié :
De: Birgitt Williams via OSList everyone@oslist.org
Objet: [OSList] Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
Date: 2 mai 2025 à 04:04:46 UTC+2
À: OS list everyone@oslist.org
Répondre à: Birgitt Williams birgitt@dalarinternational.com
Dear friends and colleagues,
Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied this from the newly updated workbook.
Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of the Genuine Contact Program.
As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization. The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I learned.
I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences. I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational development to learn.
Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the participants.
Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place, Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology was created.
Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was invited to do so in the world.
Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
A core concept researched and written about at that time including in Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass. This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and the technique could be understood.
I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed to its creation by others.
I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day. It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that they had been part of.
With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational transformation forward.
We learned a lot…together.
The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently with each other.
Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action? Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was felt again during these meetings.
After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me, I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to understand this difference.
The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting, making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision, community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the transformation.
Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating. Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an organization.
The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or their organization.
For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or longer).
Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him, it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
Birgitt Williams
Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants
Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
www.dalarinternational.com http://www.dalarinternational.com/
Upcoming Workshops
Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
> Début du message réexpédié :
>
> De: Birgitt Williams via OSList <everyone@oslist.org>
> Objet: [OSList] Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
> Date: 2 mai 2025 à 04:04:46 UTC+2
> À: OS list <everyone@oslist.org>
> Répondre à: Birgitt Williams <birgitt@dalarinternational.com>
>
> Dear friends and colleagues,
> Today I am sharing the origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, a module of the Genuine Contact Way. Recently, Thomas Herrmann posted about upcoming OST Trainings in the Netherlands and in Sweden. These trainings are based on this Working With Open Space Technology module, of which Thomas is one of the exceptional trainers.
>
> In this origin story of Working With Open Space Technology, you'll see that I include my story of the start of Open Space Technology, with a well deserved emphasis on Anne Stadler's contribution. In my perspective, we owe a lot to Anne for the existence and worldwide use of OST. I have copied this from the newly updated workbook.
>
> Origin Story of Working With Open Space Technology
>
> The origin story of Working With Open Space Technology is told by Birgitt Williams, co-creator of the Genuine Contact Program and Genuine Contact Way of working and living. Working With Open Space Technology is a module of the Genuine Contact Program.
>
>
> As a CEO of a non-profit health and social service agency, my Board of Directors had given me the mandate (1986) of transforming our organization. The members of the Board, all astute people in the world of business, had become aware that the merger of three separate agencies into one hadn’t worked as anticipated. There was a lot of resistance by staff, volunteers and our donors to the newly formed agency. In 1986 the first books about organizational transformation were coming out, The Board members didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation yet they knew that this new agency would survive and thrive only through the transformation of the merged agency into one well-functioning organization.
>
> I stated that I also didn’t know how to accomplish an organizational transformation. They responded by saying that they trusted me to figure it out. I would be supported by them in my learning and applying what I learned.
>
> I sought out help from my peers in organizational development and organizational psychology as well as other CEO’s and Executive Directors in the non-profit sector. I sought help from colleagues of my Board members who were leaders in the private sector businesses in our city, and met with members of City Council and met with a couple of Members of Parliament that I knew. My quest was to receive their guidance based on their experiences. I applied some of what I learned. Over a period of five years, I was unable to accomplish the desired organizational transformation. The merged agencies still operated in separate silos. Unifying into one organization hadn’t worked. The Board of Directors remained supportive. They were still hopeful that the organization could be transformed.
>
> In 1990 I came across a small subset of fellow organizational development peers who were exploring how to achieve organizational transformation. This small group of organizational development professionals were in the margins of the profession of organizational development, holding their own annual conferences, using a method that they had co-created of conferences that didn’t have a pre-determined agenda, no speakers, and the opportunity of posting topics of interest to them so that the conference attendees had a number of topics to choose from for small group sessions. At the heart of these conferences was Harrison Owen who was becoming known as an interesting speaker about organizational transformation. In 1987 he published Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations, talking about spirit in organizations as a key to both transformation and development. This was breakthrough thinking at the time, offering his peers the opportunity to take spirit into account when carrying out their organizational development work. He was an advocate of organizational transformation as an important skill for practitioners of organizational development to learn.
>
> Around the same time as the release of this first book, Harrison had an opportunity provided by the Taj Hotels in India, to use the more open meeting method that was used with such success at the annual organizational transformation conferences at their conference. He followed the steps of what we now know as Open Space Technology and was pleased at how well his facilitation was received and the feedback about the experience of the participants.
>
> Anne Stadler, a videographer, was at the same conference. Anne was passionate about connection and community development. She understood, more than Harrison did at the time, how brilliant the meeting method was and talked to Harrison about the importance of what she had experienced in the conference. The method didn’t yet have a name. At the end of the conference, when the press was asking questions about what had taken place, Harrison said that this new method for meetings was Open Space. One of the Taj executives added the word Technology and the name Open Space Technology was created.
>
> Anne remained vital to what happened next that got Open Space Technology out into the world. I credit her insight, wisdom, perseverance and skills with getting Open Space Technology out into the world and in the growing global use of this method for meetings and conferences. She continued to dialogue with Harrison in their growing and life long friendship. As a result of that first Open Space Technology meeting at the Taj Hotel, she convinced Harrison to let her make a video featuring his work with Open Space Technology. She encouraged him to write a book and to offer training in Open Space Technology, to undertake the step by step work that it would take to get this method out into the world. At this time in the evolution of Open Space Technology, the understanding was about opening enough space for the power of spirit to do the work of spirit.
>
>
> Within the broader perspective of educating people about organizational transformation and the power of opening space for spirit as essential in successful transformation, Harrison wrote the book Open Space Technology: a User’s Guide and self-published it. He wrote it from the perspective of capturing the method sufficiently that anyone who read the book could facilitate an Open Space Technology meeting. He noted that the requirement of the facilitator following what he had written in the book was to have a good head and a good heart. With the copyrighting of the book, the method Open Space Technology was copyrighted. Harrison made the decision that although copyrighted, he welcomed anyone who was interested in doing so to use Open Space Technology, to teach about it, to promote it. Thus, he was credited with giving Open Space Technology away. Anne was instrumental in helping Harrison develop a four day module for training people in Open Space Technology. She and Harrison co-facilitated this training several times. Harrison then began a many year tour until about 1997 of offering these four day training sessions in Open Space Technology wherever he was invited to do so in the world.
>
> Peggy Holman, a long time facilitator of Open Space Technology, referred to Anne and Harrison as the god-mother and god-father of Open Space Technology. This suited their role as I experienced it also.
>
> A core concept researched and written about at that time including in Training Magazine was critical mass thinking. The theory postulated that if a certain percentage of the people representative of the whole system chose a common way of thinking, others would align with this critical mass. This percentage could be as low as 10% but it couldn’t be 10% of only one grouping, it needed to be 10% with representation from the whole system.
>
> At the same time in the late 1980’s a few other organizational development consultants were experimenting and developing methods that would work with large numbers of people in conferences and meetings. These methods, taking critical mass thinking into account, were grouped together in the category of Large Group Interventions, written up by Barbara Bunker and Billie Alban in their book Large Group Interventions, capable of system change.
>
> Barbara and Billie included Open Space Technology as a Large Group Intervention. Over time, others referred to this category of methods as Large Scale Interventions and as Whole System meetings. Of note, in the Large Group Intervention book, Billie and Barbara captured Open Space Technology as the original form described in Open Space: a User’s Guide that didn’t include prioritization and action planning. They described prioritization and action planning as an add-on to Open Space Technology.
>
> To understand what Harrison was working on, one either needed to take his training in Open Space Technology and read Open Space: a User’s Guide, or to study both of his books Spirit: Transformation and Development in Organizations and the User’s Guide. Between the two books, the essence and the technique could be understood.
>
> I attended his first training that was offered in Canada in 1992 and was captured by what Harrison taught, how he taught, and was enamored with Open Space Technology itself. Harrison was a gifted story teller and cautioned his audience not to accept everything he said as truth as some of it might simply be story. He was well versed in how stories are told, and the roots of story in understanding how to use mythology. He would say that that he didn’t create Open Space Technology, although today he is often attributed to its creation by others.
>
> I understood that Open Space Technology was the missing key in my efforts to accomplish a successful organizational transformation. Following the training, I invited staff, Board members, our many volunteers and some donors to the first meeting I facilitated using Open Space Technology. The theme was “issues and opportunities for our organization” with the intention of using what we discussed in the formulation of a strategic plan.
>
> Although Harrison had taught us that an Open Space Technology meeting should be two to two and one-half days in length for sufficient space for the conversations, my first meeting was a full day followed by a half day. It was a remarkable success. Topics were posted that attracted a mixture of people, who had great conversations. People from the different parts of the organization (the different silos), the Board, the donors and the volunteers discovered that they had common ground in what they really cared about. Productive conversations took place that continued on over the lunch and supper breaks. A palpable shift took place in the spirit of the people who participated. And this was articulated in the closing circle. Clear and caring statements were made about the importance of working together as one organization. For the first time, the people realized that they wanted to work together and break out from their silos of the former agencies that they had been part of.
>
> With the shift in energy, and how well the OST meeting had been received, I decided that we could have shorter OST meetings of a half a day replacing our regular staff meetings. I also opened the invitation to the meetings to the Board members, volunteers, and donors. The theme for each meeting was one of the four key themes that emerged in that first OST meeting. Each of these was a theme of its own that could move our organizational transformation forward.
>
> We learned a lot…together.
>
> The first OST with its theme, invitation, openness and participants was a conference. By the time it was complete, we reflected on just what Harrison had taught me would be experienced. We used his version of the Medicine Wheel of the indigenous peoples of the world, adapted by Harrison for use in organizations. We reflected about what we had experienced during the OST regarding leadership (north), vision (east), community (south) and management (west). All of these attributes of an organization in its well-being was experienced during the OST meeting. People could have gone away from this OST conference, maybe moved some things into action that wouldn’t have happened without the OST as a catalyst, and we all would have known that we had the capacity to be engaged differently with each other.
>
> Would enough of a difference have been made for us to experience a transformation in our organization? It was not my experience. Some forward movement happened, people were more engaged with each other across the silos, people enjoyed being at work more, and they talked about what a great experience the OST had been. I have no certain answer about why one OST conference wasn’t enough to achieve a transformation. The closest I come to an answer is that the existing structure, policies, and habits of the organization got in the way. If the OST as a conference hadn’t been sponsored by an organization for the purpose of the organization, those barriers wouldn’t be there. Might such a conference have more post conference actions dependent on an individual moving something into action? Yes. There are lots of examples of follow-through from conferences based on people taking leadership for moving actions forward.
>
> The action I took of organizing follow up meetings within our organization went well for the first three meetings. We learned that it was possible to have an OST meeting of only a half day in length with great success. The high spirit we experienced in the first OST conference was felt again during these meetings.
>
> After the third of the monthly meetings held using OST, staff members said that they didn’t want to have any more OST meetings. Their explanation was that during the meeting, they would get excited and feel energized about doing something with their ideas for both small and large improvements in our organization as part of its transformation. And then when the meeting was done and they approached the formal leaders of the organization, myself included, they met with barriers. They said that when they talked with me, I would explain why their idea couldn’t move forward, possibly it was against the law, against one of our procedures, against Board policy, or we didn’t have the financial resources to support the action. The experience in between meetings was very disheartening for everyone who had put such enthusiasm into their conversations in the OST meetings. There was a difference between OST for a conference, OST for a single meeting, and OST used on a regular basis within an organization. It was important to understand this difference.
>
> The result of our conversations was that we identified that there were ‘givens’ or non-negotiable aspects of the organization that affected action being taken following an OST meeting within an organization. Together, we realized that if we could work out the ‘givens’ prior to an OST meeting, making it clear how much space for action was really open, then having more OST meetings would work well. We spent time identifying and then distilling the givens, realizing that they fell into categories.
>
> From then on, we were clear that during the OST meetings anything could be talked about. The ‘givens’ didn’t restrict conversations. However, when it came to taking actionable items away from an OST meeting, everyone was aware of the givens that pertained to follow up action. We were the first organization to use OST meetings on a regular basis as the means to carry out a successful organizational transformation. We did it, we won awards as an organization of excellence, and we used our experiences to learn together. We reflected on our progress using Harrison’s version of the Medicine Wheel, exploring what we were learning about leadership, vision, community and management as a way of tracking our learning during the transformation.
>
> Our learning became the basis of this Working With Open Space Technology module of the Genuine Contact program. The facilitation of OST improved when we understood the essence of OST beyond the form of facilitating. Follow up from OST was improved when we learned how to work with OST in an organization.
>
> The learning journey of myself and others of Working with Open Space Technology in organizations is rooted in the understanding that Open Space Technology within an organization, especially if used frequently, is substantially different than using Open Space Technology as a method for a conference. We have been doing this work for thirty years in organizations that realize that they need transformation of a project, a team, and/or their organization.
>
> For all purposes, Open Space Technology has also been adapted to being used successfully on line. As OST facilitators experimented and learned, it is now possible to have short OST meetings of even as short as one-half day. For organizational transformation, the initial OST meeting continues to the longer version as per Harrison’s original OST of two and one-half days (or longer).
> Harrison Owen continued his teaching until his death in early 2024. Anne continued her teaching until her death in late 2023. They often didn’t agree with each other. Peggy and I were having a conversation recently in which we were talking about their difference of opinion on the meaning of the Law of Two Feet. Harrison maintained that this law was a law of freedom, to move on if you were neither learning or contributing. For him, it was a law of detachment. Anne maintained that this Law of Two Feet was a law of taking a stand, firmly, for what you believed in. For her, it was a law of leadership. I imagine their animated conversations are continuing.
>
> Birgitt Williams
> Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and consultants
> Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation, leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of leadership.
> www.dalarinternational.com <http://www.dalarinternational.com/>
>
> Upcoming Workshops
> Holistic Leadership Development | June 23-27, 2025 | Waterloo, Canada
> Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
>
> >> Learn More & Register <http://www.dalarinternational.com/upcoming-workshops/> for any of these workshops here.
>
> Go to www.genuinecontact.net <http://www.genuinecontact.net/> to see the public Genuine Contact training and mentoring options by Genuine Contact trainers internationally. If you wish to schedule an "in-house" training for people in your organization, please contact me, Birgitt Williams <mailto:birgitt@dalarinternational.com>, via email to set up a consultation to discern what is the best option to meet your development goals.
>
>
>
>
> 16 Sunny Acres Dr., Etowah, North Carolina, USA 28729
> Phone: 01-919-522-7750
> Like us on Facebook <https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=6677c35b38&e=e7zyhHfiqG>
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> To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org
> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
AC
Anna Caroline Türk
Fri, May 9, 2025 9:30 AM
Dear Thomas, and all!
I experienced my first Open Space, facilitated by Michael M Pannwitz in
Berlin in 2000 or so.
It was in my school, and we were all class representatives meeting for a
weekend to find out how our school could be more creative.
I did not have high expectations before I went to the weekend, but I was
surprised by this way of working.
A spirit of friendship, joy, and fun emerged that I will never forget - we
started by talking about how to ignore school best, how to cheat best, and
later we danced and enjoyed nature. When it came to action planning, we had
so many ideas on how to make our school more creative, and the best part
for me was that we took action and implemented all our ideas within a
couple of months: new bathroom colors, a school party, a new garden
concept, and much more.
From then on, we as class representatives continued to meet in Open Space
style meetings, and I have heard that this structure still exists 25 years
later in that school. When I completed school, I facilitated my first Open
Space, and Michael helped me. I became his informal apprentice for the
coming 10 years.
He recommended I should meet Birgitt Williams and said I might be
interested in the Genuine Contact Way of working - and he was right. We met
at the World Open Space on Open Space (WOSonOS) in 2010 in Berlin, and I
became a Genuine Contact Trainer that same year.
It was at that WOSonOS that I learned that Harrison was not the only elder
in that community and that more women were involved in the emergence of
Open Space Technology - I was glad to learn that, and I am happy, Birgitt,
you shared the origin story here on the list and in the new Training Manual
"Working with Open Space Technology" - a module of the Genuine Contact Way.
I have offered this training, "Working with Open Space Technology,"
together with my colleagues Thomas Herrmann (Sweden) and Doris Gottlieb
(Netherlands) for the last 10 years, and we keep offering that training.
It's a very robust training, which focuses on experiencing Open Space and
facilitating it, as well as learning tools for planning and debriefing. The
givens are part of the training.
In my early years with OST, I had learned and experienced more as a
conference method. Since 15 years, I have been more interested in helping
organizations to align their overall leadership approach and culture with
the principles of Open Space and the beliefs of Genuine Contact
https://genuinecontact.net/services/genuine-contact-program/beliefs/.
Open Space is one of the meeting methods I use in the overall process - the
other method I use is Whole Person Process Facilitation, another Module of
the Genuine Contact Way of working. Working with my clients and helping
them identify givens within their endeavors/meetings/organization continues
to be a rewarding journey - for many of them, it's the first time they
consider making their "non-negotiables" explicit. The leadership (teams)
sometimes take a while to get used to this, but as you can imagine,
well-worked givens create much more clarity for everyone about the freedom
and scope to co-create, explore, and take leadership, compared to settings
where they are not expressed.
I am offering Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF) in Berlin this summer
https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/, and the
givens are part of that training. I would like to invite you, Thomas, to
join that training, and everyone else on this list, too. Whole Person
Process Facilitation is a highly dynamic, participative meeting methodology
that works online and in person. In these meetings (just like in OST)
energy, ideas and discussions are transformed into constructive action.
Participants embrace responsibility and leadership around the topic at hand
– a product, concept, question or strategy. Team members become
increasingly more engaged, creative and open, which is especially needed in
online environments. Long term use of this method leads to resilience among
people in dealing with the dynamics of change from both within and outside
organizations.
In this 3 day training you will learn how to use meetings as a seriously
effective way to utilize all of the human capacity in an organization. You
will discover not only how to prepare, run and follow up on meetings in a
new way, but will also learn to build your own capacity to run a WPPF
meeting. After the training, you will have access to a peer-to-peer
mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
And I am also offering Working with Open Space Technology in September in
the Netherlands https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025 - we'll work
with the workbook that Birgitt is just updating right now (including the
origin story), and also in this training you learn about the givens and how
to work with sponsors/leaders to identify them for you OST. As well as many
ore cool tools to help your org or client to make the most out of their OST
meeting. After the training, you will have access to a peer-to-peer
mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
Greetings from Berlin, and please reach out if you have any questions!
Anna Caroline
Anna Caroline Türk
Mentor to Visionary Leaders
+49(0)176 24872254 | TruthCircles.com
Upcoming Facilitation Trainings
Berlin: Whole Person Process Facilitation
https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/, July 8-10
2025
The Netherlands: Working with Open Space Technology
https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025, September 9-11 2025
On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM thomas--- via OSList everyone@oslist.org
wrote:
Hi Birgitt,
I appreciate your answer and … I’m still wondering about categories …
I read archive posts on “givens” and “categories” starting from 1997 and
found it fascinating, especially to listen to different persons’ perception
of the term and topic. I could understand also objections … depending on
the level of zooming in time, if outside the gathering there’s formal rank
etc.
Givens as such is clear to me, when it comes to caring for the caring
within an organisation –– long-term. The reason I’m asking about categories
is that I suspect there might be something of gold here, as I have found
your perception quite laser and the sentence stood out …
Should you find something worth adding, know that it’s well received.
Kind regards,
Thomas P
Birgitt Williams wrote:
Hi Thomas, you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I
think it best if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes
about the givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even
some wisdom.
Warmly, Birgitt
Birgitt Williams *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and
consultants * Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation,
leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of
leadership. www.dalarinternational.com
OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org
To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org
See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
Dear Thomas, and all!
I experienced my first Open Space, facilitated by Michael M Pannwitz in
Berlin in 2000 or so.
It was in my school, and we were all class representatives meeting for a
weekend to find out how our school could be more creative.
I did not have high expectations before I went to the weekend, but I was
surprised by this way of working.
A spirit of friendship, joy, and fun emerged that I will never forget - we
started by talking about how to ignore school best, how to cheat best, and
later we danced and enjoyed nature. When it came to action planning, we had
so many ideas on how to make our school more creative, and the best part
for me was that we took action and implemented all our ideas within a
couple of months: new bathroom colors, a school party, a new garden
concept, and much more.
From then on, we as class representatives continued to meet in Open Space
style meetings, and I have heard that this structure still exists 25 years
later in that school. When I completed school, I facilitated my first Open
Space, and Michael helped me. I became his informal apprentice for the
coming 10 years.
He recommended I should meet Birgitt Williams and said I might be
interested in the Genuine Contact Way of working - and he was right. We met
at the World Open Space on Open Space (WOSonOS) in 2010 in Berlin, and I
became a Genuine Contact Trainer that same year.
It was at that WOSonOS that I learned that Harrison was not the only elder
in that community and that more women were involved in the emergence of
Open Space Technology - I was glad to learn that, and I am happy, Birgitt,
you shared the origin story here on the list and in the new Training Manual
"Working with Open Space Technology" - a module of the Genuine Contact Way.
I have offered this training, "Working with Open Space Technology,"
together with my colleagues Thomas Herrmann (Sweden) and Doris Gottlieb
(Netherlands) for the last 10 years, and we keep offering that training.
It's a very robust training, which focuses on experiencing Open Space and
facilitating it, as well as learning tools for planning and debriefing. The
givens are part of the training.
In my early years with OST, I had learned and experienced more as a
conference method. Since 15 years, I have been more interested in helping
organizations to align their overall leadership approach and culture with
the principles of Open Space and the beliefs of Genuine Contact
<https://genuinecontact.net/services/genuine-contact-program/beliefs/>.
Open Space is one of the meeting methods I use in the overall process - the
other method I use is Whole Person Process Facilitation, another Module of
the Genuine Contact Way of working. Working with my clients and helping
them identify givens within their endeavors/meetings/organization continues
to be a rewarding journey - for many of them, it's the first time they
consider making their "non-negotiables" explicit. The leadership (teams)
sometimes take a while to get used to this, but as you can imagine,
well-worked givens create much more clarity for everyone about the freedom
and scope to co-create, explore, and take leadership, compared to settings
where they are not expressed.
I am offering Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF) in Berlin this summer
<https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/>, and the
givens are part of that training. I would like to invite you, Thomas, to
join that training, and everyone else on this list, too. Whole Person
Process Facilitation is a highly dynamic, participative meeting methodology
that works online and in person. In these meetings (just like in OST)
energy, ideas and discussions are transformed into constructive action.
Participants embrace responsibility and leadership around the topic at hand
– a product, concept, question or strategy. Team members become
increasingly more engaged, creative and open, which is especially needed in
online environments. Long term use of this method leads to resilience among
people in dealing with the dynamics of change from both within and outside
organizations.
In this 3 day training you will learn how to use meetings as a seriously
effective way to utilize all of the human capacity in an organization. You
will discover not only how to prepare, run and follow up on meetings in a
new way, but will also learn to build your own capacity to run a WPPF
meeting. After the training, you will have access to a peer-to-peer
mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
And I am also offering Working with Open Space Technology in September in
the Netherlands <https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025> - we'll work
with the workbook that Birgitt is just updating right now (including the
origin story), and also in this training you learn about the givens and how
to work with sponsors/leaders to identify them for you OST. As well as many
ore cool tools to help your org or client to make the most out of their OST
meeting. After the training, you will have access to a peer-to-peer
mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
Greetings from Berlin, and please reach out if you have any questions!
Anna Caroline
*Anna Caroline Türk*
Mentor to Visionary Leaders
+49(0)176 24872254 | TruthCircles.com
*Upcoming Facilitation Trainings*
Berlin: Whole Person Process Facilitation
<https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/>, July 8-10
2025
The Netherlands: Working with Open Space Technology
<https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025>, September 9-11 2025
On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM thomas--- via OSList <everyone@oslist.org>
wrote:
> Hi Birgitt,
>
> I appreciate your answer and … I’m still wondering about categories …
>
> I read archive posts on “givens” and “categories” starting from 1997 and
> found it fascinating, especially to listen to different persons’ perception
> of the term and topic. I could understand also objections … depending on
> the level of zooming in time, if outside the gathering there’s formal rank
> etc.
>
> Givens as such is clear to me, when it comes to caring for the caring
> within an organisation –– long-term. The reason I’m asking about categories
> is that I suspect there might be something of gold here, as I have found
> your perception quite laser and the sentence stood out …
>
> Should you find something worth adding, know that it’s well received.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Thomas P
>
>
> Birgitt Williams wrote:
>
> Hi Thomas, you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I
> think it best if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes
> about the givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even
> some wisdom.
>
> Warmly, Birgitt
>
> *Birgitt Williams* *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and
> consultants * *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation,
> leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of
> leadership.* www.dalarinternational.com
>
>
> OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org
> To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org
> See the archives here: https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
FO
Funda Oral
Fri, May 9, 2025 9:56 AM
Dear Colleagues,
I am so grateful to be able to speak English and read these stories.
Whatever happened was the only thing..... We are now together and equaly
responsible for the future of this wonderful approach to human
organizations.
Have a great weekend all!
Funda Oral Toussaint
from Berlin and Istanbul
9 May 2025 Cum 11:31 tarihinde Anna Caroline Türk via OSList <
everyone@oslist.org> şunu yazdı:
Dear Thomas, and all!
I experienced my first Open Space, facilitated by Michael M Pannwitz in
Berlin in 2000 or so.
It was in my school, and we were all class representatives meeting for a
weekend to find out how our school could be more creative.
I did not have high expectations before I went to the weekend, but I was
surprised by this way of working.
A spirit of friendship, joy, and fun emerged that I will never forget - we
started by talking about how to ignore school best, how to cheat best, and
later we danced and enjoyed nature. When it came to action planning, we had
so many ideas on how to make our school more creative, and the best part
for me was that we took action and implemented all our ideas within a
couple of months: new bathroom colors, a school party, a new garden
concept, and much more.
From then on, we as class representatives continued to meet in Open Space
style meetings, and I have heard that this structure still exists 25 years
later in that school. When I completed school, I facilitated my first Open
Space, and Michael helped me. I became his informal apprentice for the
coming 10 years.
He recommended I should meet Birgitt Williams and said I might be
interested in the Genuine Contact Way of working - and he was right. We met
at the World Open Space on Open Space (WOSonOS) in 2010 in Berlin, and I
became a Genuine Contact Trainer that same year.
It was at that WOSonOS that I learned that Harrison was not the only elder
in that community and that more women were involved in the emergence of
Open Space Technology - I was glad to learn that, and I am happy, Birgitt,
you shared the origin story here on the list and in the new Training Manual
"Working with Open Space Technology" - a module of the Genuine Contact Way.
I have offered this training, "Working with Open Space Technology,"
together with my colleagues Thomas Herrmann (Sweden) and Doris Gottlieb
(Netherlands) for the last 10 years, and we keep offering that training.
It's a very robust training, which focuses on experiencing Open Space and
facilitating it, as well as learning tools for planning and debriefing. The
givens are part of the training.
In my early years with OST, I had learned and experienced more as a
conference method. Since 15 years, I have been more interested in helping
organizations to align their overall leadership approach and culture with
the principles of Open Space and the beliefs of Genuine Contact
https://genuinecontact.net/services/genuine-contact-program/beliefs/.
Open Space is one of the meeting methods I use in the overall process - the
other method I use is Whole Person Process Facilitation, another Module of
the Genuine Contact Way of working. Working with my clients and helping
them identify givens within their endeavors/meetings/organization continues
to be a rewarding journey - for many of them, it's the first time they
consider making their "non-negotiables" explicit. The leadership (teams)
sometimes take a while to get used to this, but as you can imagine,
well-worked givens create much more clarity for everyone about the freedom
and scope to co-create, explore, and take leadership, compared to settings
where they are not expressed.
I am offering Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF) in Berlin this
summer https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/,
and the givens are part of that training. I would like to invite you,
Thomas, to join that training, and everyone else on this list, too. Whole
Person Process Facilitation is a highly dynamic, participative meeting
methodology that works online and in person. In these meetings (just like
in OST) energy, ideas and discussions are transformed into constructive
action. Participants embrace responsibility and leadership around the topic
at hand – a product, concept, question or strategy. Team members become
increasingly more engaged, creative and open, which is especially needed in
online environments. Long term use of this method leads to resilience among
people in dealing with the dynamics of change from both within and outside
organizations.
In this 3 day training you will learn how to use meetings as a seriously
effective way to utilize all of the human capacity in an organization. You
will discover not only how to prepare, run and follow up on meetings in a
new way, but will also learn to build your own capacity to run a WPPF
meeting. After the training, you will have access to a peer-to-peer
mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
And I am also offering Working with Open Space Technology in September in
the Netherlands https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025 - we'll
work with the workbook that Birgitt is just updating right now (including
the origin story), and also in this training you learn about the givens and
how to work with sponsors/leaders to identify them for you OST. As well as
many ore cool tools to help your org or client to make the most out of
their OST meeting. After the training, you will have access to a
peer-to-peer mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
Greetings from Berlin, and please reach out if you have any questions!
Anna Caroline
Anna Caroline Türk
Mentor to Visionary Leaders
+49(0)176 24872254 | TruthCircles.com
Upcoming Facilitation Trainings
Berlin: Whole Person Process Facilitation
https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/, July 8-10
2025
The Netherlands: Working with Open Space Technology
https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025, September 9-11 2025
On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM thomas--- via OSList everyone@oslist.org
wrote:
Hi Birgitt,
I appreciate your answer and … I’m still wondering about categories …
I read archive posts on “givens” and “categories” starting from 1997 and
found it fascinating, especially to listen to different persons’ perception
of the term and topic. I could understand also objections … depending on
the level of zooming in time, if outside the gathering there’s formal rank
etc.
Givens as such is clear to me, when it comes to caring for the caring
within an organisation –– long-term. The reason I’m asking about categories
is that I suspect there might be something of gold here, as I have found
your perception quite laser and the sentence stood out …
Should you find something worth adding, know that it’s well received.
Kind regards,
Thomas P
Birgitt Williams wrote:
Hi Thomas, you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I
think it best if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes
about the givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even
some wisdom.
Warmly, Birgitt
Birgitt Williams *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and
consultants * Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation,
leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of
leadership. www.dalarinternational.com
OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org
To unsubscribe send an email to everyone-leave@oslist.org
See the archives here:
https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
Dear Colleagues,
I am so grateful to be able to speak English and read these stories.
Whatever happened was the only thing..... We are now together and equaly
responsible for the future of this wonderful approach to human
organizations.
Have a great weekend all!
Funda Oral Toussaint
from Berlin and Istanbul
9 May 2025 Cum 11:31 tarihinde Anna Caroline Türk via OSList <
everyone@oslist.org> şunu yazdı:
> Dear Thomas, and all!
>
> I experienced my first Open Space, facilitated by Michael M Pannwitz in
> Berlin in 2000 or so.
> It was in my school, and we were all class representatives meeting for a
> weekend to find out how our school could be more creative.
> I did not have high expectations before I went to the weekend, but I was
> surprised by this way of working.
>
> A spirit of friendship, joy, and fun emerged that I will never forget - we
> started by talking about how to ignore school best, how to cheat best, and
> later we danced and enjoyed nature. When it came to action planning, we had
> so many ideas on how to make our school more creative, and the best part
> for me was that we took action and implemented all our ideas within a
> couple of months: new bathroom colors, a school party, a new garden
> concept, and much more.
>
> From then on, we as class representatives continued to meet in Open Space
> style meetings, and I have heard that this structure still exists 25 years
> later in that school. When I completed school, I facilitated my first Open
> Space, and Michael helped me. I became his informal apprentice for the
> coming 10 years.
> He recommended I should meet Birgitt Williams and said I might be
> interested in the Genuine Contact Way of working - and he was right. We met
> at the World Open Space on Open Space (WOSonOS) in 2010 in Berlin, and I
> became a Genuine Contact Trainer that same year.
>
> It was at that WOSonOS that I learned that Harrison was not the only elder
> in that community and that more women were involved in the emergence of
> Open Space Technology - I was glad to learn that, and I am happy, Birgitt,
> you shared the origin story here on the list and in the new Training Manual
> "Working with Open Space Technology" - a module of the Genuine Contact Way.
>
> I have offered this training, "Working with Open Space Technology,"
> together with my colleagues Thomas Herrmann (Sweden) and Doris Gottlieb
> (Netherlands) for the last 10 years, and we keep offering that training.
> It's a very robust training, which focuses on experiencing Open Space and
> facilitating it, as well as learning tools for planning and debriefing. The
> givens are part of the training.
>
> In my early years with OST, I had learned and experienced more as a
> conference method. Since 15 years, I have been more interested in helping
> organizations to align their overall leadership approach and culture with
> the principles of Open Space and the beliefs of Genuine Contact
> <https://genuinecontact.net/services/genuine-contact-program/beliefs/>.
> Open Space is one of the meeting methods I use in the overall process - the
> other method I use is Whole Person Process Facilitation, another Module of
> the Genuine Contact Way of working. Working with my clients and helping
> them identify givens within their endeavors/meetings/organization continues
> to be a rewarding journey - for many of them, it's the first time they
> consider making their "non-negotiables" explicit. The leadership (teams)
> sometimes take a while to get used to this, but as you can imagine,
> well-worked givens create much more clarity for everyone about the freedom
> and scope to co-create, explore, and take leadership, compared to settings
> where they are not expressed.
>
> I am offering Whole Person Process Facilitation (WPPF) in Berlin this
> summer <https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/>,
> and the givens are part of that training. I would like to invite you,
> Thomas, to join that training, and everyone else on this list, too. Whole
> Person Process Facilitation is a highly dynamic, participative meeting
> methodology that works online and in person. In these meetings (just like
> in OST) energy, ideas and discussions are transformed into constructive
> action. Participants embrace responsibility and leadership around the topic
> at hand – a product, concept, question or strategy. Team members become
> increasingly more engaged, creative and open, which is especially needed in
> online environments. Long term use of this method leads to resilience among
> people in dealing with the dynamics of change from both within and outside
> organizations.
>
> In this 3 day training you will learn how to use meetings as a seriously
> effective way to utilize all of the human capacity in an organization. You
> will discover not only how to prepare, run and follow up on meetings in a
> new way, but will also learn to build your own capacity to run a WPPF
> meeting. After the training, you will have access to a peer-to-peer
> mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
>
> And I am also offering Working with Open Space Technology in September in
> the Netherlands <https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025> - we'll
> work with the workbook that Birgitt is just updating right now (including
> the origin story), and also in this training you learn about the givens and
> how to work with sponsors/leaders to identify them for you OST. As well as
> many ore cool tools to help your org or client to make the most out of
> their OST meeting. After the training, you will have access to a
> peer-to-peer mentoring circle for ongoing learning.
>
> Greetings from Berlin, and please reach out if you have any questions!
> Anna Caroline
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *Anna Caroline Türk*
> Mentor to Visionary Leaders
> +49(0)176 24872254 | TruthCircles.com
>
> *Upcoming Facilitation Trainings*
> Berlin: Whole Person Process Facilitation
> <https://truthcircles.com/whole-person-facilitation-training/>, July 8-10
> 2025
> The Netherlands: Working with Open Space Technology
> <https://www.dorisgottlieb.com/ost-sept-2025>, September 9-11 2025
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM thomas--- via OSList <everyone@oslist.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Birgitt,
>>
>> I appreciate your answer and … I’m still wondering about categories …
>>
>> I read archive posts on “givens” and “categories” starting from 1997 and
>> found it fascinating, especially to listen to different persons’ perception
>> of the term and topic. I could understand also objections … depending on
>> the level of zooming in time, if outside the gathering there’s formal rank
>> etc.
>>
>> Givens as such is clear to me, when it comes to caring for the caring
>> within an organisation –– long-term. The reason I’m asking about categories
>> is that I suspect there might be something of gold here, as I have found
>> your perception quite laser and the sentence stood out …
>>
>> Should you find something worth adding, know that it’s well received.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Thomas P
>>
>>
>> Birgitt Williams wrote:
>>
>> Hi Thomas, you asked if I would share about the categories of givens. I
>> think it best if you do a search in the archives. I have written volumes
>> about the givens. Our archives and the wiki site are rich in info and even
>> some wisdom.
>>
>> Warmly, Birgitt
>>
>> *Birgitt Williams* *Senior consultant-author-mentor to leaders and
>> consultants * *Specialist in organizational and systemic transformation,
>> leadership development, and the benefits of nourishing a culture of
>> leadership.* www.dalarinternational.com
>>
>>
>> OSList mailing list -- everyone@oslist.org
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>> https://oslist.org/empathy/list/everyone.oslist.org
>
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