Dear friends and colleagues,
The power of story has fascinated me all my life. From story, mythology
grows fueled by human imagination and creativity.

Each of us has joined the story at different times in the life of Open
Space Technology. The time of our joining the Open Space Technology Story
and bringing it as a story into our personal stories affects how we
understand Open Space Technology. Story is why we have different
perspectives on what Open Space Technology is and how to work with it.

In your moment of joining in on the life of Open Space Technology, what was
the unfolding story of OST at that time? In other words what was the story
of OST itself when you were first involved?

I joined when the story of OST was an integral component of what we were
learning about Organizational Transformation within the field of
Organizational Development. The birth of OST wasn't to have a better
conference, or to have a conference as a coffee break. It was a story tied
into the newly developing knowledge about Organizational Transformation. At
the time, the shortest OST meetings were 2 1/2 days. Training by Harrison
was the way to get deeply acquainted with OST to facilitate meetings with
the wrap around framework being exploring Organizational Transformation.
The tone and manner of OST at the time was that we were removing barriers
to working with spirit/Spirit so that spirit/Spirit could do the work of
spirit.

The quality and quantity of outputs and outcomes of a single OST meeting
were far greater than were anticipated. Leaders who were supportive of OST
meetings in their organizations didn't know what to do with so much quality
and quantity.  As OST facilitators, including Harrison, we didn't know what
to do to help the leaders make the most of the OST results.

What was the story of the life of OST when you became involved? What
effects did the story of that time have on you and your work with OST?

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
Working with Open Space Technology | October 8, 9, 15 & 16 | Online
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 &
19, 2025 | Online
Holistic Leadership Development | January 5-10,  2026 | Online

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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What a great question Birgitt!

What was my moment in joining in on the life of Open Space Technology?

It was 1996. I had been running Software Development for a cellular phone company in the early days of the the industry. We had a project to replace our customer records and billing system that was in trouble because the different departments were fighting over whose priorities should come first. We had just hired an expert in Total Quality Management who offered to run a “multi-stakeholder” meeting. Something I’d never heard of. Over two hours, 30 people who were from every department had agreed to a path forward. I was floored! I started learning everything I could about processes for engaging the people most affected in finding a path forward together. I discovered Bohm Dialogue, Appreciative Inquiry, Future Search, Open Space Technology and more. It was a time of great experimentation. These practices all seemed to create magic and I wanted to understand why.

My first Open Space was 2 1/2 days with 250 people for U S WEST - a telephone company. I saw something I didn’t know was possible: the needs of individuals and needs of the whole could both be served. (It’s the meeting in this video https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/25251316.) I was hooked! It intensified my quest to discover how to reliably make that magic happen. Thirty years later, I feel like I know what makes that possible: clear purpose, inviting the diversity of the system, and a welcoming space in which the people of the system are invited. It creates conditions in which people show up authentically, connect with others, and, together, breakthroughs emerge that no one could have thought of on their own.

It’s the story I tell in Emergent Design for Generative Change https://peggyholman.substack.com/p/emergent-design-for-generative-change-78571485daaa. And it informs all that I do.

Peggy

Peggy Holman
peggy@peggyholman.com

Bellevue, WA  98006
206-948-0432
www.peggyholman.com

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity https://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/

"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become
the fire".
-- Drew Dellinger

Join the Open Space practitioner’s conference - the World Open Space on Open Space (WOSonOS https://www.wosonos2025.org/) - in Kenya, November 6-8.

Thank you Peggy, very inspiring and it is always great to read from you. And thank you Birgit for asking, this is a great question that will turn up all kinds of gems.

For me, too, it was mid nineties, I think 1997. I had just finished my first interim management assignment for an IT company. They had been outsourced from their mother company two years before and were now part of a large multinational IT moloch. The new parent company wanted to get rid of  a certain department and this plan was made public prematurely by sending it to the wrong fax number (Remember faxes? It is like printing an email on somebody elses printer). Morale and quality in this department were both at an all time low, customers and employees were both very unhappy. Two turn-around managers before me had failed in getting the business back on track. When the CEO called me, I told him that I had no knowledge of the business of this department, so why did he call me? He said that he thought they would trust me and that was what he needed. So in all my youthful ambition, I took the assignment. 

I was more than a bit nervous about it on my first day. I had no idea what I was going to do. I decided the only thing I could do was to be honest, so I sat down with the team and told them that I had no idea about their business, that I was here to help and that I would like to hear where they were standing, what they needed to improve and how I could help them. I told them I had a direct line to the CEO and I could pull strings when necessary, but they had to take me by the hand. What felt to me like the last resort for an assignment too big for me, turned out to be exactly what was needed. I could see them relax - somehow they felt this was different. They started talking and did not stop until it was time to call it a day. I indeed managed to earn their trust by consistently putting them in the front seat. In half a year, customers and employees were happy again and we were making a small profit. We succesfully sold the department and I also did the integration in the new parent company. Around that time, I received a letter (do you remember letters? It is like an email, but then on paper and in an envelope) from a friend who had stumbled on a thing called Open Space. Its was about involving the people who were affected by a changing situation and getting the whole system together in charting the way forward. I was thrilled! This was exactly what I had just experienced and here was a method and a theory that explained it and gave me the tools to repeat it in all kinds of situations. In the wake of OST, I also discovered Future Search, Appreciative Inquiry and similar kinds of magic, but OST has always been my favorite for simplicity and elegance.

Koos

Op 31-10-2025 00:34:27, Peggy Holman via OSList everyone@oslist.org schreef:
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.orgWhat a great question Birgitt! 

What was my moment in joining in on the life of Open Space Technology?

It was 1996. I had been running Software Development for a cellular phone company in the early days of the the industry. We had a project to replace our customer records and billing system that was in trouble because the different departments were fighting over whose priorities should come first. We had just hired an expert in Total Quality Management who offered to run a “multi-stakeholder” meeting. Something I’d never heard of. Over two hours, 30 people who were from every department had agreed to a path forward. I was floored! I started learning everything I could about processes for engaging the people most affected in finding a path forward together. I discovered Bohm Dialogue, Appreciative Inquiry, Future Search, Open Space Technology and more. It was a time of great experimentation. These practices all seemed to create magic and I wanted to understand why.  

My first Open Space was 2 1/2 days with 250 people for U S WEST - a telephone company. I saw something I didn’t know was possible: the needs of individuals and needs of the whole could both be served. (It’s the meeting in this video [https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/25251316].) I was hooked! It intensified my quest to discover how to reliably make that magic happen. Thirty years later, I feel like I know what makes that possible: clear purpose, inviting the diversity of the system, and a welcoming space in which the people of the system are invited. It creates conditions in which people show up authentically, connect with others, and, together, breakthroughs emerge that no one could have thought of on their own.

It’s the story I tell in Emergent Design for Generative Change [https://peggyholman.substack.com/p/emergent-design-for-generative-change-78571485daaa]. And it informs all that I do.

Peggy

Peggy Holman
peggy@peggyholman.com

Bellevue, WA  98006
206-948-0432
www.peggyholman.com

Enjoy the award winning Engaging Emergence: Turning Upheaval into Opportunity [https://peggyholman.com/papers/engaging-emergence/]
 
"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get burnt, is to become 
the fire".
  -- Drew Dellinger

Join the Open Space practitioner’s conference - the World Open Space on Open Space (WOSonOS [https://www.wosonos2025.org]) - in Kenya, November 6-8.

On Oct 29, 2025, at 12:59 PM, Birgitt Williams via OSList everyone@oslist.org wrote:

Dear friends and colleagues,
The power of story has fascinated me all my life. From story, mythology grows fueled by human imagination and creativity.

Each of us has joined the story at different times in the life of Open Space Technology. The time of our joining the Open Space Technology Story and bringing it as a story into our personal stories affects how we understand Open Space Technology. Story is why we have different perspectives on what Open Space Technology is and how to work with it.

In your moment of joining in on the life of Open Space Technology, what was the unfolding story of OST at that time? In other words what was the story of OST itself when you were first involved?

I joined when the story of OST was an integral component of what we were learning about Organizational Transformation within the field of Organizational Development. The birth of OST wasn't to have a better conference, or to have a conference as a coffee break. It was a story tied into the newly developing knowledge about Organizational Transformation. At the time, the shortest OST meetings were 2 1/2 days. Training by Harrison was the way to get deeply acquainted with OST to facilitate meetings with the wrap around framework being exploring Organizational Transformation. The tone and manner of OST at the time was that we were removing barriers to working with spirit/Spirit so that spirit/Spirit could do the work of spirit.

The quality and quantity of outputs and outcomes of a single OST meeting were far greater than were anticipated. Leaders who were supportive of OST meetings in their organizations didn't know what to do with so much quality and quantity.  As OST facilitators, including Harrison, we didn't know what to do to help the leaders make the most of the OST results. 

What was the story of the life of OST when you became involved? What effects did the story of that time have on you and your work with OST?

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 [http://www.dalarinternational.com/] 

Upcoming Workshops
Working with Open Space Technology | October 8, 9, 15 & 16 | Online 
Individual Health and Balance for Leaders | November 29, December 5, 12 & 19, 2025 | Online
Holistic Leadership Development | January 5-10,  2026 | Online

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]  
Connect on LinkedIn [https://dalarinternational.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=35ed818c946a88ba7344da05f&id=c26173f86b&e=e7zyhHfiqG] 

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

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