I have a stack of books I am working my way through this summer, and they are all written by friends. I think this is pretty remarkable actually. From the top down, here is what’s on my reading table: Finding the Sweet Spot by Dave Pollard. This one just arrived this evening, although I read a proof that Dave sent along. It’s typical of his writing, and will be a familiar tome for regular readers of his blog, How To Save The World. The book outlines a path for creating a life of sustainable work and enterprise using …
The thing about working as a facilitator and helping groups become acquainted with their own brilliance is that you really want to be able to leave a group once it can take care of itself. For me, my consulting practice is as much about building capacity as it is about doing work. Viv captures this beautifully today: So those of us working as facilitators are demonstrating how to tap into the wisdom of a group of people. How to hear what they are saying, build on each others’ ideas, and create solutions. The world needs a lot of …
I was working with a group yesterday that was making a number of small decisions as they worked their way through an agenda. The meeting was semi-formal and my role as facilitator was mostly to hold space and draw attention to process where appropriate. I let the group talk, asked questions from time to time and noted the decisions that they had made. As I was observing this group working, I noticed something interesting about their process. Frequent readers will know that I use the diamond of participation often as a map to organize and design meeting processes. …
Raffi Aftendelian has released the final version of Living Peace: the open space of our lives. It features contributions from all over the world, including a piece from my life and business partner Caitlin Frost about parenting in Open Space. Another free book from the Open Space community. Thanks Raffi and everyne who contributed!
Raffi Aftendelian unearthed a beautiful gem today. Writing on the OSLIST, he quoted something Harrison Owen had written 40 years ago when he was unknowingly being inspired to create Open Space Technology. As a text to a photo essay on life in a Liberian village, Harrison wrote: A very special part of any village celebration is the appearance of the various “devils.” The word devil is very misleading, and was undoubtedly the unwanted gift of an early missionary The devils are not evil, but rather represent a respected (albeit feared) part of the village. Nothing of importance happens unless they …