Another theme was the feelings people had about using Open Space rather than a traditional conference format for the meeting. Some people were grateful that they had not endured yet another day of Power Point slides from sages on the stage. Others appreciated the ability to go deeper into topics than a traditional presentation format would have allowed, with engagement from everyone in the small groups. A few people mourned the loss of a more structured approach.
It was a bold move for BAodn leadership to make the decision to try the Open Space format last year. Perhaps that bold move was a preview of a series of shifts from more traditional approaches to experimental new modes, like this blog, and BAodn's LinkedIn presence. Perhaps BAodn's new direction represents where OD is headed--distributed, ubiquitous, embedded.
This is what BAodn members are thinking about and talking about. Won't you join us?
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Katherine Kott is the Volunteer Coordinator for BAodn. When she is not matching up volunteers to interesting BAodn opportunities, she manages digital library projects for Stanford University Libraries. In her spare time, she is pursuing a PhD in Human Systems and Organizational Development at Fielding Graduate University. Contact Katherine at volunteering@baodn.org.
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I was just at a traditional conference last week, and part way through I realized "I wish this were an open space." The quality of the presentations was mixed, as is usually the case. There was only 1 session where I thought to myself "wow, I'm glad I'm here." The rest--I'd like those hours back! Plus it was challenging to meet many people, and haphazard at that. Didn't meet anyone else doing social enterprise.
ReplyDeleteI think it's worth repeating--if the "wink and nod" of conferences is that we actually go to meet people and have great discussions, and the sessions are just the excuse to go there--why not make the whole thing one big great discussion in self selecting groups--in other words an Open Space?
I will be at SOCAP 10 in October, and the 3rd day of that is an Open Space--look forward to it.
I wasn't so enamored of the open-space concept. I enjoyed the conversations that I had, but they were not necessarily the conversations I wanted to have.
ReplyDeleteI was seeking guidance, I needed constraints. I wanted to talk about OD, not all the side-conversations around OD. I'm wondering if a blended approach might be better -- a keynote in the morning to anchor the conversations, then open it up. Withe the open-space, the energy was in the morning, or when the space first opened, and then it dwindled. Maybe it was a morning/afternoon thing -- or maybe having the opening of space in the afternoon will re-energize the day.