Glenn's blog

Hailed for its utter simplicity -- and its power, Open Space starts with open-minded leadership, an issue that really matters, and an invitation to co-create something new and amazing. What happens in the meetings is high learning, high play and high productivity, but is never pre-determined. And what emerges, over time, is a truly inviting organization, that will thrive in times of swirling change.

– Michael Herman

Open space begins with a circle – we gather in a circle, itself a challenge to the normal state of affairs in the world. The circle puts us all on equal footing, no matter our status outside the space.

I have a mental picture of the whole meeting as a series of circles, or concentric spirals, spinning in and around the large opening circle, contained within the large closing circle. Like a chaotic clock, whirling around, everything happening as it must and the only way it can on the inside, but disorder and chaos from the outside.

We (myself and a number of other people) are working on Animal Advocacy Camp, an open space event focused around the issue of effective animal advocacy. So far, we've had 60 people register for the event in just one week.

Open Space operates under four principles and one law.

The four principles are:

1. Whoever comes are the right people
2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened.
3. When it starts is the right time
4. When it's over it's over

The Law is known as the Law of Two Feet:

"If you find yourself in a situation where you are not contributing or learning, move somewhere where you can."

The four principles and the law work to create a powerful event motivated by the passion and bounded by the responsibility of the participants.

– Open Space Technology, Chris Corrigan

Why open space?

Communities are essentially arbitrary collections of people, sometimes focused geographically, sometimes more deliberate. The animal advocacy community in Vancouver is a bit imaginary, but exists if you think hard enough about it. Or, the hazy edges are visible like dust in the sunlight.

We can be deliberate about bringing together a whole range of people and groups working to improve the lives and lot of animals.

Open space is a tool for facilitating a meeting and a sharing between passionate people. Beliefs and ideas may clash, personalities may conflict, but open space is a form that offers space to hold, contain, and absorb the energy of a group.

Open space is all about responsibility. We each are responsible for getting out what we put in. We each are responsible for creating and organizing our own event, together.

By opening up and letting loose the control over what we want the outcome to be, we can actually learn and grow together, and build a stronger community.

The lesson from Open Space is a simple one. The only way to bring an Open Space gathering to its knees is to attempt to control it. It may, therefore, turn out that the one thing we always wanted (control) is not only unavailable, but unnecessary. After all, if order is for free we could afford being out of control and love it. Emergent order appears in Open Space when the conditions for self organization are met. Perhaps we can now relax, and stop working so hard.

– Opening Space for Emerging Order, Harrison Owen