So here is Johnnie opening our session on Monday May 1 - 300 people!
Here is Johnnie making a point.
We have just completed 2 days of Open Space meetings with leaders of Public Radio in the US. I have been blown away, as have the delegates, with the power of this process to enable a rich and deep conversation.
I am going to report as fully on the outcomes as I can without breaching any confidences next week. But I can say that I and most people found that this way of meeting, while strange at first, has changed our view of how to run a conference irrevocably. Every one who had something to say - said it. All found a willing group of partners. In the end there were 49 sessions! The process also allowed a collective voice in its closing.
What really made it for me though was how the conference concluded. Here I heard the public radio system declare as a body that it would start the hard work of setting aside petty differences and find a way to come together as a true system with a structure that would heal and help.
Imagine the real power of a real network of hundreds of stations and great producers such as NPR, MPR, APM and PRI all dedicated to help each other inform their communities, the nation and ultimately the world. Imagine this power dedicated to not only keeping the truth alive but also in creating the space where people can come together and find the trust, influence and safety to solve the intractable problems of our time such as why don't our schools work, why are we not more healthy, why is there such a divide between cultures and communities.
More later on the outcomes. But my thanks to a brave and wonderful client who took the risk of allowing us to try this approach and to a singular person, Johnnie Moore - an exemplar of calm courage and astonishing presence.
Technorati Tags: NPR, Open Space, Public Radio, Johnnie Moore
