Open Space format in a professional setting
One of the finest birthdays I visited was the Unconference Birthday by Ton Zijlstra and his family. It was not your regular birthday, but a gathering of diverse and lovely people to discuss and share about Smart Stuff that Matters. They organized this day around the principles of Open Space.
I read on his blog about the passing of Harrison Owen, the originator of the Open Space format. It led me to this older blogpost by Ton, where he explains the Open Space format in great detail. I’ve experienced this way of finding and sharing information a few times and to me, it is a more friendly format to work with each other. It is bound by rules, but those are flexible enough to change to your own will without breaking the flow of the group.
With a team member, we are working on new future developments within Kaliber. One of our thoughts is to have a collaborative moment to share and inspire each other, and the Open Space format might be something to explore. I am not sure if the group is up for it, it is a format they are not used to and it might give some friction. But it can’t hurt to try right?
Your thoughts?
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