Doing it all in one day?

[Ralph Copleman]

Greg Vaughn and all,

Here¹s what I think about trying to do it all in one day...

I don¹t bother trying to get proceedings printed, let alone distributed and
reviewed.  That¹s for later.  I operate out of the belief that one day is
not enough to truly explore the territory (the ³issues and opportunities²)
plus come to conclusion about priorities plus formulate action plans.  You
can do it, but it will not, in my experience, have much sticking power.  And
the larger the group, the more challenging it is to make the energy last.

So I open space, hold the space, close the space.

The latter, for me, requires about 20 minutes (not counting a closing
circle, which I always do in one form or another, sometimes abbreviated to
one word or phrase per person).

1. Ask people what themes came up repeatedly regardless of topic or session.
Ask someone to note these on flip charts.
2. Keep going until everyone who wishes has a chance to mention the theme
they noticed.
3. Take the resultant flip charts, spread them on the floor, ask people to
mark their favorites.  Might be three, five, seven, etc.  Depends on the
size of the group and the number of items on the chart.  Count them up if
there¹s time.  Certainly count them up if you¹ll be moving on to action
planning the next day.  Otherwise, simply promise the info will be available
shortly in written form (after the coordinators pull it together and send it
out).

(Where did I learn to do it this way?  I do not remember, but I think from
Harrison.  Is it in the book?)

Simple, fast, everyone¹s involved, no fancy footwork on my part.  I can
think of a thousand group dynamics issues and eventualities that I have not
covered by doing things this way.  My conviction is few if any of them
really matter.  Dealing with them, I have learned from finally acknowledging
feedback I could not hear for years, was more about my needs than the
client¹s.  Organizations of all types may be better served if we open the
space W I D E and let lots of air and light in than if we merely crack a
window for a brief time in the name of completing the entire exercise in a
short period.

Ralph Copleman

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