【正文】 he most difficult and important point about leadership in Open Space. The leader must truly trust the group to find its own way. Attempts on the part of the leader to impose specific outes or agenda will totally abort the process. Any person who is not fully prepared to let go of their own detailed agenda should not lead.The third principle will seem essentially wrong to those whose lives have been dictated by the clock, which is basically all of us. The conventional wisdom says that if you want to get something done, you must start on time. The conventional wisdom is right so long as you know what you are going to do, and how. On the other hand, when creativity, and real learning are involved, the clock can be more of a detriment than an assist. Things will start when they are ready, and whenever they start is the right time. In fact, when the creative learning moment arrives, it seems to create its own time, or put another way, clocks don39。s Guide has proven effective in getting most new leaders and groups off and running. While there are many additional things that can be learned about operating in Open Space, this will get you started. Some material has been included here which also appears in the book in order to present a relatively plete picture.THE THEME Creation of a powerful theme statement is critical, for it will be the central mechanism for focusing discussion and inspiring participation. The theme statement, however, cannot be a lengthy, dry, recitation of goals and objectives. It must have the capacity to inspire participation by being specific enough to indicate the direction, while possessing sufficient openness to allow for the imagination of the group to take over.There is no pat formulation for doing this, for what inspires one group will totally turn off another. One way of thinking about the theme statement is as the opening paragraph of a truly exciting story. The reader should have enough detail to know where the tale is headed and what some of the possible adventures are likely to be. But telling all in the beginning will make it quite unlikely that the reader will proceed. After all, who would read a story they already know?THE GROUP The group must be interested and mitted. Failing that, Open Space Technology will not work. The key ingredients for deep creative learning are real freedom and real responsibility. Freedom allows for exploration and experimentation, while responsibility insures that both will be pursued with rigor. Interest and mitment are the prerequisites for the responsible use of freedom. There is no way that we know of to force people to be interested and mitted. That must be a precondition.One way of insuring both mitment and interest is to make participation in the Open Space event pletely voluntary. The people who e should be there because they want to be there. It is also imperative that all participants know what they are getting into before they arrive. Obviously they can39。S GUIDE TOOPEN SPACE TECHNOLOGYHarrison OwenTHE REQUIREMENTS OF OPEN SPACEOpen Space Technology requires very few advance elements. There must be a clear and pelling theme, an interested and mitted group, time and a place, and a leader. Detailed advance agendas, plans, and materials are not only unneeded, they are usually counterproductive. This brief User39。t plan it in advance. It may be worthwhile to have some taped music if your people are inclined to dance, but other than that you will undoubtedly find that the talent you need is already available in the folks you have. Use it. Skits, songs, humorous reviews of what has happened, will amply fill the evening, and add to the learning experience.CLOSING We try to keep the closing simple and serious. Simple in that there are no formal presentations and speeches. But serious, for this is the time for announcing mitments, next steps, and observations about what the event has meant. The closing event is best conducted in a circle with no head table. Start anywhere, and go around the circle allowing each participant, who wants to, the opportunity to say what was of significance and what they propose to do. But do make it clear that nobody has to say anything. In very large groups, hearing from everybody is obviously impossible, but two or three folks may be asked to volunteer.FORMAL REPORTS The formal reportout session has apparently bee a fixture of conference life. However, we find it to be boring and generally nonproductive. There is never enough time for each group to say all they wanted to, and if sufficient time is allocated, the majority of conference participants are uninterested at any given time. As an alternative, we remend using a simple word processing system, a puter conferencing system, or both.In a recent conference 200 participants created 65 task force reports (a total of 200 pages) which were available as the participants left the conference. Mechanically, all that is required is a bank of puters (lowpowered laptops will do) and a request to each group organizer to enter the results of their deliberations into the system. They can either type it in themselves, or for the nontypables, a small group of secretaries will do the job. We print out each report as it is entered and hang it on the wall, providing an ongoing, realtime record of the discussions. The obvious advantage here is that participants find out what is happening, as it is happening, rather than waiting until the end when it is too late. Of course, having the proceedings at the end of conference, rather than six months later, is a pleasant and positive surprise.MEALS You will notice that meals are not listed on the agenda, nor are there any coffee breaks. The reason is quite simple: once the conference starts to operate in small groups, there is usually never a time when something of substance is not going on. And in accord with the Third Principle, it will take place in its own time. All o