by Larry Peterson

(With Special Thanks to Diane Blair)

January 7, 1997

The times are changing at the Bank of Montreal. Bob Dylan’s song was purchased for a new ad campaign and they have innovated with Open Space all over the organization. There have been at least twelve major Open Space events over the last two years and many others that have not been counted. I was involved in two of those events as an external consultant and have heard stories about the others. Cross bank meetings on productivity, divisional meetings, senior team meetings, business unit sessions have all been held using Open Space Technology. Their own internal evaluation research has encouraged increased understanding of the process and continued use. This article will trace the evolution of Open Space at the Bank of Montreal from first contact to the end of 1996.

Open Space has had more use in the Bank of Montreal with 34,000 employees than in any other large organization in Canada. The Bank’s three-year old Institute for Learning is one of the major reasons.

The Institute for Learning was created by Chairman Matthew Barrett to foster "a Bank that will be able to sustain a competitive advantage in a world that is rapidly and constantly changing." He wants the Bank to become a learning organization. He knew that traditional approaches to learning and training were not going to be enough and hired Jim Rush, Dean of the University of Western Ontario Business School, to direct the Institute. He saw the Institute as a "nexus for learning...an incubator for new ideas and the focus of the Bank’s commitment to lifelong learning". This means that the Institute does much more than training. Teams of developers, educators and line experts work together there to create tools that both support learning and further the work of the Bank. A "Manager of Meta-Learning" focuses on new approaches to learning and learning how to learn. As well, the Institute helps the Bank tackle the "wicked problems"--those that cross organizational boundaries and defy solution.

The Institute recognizes that the desire and capacity for learning are as important as the learning itself. This requires personal initiative and self-directed action. Open Space Technology creates the conditions for both and works well with very large or small groups. This combination has provided the Institute with a "large systems intervention" approach to those "wicked problems" and to cultivating a learning culture.

In the beginning, the Bank’s connection to Open Space began serendipitously, as it always does. While at the Center for Creative Leadership in the United States, Jim Rush met Jim Emerich, an independent consultant. As they discussed the challenges of creating a learning culture, Jim Emerich suggested Open Space as a way to engage employees in their own learning and to better tap the knowledge within the organization.

Jim Rush liked what he heard. Harrison Owen was contacted and the Bank’s first Open Space began to take shape. It was a two day forum with the Institute’s one hundred and ten staff. The theme of the event was "What does success look like for the Institute for Learning?" Harrison Owen was not available and so Jim Emerich facilitated the event. The event was powerful in demonstrating the value of Open Space as a catalyst for both collaborative learning and problem solving. Harrison was then asked to lead a larger, Bank-wide event focused on the issue of productivity.

Productivity is one of those "wicked" problems that crosses all boundaries. In April of 1995, one hundred and fifty people from throughout the Bank gathered at the Institute for Productivity Forum ‘95. The event generated some startling results. The enthusiasm and commitment were palpable. Those who saw productivity as being related to "morale" were amazed at the energy that was created. The executives and managers interviewed after the forum saw it as "just the beginning" and it was.

Although the forum was a relatively small event, there was enough of a "critical mass" present to have a significant impact on the Bank. There were no immediate improvements in overall productivity that could be measured. However, a number of small Open Space events, led by forum participants, began taking place throughout the organization. These events also fostered a positive shift in morale and energy. People were starting to put up paper on the wall to create agendas and to address their issues. A new way of meeting and learning from colleagues was discovered. Stories began to ripple across the country. Over the next several months, demonstrations of productivity improvement began to emerge resulting from the initiative of Open Space participants.

The Institute for Learning wanted to build on this momentum and to respond to the needs expressed by Open Space participants for support in moving beyond the Open Space event. Harrison Owen was invited back six months later, in November 1995, to lead a workshop entitled "Living in Open Space". The weekend event brought together those who shared an interest in using Open Space further, including executives and previous Open Space participants. The event reinforced interest in Open Space across the Bank and increased the confidence of executives to try this approach in a variety of settings. It also developed the skills of some Bank employees to facilitate Open Space meetings. The "Manager of Meta Learning", Diane Blair, developed the capability to lead large Open Space events. She also assists others in designing Open Space events to fit their particular circumstances.

I became involved through conversations with Diane Blair whom I met at Harrison Owen’s Open Space on Open Space in December 1995. Given my experience with Open Space with other Canadian corporations, I was seen as a local resource. Diane was also interested in my work with small Open Space events in short time frames. I had used the smaller events to successfully prepare executives and managers for larger Open Space events. She asked one of her clients, a newly appointed Bank Division executive, to give me a call. He was considering Open Space for his first Divisional meeting and was a little anxious about the process. He proceeded with the Open Space event in January 1996. Diane Blair opened and held the space. The event was unusual for the Bank because it was truly by invitation. Divisional managers or staff who usually attended but did not RSVP did not get to come. The first meeting’s results were so productive that the Division held its second meeting in Open Space in November 1996 at the Institute.

Other Divisions of the Bank have been following this lead. In March 1996, I worked with the senior management team in a Western Canada Division to prepare for a Divisional Open Space in April. The Executive hosting the Open Space was also newly appointed. She and her team had no direct experience with Open Space. I led a one day Open Space and provided some brief input on the perspectives behind the approach. Their theme was to explore the challenges and opportunities for leading the shift to a sales focused culture. This small event consolidated that senior team in surprising ways, preparing them for the larger event. One Vice President said that it had been one of his few "wows" at the Bank. In April 1996, one hundred and fifty participants from the Division then met at the Institute for Learning for almost a week. The first half of the time was a creative leadership workshop. The second half of the event was an opportunity to exercise that leadership in Open Space.

An example of how Open Space can "catch on" comes from one Western Vice President. He was excited by the results of the small space event and the following Divisional meeting. He took the Toronto "Train the Trainers" event in early June 1996 and then, in the same month, led four Open Space events in his Division. At one of those events, the participants were told to come -- not just invited. They still said it was the "best meeting ever". After those events, some Open Space groups have continued to work for months on the issues for which they had a passion. The Divisional meetings, traditionally led by the Senior Vice President, are now "more open and more productive" because of Open Space. Given that experience, another Western Canada Division held its annual leadership meeting in Open Space in December 1996.

I have Opened the Space in other Canadian corporations and banks over the last two years. There have been some most productive and energizing meetings. Strategic plans have emerged and been implemented in record time. However, at the Bank of Montreal it has gone the farthest and I think the following factors are part of the reason.

• A culture of innovation at the Bank, fostered by the Chairman, which encourages experimentation.
• The Institute for Learning and its staff have championed and supported Open Space.
• The first use of Open Space at the Institute for Learning had a positive impact.
• Productivity Forum 95 had a signigicant impact in some areas of the Bank--enough impact to catalyze a "critical mass" of interest.
• The combination of personal stories and the Bank’s internal communications system has spread the word.
• Confidence in Open Space was supported by the Institute for Learning’s positive assessment of the non-traditional and broad ranging Open Space outcomes, often using non-traditional means.
• Some senior and divisional executives were willing to take the risk to set a theme and parameters and then "let-go" for self-organization.
• Participants have found the experience of Open Space liberating and morale boosting, and they have been willing to try it in their own settings.
• A variety of external consultants and events helped to legitimize the approach and build connections to the internal leadership.

As Divisions are starting to hold their second Open Space meetings, the focus of the Institute for Learning is to build on what has been learned over the year. It wants to help the Division harvest what is generated in Open Space. I think the image of "harvesting" what is grown in Open Space is certainly better than trying to "leverage" what is not a mechanical process. Executives and managers do "reap what they sow". However, in Open Space, the synergy and surprises often go beyond what one expects to harvest.

As well, the Institute for Learning is sharing some of what it has discovered in its Business and Educational partnerships such as the Summer Institute on Exploring Change. This forum involves thirteen School Boards in the Greater Toronto Area and now uses Open Space as part of its approach to change.

Even with the extensive use of Open Space, the Bank has not transformed most of its decision making processes. The hierarchy is suspended on occasion and old barriers are overcome. However, many decisions are still managed with a traditional top down approach. What seems to be evolving is the presence and acceptance of multiple structures and processes working in the corporation at the same time. This is not surprising. It also appears that some Open Space participants are applying their learning in their ongoing management roles.

Open Space Technology has only been used in corporations since 1989. We are all learning from experience about its possibilities for events and for ongoing leadership and management. In two years, it appears to have had substantial impact on the Bank of Montreal. The Institute for Learning is exploring how to better "harvest" the results of Open Space events. Through our own practices and the Open Space Institutes, a number of us are pursuing that learning as well. We are also discovering what is involved in ongoing management using an Open Space approach. There is much more to learn from the Bank of Montreal and from other corporation’s experience of Open Space. In telling what I know of this story, I hope to encourage further sharing of such learning.

Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation:
41 Appleton Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, M6E 3A4
Tel/Fax: 416-653-4829, lpasoc@inforamp.net