An invitation from Anne Stadler, a dear friend, to write "a piece" about Open Space in the life of ECS took me back to our first encounter with OS at Goa (1989, OS on "Business of Business is Learning). It was a very special time; Harrison introduced us to the magic of Open Space; some lives were changed in the process; and we also formed some truly wonderful, life long bonds with people like Anne and Prasad Kaipa.

For the 30 odd participants from different parts of the world, the conference was a once-in-a-lifetime experience - something which brought a remarkable shift in their personal/work lives, moving them to conclude on issues lying dormant in their hearts; redefining their lives, inspiring them to unleash their creativity - write a book, change their profession, or initiate something new. The seeds of ECS were planted at this very time and place.

When it begins is the right time, and whoever comes are the right people. No where in the world but in India it could be more true. We truly believe in the power of shared intention, of a higher force driving us. The formation of ECS can be called a classic example of Open Space in real life.

Eicher Group, a large engineering business group in India, has been well known for its innovative "people-related" programs. The group had initiated a company wide TQM program in the late 80s, and was successful in several new initiatives - both in Operations as well as employee related practices. In a country where bureaucracy is the biggest bottleneck in running a business with integrity, and corruption in public services rampant, the group was (and still is) respected for its strong, uncompromising values and ethics. India’s economic development has been the core of the Eicher philosophy and business strategy.

ECS grew out of the same larger purpose : to assist Indian companies in becoming globally competitive. The group had accumulated learnings from its own experiences with TQM, Operations, Human Resource practices, which, it felt, could benefit the industry. It did not require too much of capital investment to begin this new business. A critical mass was already present within the group, people who were willing to leave the comforts of their well-settled, line jobs and step into the uncharted territory of consulting. And thus ECS came into being in April 1991.

Looking back over the last five and a half years, one realises that Open Space has continued to be the ground on which ECS stands. Though a part of the Eicher group, it is guided by its own spirit, which makes it unique in more ways than one. Early in its life, the spirit manifested itself in the form of a shared vision, which envisioned ECS to be "a customer focused, innovative consultancy firm, fostering trust, learning and caring, working in harmony with all stakeholders".

The Law of Two Feet has always been a guiding force, enabling people to take responsibility for what they truly care about. As an organisation striving to reach its vision, we chose - to try and co-exist as human beings, rather than as boxed creatures in garbs of "executives" and "staff". Each and every employee is an equally important member of the team, with the same policies applicable to all.

"Trust" and "Respect" are not mere words for us - these are the building blocks of ECS. Demonstrated not just in thought but also in action. No leave records (except the annual leave where employees are entitled to 4 weeks of paid leave per year) are maintained; all medical expenses are paid; the culture is supportive rather than competitive- Performance Reviews were replaced by "Career Development Groups" long time back (this is true all over the Eicher group). The structure facilitates team-work and excellence, and is oriented towards serving the customers in the best possible way. Projects are led on the basis of functional expertise, not hierarchy; the attempt is to get the best people to deliver the best we can provide.

"Let’s dialogue". It is a commonly heard phrase in ECS (so common that it almost sounds threatening at times!) Decisions are taken through dialogue and group consensus, in forums which involve all employees.

Recruitment and selection is through a 360 degrees feedback process. A person has to be accepted by a cross section of ECSers before he/she can be recruited. The career development process is also customer focused - internal as well as external, and uses dialoguing to discuss goals and objectives, as well as plans for the future.

The ECS Annual Learning Conference (ALC) is another step in its journey towards becoming a learning community. Once a year, all ECS team-members take off for a 3 day retreat for a time of collective reflection, listening and sharing. This is a time to learn from each other, and simply experiencing the joy of being together as a family; envisioning plans for the future and reflecting on what can we do to take us further towards our mission.

Accommodating Open Space in our everyday life has not been easy. It has its own heartaches and moments of despair - for instance when the Law of Two Feet literally takes people away (for us it feels like children leaving home), and sometimes it also means our own reluctance to let go..of that which no longer has heart and meaning for us.

Besides including OS in everyday life, we have been using the technology (learnt from Harrison and adapted by us to serve the specific needs) to facilitate events. Some examples are given here.

One of the first instances where Open Space was used in Eicher was in redefining the role and purpose of its Management Committee (MC), originally the policy making body of the Eicher group and comprising of senior management from all the Eicher group companies. After a restructuring of the group, leading to formation of strategic Business Units with their own structure and policies, the entire purpose of the MC in policy related issues, was felt to be redundant. So the MC decided to "dissolve" itself! However, this was resented by the young entrants to this forum who had been looking forward to being a part of this group for many years.

What could be the new and meaningful role for the MC? Open Space was used as the process to dialogue amongst the MC members about this new role. After half a day of dialoguing, where people freely expressed and shared their own expectations & hopes from this forum, it was decided to convert this forum to a "Management Conference" rather than a "Management Committee", with a new evolved role to be that of a training, recognition, and team building forum.

Within ECS, Open Space technology was used for the first time at our first Annual Learning Conference, in 1993. In November’ 93, we had been operating for more than two years in consulting business, a field very different from our earlier jobs in line functions in different industries. This was the first time all of us were meeting together for two days to reflect on our lives as consultants and our success and failure stories. We used the last half of the second day, using an Open Space format, to explore our lives as consultants, understand and appreciate each others’ viewpoints and explore this new business for the possibilities it has and the challenges it provides.

Open Space helped us not only in an in-depth exploration of our professional issues, but also helped us in understanding the impact our work had on our personal lives, and how we could make our lives more meaningful. This brief introduction to Open Space also enthused many of us to learn more about this methodology and incorporate it in our lives and work.

A recent instance where we used Open Space was at a spectacular event organised by Friends of Moral Re-armament (India), an Indian trust fostering the philosophy of Moral Re-armament or MRA, to commemorate India’ s fifty years of independence. MRA is an international movement, envisioning a wave of change in society set in motion by people from all walks of life, towards peace, reconciliation and unity in the world. ECS was approached by MRA to help them in designing and facilitating this event, attended by 350 people from all over the world, including thinkers, educationalists, youth, corporate leaders, social activists, and so on. The participants included RajMohan Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), Ms Campbell (whose father founded the Dutch MNC Philips), Kiran Bedi (Megsasay Award winner and an Inspector General of Police in India), among several other distinguished people from across the world.

While the conference design included panel discussions on issues such as "Learnings from the 50 years of Indian independence", "Creating a new business and industrial culture", and "The Family - 50 years ago, Today, and in the Future", Open Space was used to urge people to talk about issues closest to their hearts. Despite logistical constraints, the participants innovated and created conditions to derive the best out of the opportunities.

The discussions proved to be of immense significance, not just for India, but also for the large group of international participants who brought their own experiences to share. People talked about issues of such diversity as "What does a People’s movement like Jharkhand mean for the North-East part of India; Redesign of Education System in India; How can media play a more powerful role in bringing the world closer; how to drive corruption out; Spirituality at the workplace; Hindu-Muslim issues and India-Pakistan reconciliation", to mention just a few.

Dialoguing and listening to the pain of people led to major shifts, in thinking and commitment. Several important decisions were taken, for instance, it was decided to revive a popular people’s magazine called "Himmat" or "Courage", discontinued sometime back. Himmat used to be an inspiration, promising hope and courage to people. Another significant decision was the formation of a group, consisting of young people from Mumbai, to strengthen India-Pakistan ties.

The event also generated tremendous interest for the Open Space process, and ECS was approached by several people to facilitate Open Space events for them, both within India and abroad.

In December last year, ECS also used OS to facilitate the Eicher group’s HR Learning conference. Human Resource professionals from all Eicher divisions met for 2 days of dialoguing to talk about their lives and roles. The purpose was not just to talk about HR processes in Eicher, but also to experience sensitivity as a community. OS provided the ideal opportunity to move beyond the boundaries of business units and look within our lives - as human beings, caring for people, and not as HR professionals responsible for culture change. One left the conference with a feeling that this is just the beginning of a deeper dialogue, which could continue in our everyday lives at our workplaces.

Whether we know it or not, Open Space continues to be a part of our lives, the way we live and dream and act. Open Space, in our lives at ECS, constantly leads the way towards our true path, manifesting all that is hidden, what we don’t know. As Kahlil Gibran aptly says:

naked body of your dreams.

(Anil Sachdev, with Taruna Thareja)