Question(s) around Pro Action Café

Dear fellows,
I have a question about the Pro Action Cafe. In this methodology, are there the roles of the bee and butterfly as we have in Open Space? Or people remain in the same table until the next round?
Thank you very much
Best,
Ana Carolina (AoH Brazil)
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Interesting question, Ana. I've never had butterflies and bumblebees in ProAction Cafe, but reading your questions makes me want to experiment!
Bob Stilger
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We don't use the law of two feet in the pro action cafe (i mean, obviously people will do what they want, but the roles of bumblebee and butterfly are not present).

Yes it's good to experiment...

One of the things I love about ProAction Cafe is the fact that there are many constraints. I actually like getting explicit about those constraints: only four at a table, no moving around, only a short time in each round, that sort of thing. The constraints bring out a different sort of creativity than the open nature of OST. I love running the two of them one after the other, with OST leading to ProAction, as it moves between very different kinds of ways of being together.

Cris Corrigan

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Permalink Reply by Ria Baeck on August 1, 2012 at 8:41am

Oi Ana,
Obrigado pela sua pergunta.
Thanks for your question, it is also alive for me.

First, I also agree with Chris and the stability of the process is in the clear structure. We have also experimented with this a little and discovered it is possible, especially with a group that really understands the process and the importance of helping each table host realise their dream/project.

Sometimes even the facilitators of the cafe also fulfill these roles naturally, without having to explain them before. Would love to explore this more in a structured way.
Abraços do Guerreiros sem Armas em Santos,
Nathan Daniel Heller
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Hey Guys
Thank you for your answers!
I have one more question (sorry, I should have made them both at once): on round two, when the guiding question is "What is missing? Once the quest has been redefined, what makes the picture more complete?", what exactly happens? People try to answer the main question raised on round 1? Or go on trying to find out more about the issue?
Thank you one more time
Best Ana
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Dear Ana,

Your persistence is great!

So the the third round has as an aim, with all the insights the issue host will have gathered, to find the actual "action" (pro action cafe). That can be reached by shaping the question for the third round in this light:

What is my next elegant step?

What is my learning now?

What will I do now?

Depending on the subjects raised, in my experience people come up with a practical action plan for their business or problem solution, they find out they want to abandon a project, or what more research they still have to make to become operational.

In our last AoH training in the Bregenzer Salon the Pro Action Cafe team there came up with particularly creative questions, I would like to share here, and as it was in German, here is the translation:

Overall framing question:

Where does my breath take me?

1st round: What do you really want (to know), subtitle: why is that topic important for you? What aspects need to be regarded?

2nd round: What is missing? What do you need? subtitle: what obstacles/resistance do you have to overcome? What resources do you need?

3rd round: What are your concrete steps until (in this case) summer 2012? subtitle: what are important milestones? What do you want to reach with them? What do you still need to get started?

This looks like overstructured now, but it was hosted very lightly with a lot of joy, fun and laughter in the process.

The subtitles do not need to be written down, this was in a training, and they had fun experimenting and really trying to understand what Pro Action Cafe means. It might be a help for explaining in an extra sentence what the shaping question of the round is meant for.

I usually only write the shaping question on a flipchart, that is enough.

As mentioned earlier, the flow of this is so natural, and if people are really engaged and holding their topic/question with passion, people just engage, and the guiding question is there for those who need it.

I attach a photo (I loved the poster they painted for this) and also some summaries of hosting a pro action cafe that you might find useful.

https://api.ning.com/files/464kYAA6kxtHRXQ6u6xGGMdDtbDdPP0UlTXeq0hY...

And not sure you got this one: It is useful to let the hosts be alone between rounds two and three for some minutes, so they can order the ideas and insights they got for round three, the next steps, and present them in the third round. Then in plenary they can present their final insights and learnings, as anyone else can share that afterwards too. That makes it quite a round experience for everyone.