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Dawn: A porcupine walked into the meadow.” <br /> <br />Crista (resisting): NO WAY! There he met a female porcupine who became his mate for life.” <br /> <br />Again, the community laughs. They understand the implications of this activity. Now, they know, Crista <br />she <br />wants everyone to repeat her sentence, because has the truth. <br /> <br />The story is all mixed up: <br /> In addition to everyone wanting to be right with their “story line,” when the <br />group meets, they are seated out of order. I move the standing participants around, mixing their order. <br />Then I ask them to repeat their sentence: <br /> <br />Debbie: The bear growled at the porcupine when he approached.” <br /> <br />Laura: “He saw another animal in the meadow.” <br /> <br />Rob: A porcupine walked into the meadow.” <br /> <br />Dawn: “This frightened the porcupine, so he climbed a tree to get away from the bear. <br /> <br />Kathy: “It was a warm and sunny day.” <br /> <br />Crista: There he met a female porcupine who became his mate for life.” <br />Jon: “It was a bear, an angry bear just waking up from a winter nap.” <br /> <br />Now, this discussion doesn’t seem to make any sense, especially if you are the manager who needs to make <br />the decision. These people all appear to be in conflict with what they are saying. There is no similarity. <br />Who should you believe? What can you base your decision on? <br /> <br />In the consensus process, we encourage each person to express their view, and, we record as it is being <br />expressed. These are the different perceptions of the entire community. Then we take that information from <br />this group, and any other group, and write a collective statement. When we do that it sounds like this: <br /> <br />(I move the story tellers to their original position and have them repeat their sentences) <br /> <br />Rob: A porcupine walked into the meadow.” <br /> <br />Kathy: “It was a warm and sunny day.” <br /> <br />Laura: “He saw another animal in the meadow.” <br /> <br />Jon: “It was a bear, an angry bear just waking up from a winter nap.” <br /> <br />Debbie: The bear growled at the porcupine when he approached.” <br /> <br />Dawn: “This frightened the porcupine, so he climbed a tree to get away from the bear. <br /> <br />Crista: There he met a female porcupine who became his mate for life.” <br /> <br />This collective statements tells the “whole story” and is inclusive of everyone’s views. Now that you know <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 6-7, 2009 Page 22 <br /> Goals Setting Session <br /> <br />