Cohousing-L Mailing List: Thanks for the input

[CJ Q (homeschoolvideo]

Hi again,
I didn't mean to air anything in public about Laird, just wondered what the
"controversy" was from the word on the street.
It looks like he has a reputation as a "hard ass" and that's about it. He
likes to challenge people/groups and solve conflicts. Maybe that is
controversial for those who prefer a softer touch.
I still wonder what his method is and have considered taking the
facilitator course because I like his idea that good facilitation makes a
difference.  I did find this from the archives:
" we've adopted a process from Laird Schaub where an idea needs at least
three meetings (often more) to become consensed as a proposal: one to
obtain input from the group on the original question/idea, one to discuss a
proposal that a committee (or individual) has created from that input, and
one to adopt the proposal as changed from that meeting. In between
meetings, we encourage discussion and objections. Hopefully by the time a
proposal finally comes up for consensus, all considerations and objections
would have been raised and addressed. So far, while we have at times been
disgusted by the length of time it has taken to come to a decision
(sometimes a year or more), we have not yet regretted a decision we have
reached by that process. "

Also in the archives, someone mentioned that took a long time so their
community tweaked how they did it. But it sounds fair to me.
I didn't necessarily mean controversial is bad.  People swear by essential
oils but others don't agree so that's a controversy that works for some,
but not all.

Thanks to all of you who responded.

Carol
Emerson Commons, VA homeowner
homeschoolvideo [at] gmail.com