Quotes from Harrison H. Owen

Most people don't really care about the process of a meeting; they care about the issues and the results.

The job of the facilitator is not to keep things on time, but rather to enable the creation of safe time.

The world is full of good ideas, but without passionate commitment, they are worth little and go nowhere.

passionless good ideas are not only useless, they are a liability.

it is not how many people come, or even who comes (in the sense of status or position) that counts, rather it is the quality of the interaction and conversation that make the difference.

For good conversation you only need one other person who shares your passion and cares about what you care about.

If everything turned out just the way everybody expected, life would be exceedingly dull, and learning in any useful sense simply would not occur.

If at the end of our time together you find yourself walking out with just what you walked in with, you will have wasted your time.

groups of people gathered around an issue for which they care deeply will find the way–provided they had the (safe) space in which to explore.