Appreciative Inquiry

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Appreciative Inquiry

• by David Chandler
• Including adapted works of David Cooperrider,
  Diana Whitney and authors research.

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It is a Time for Re-thinking Human Organization
Change

• We are at the very point in time when a 400-year
  old age is dying and another is struggling to be
  born, a shifting of culture, science, society,
  and institutions enormously greater than the
  world has ever experienced. Ahead, the
  possibility of the regeneration of relationships,
  liberty, community, and ethics such as the world
  has never known... . -Dee Hock

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• It is a time for re-thinking
• human organization and change. Deficit based
  modalities are increasingly falling short.
• And cynicism, about the very idea of planned
  change, is rampant.
• - David Cooperrider

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Historical Evolution of Ai

• Deficit Perspectives in Key Systems

• Business
• Education
• Politics
• Counseling
• Religion
• Other . . .

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4 Common Approaches to Change

• Top Down
• Bottom up
• Representative Cross-Section
• Pilot

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Typical Results

• The Few are Knowledge Rich
• Univocal The Few convince the many.
• Partial Responsibility Mindset.
• Change is a Disruption of Real Work.
• Change is Slow, Sequential, Feedback Adverse
• Breakdown at Implementation
• A majority of culture change efforts and over
  one-third of total quality initiatives fail.

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3 Perspectiveson Human Behavior

• The Past
• The Present
• The Future

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2 Problem-Solving Approaches

• Problem Solving

• Appreciative Inquiry

• Have Pain
• Identify Problems
• Cause Analysis
• Solution Analysis
• Action Planning Treatment

• Valuing
• Understand Best of What Exists
• Envisioning
• What Might Be
• Dialoguing
• What Could/Should Be
• Innovating
• What Will Be

Metaphor Organization has PROBLEMS.
Metaphor Organization has SOLUTIONS.
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A New FieldAnd Growing Rapidly

• Ph.D. dissertation in 1984
• More than 100 scholarly articles, chapters and
  books.
• At least 3 universities formally teach it.
• Leading universities reference it.

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Ap-preci-ate, v.,

• 1. valuing the act of recognizing the best in
  people or the world around us affirming past and
  present strengths, successes, and potentials to
  perceive those things that give life (health,
  vitality, excellence) to living systems
• 2. to increase in value, e.g. the economy has
  appreciated in value.
• Synonyms VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and
  HONORING

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In-quire (kwir), v.,

• 1. the act of exploration and discovery.
• 2. to ask question to be open to seeing new
  potentials and possibilities.
• Synonyms DISCOVERY, SEARCH, STUDY, and
  SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION.

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Theoretical Principles of Ai

• Constructionist principle
• Simultaneity principle
• Poetic principle
• Anticipatory principle
• Growth principle
• Positive principle
• Wholeness principle
• Expansion principle

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Power Appreciative Inquiry

• Vocabularies of Human Deficit
• Cultural Consequences of Deficit
• Effects of Human Deficits

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The Ai Organization SummitGuidelines for Success

• Whole System in the room.
• Task is clear
• Future Focus
• Self-Management Dialogue
• Common Ground
• 3-days--100 to 1000 Participants
• Uncommon Action/Follow Through

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4-Step Cycle
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New Insights

• Holographic Beginning
• Polyphonic--Multiple Voices
• Dislodgment of CertaintyAppreciative
• From Negotiation to Narrative (stories)
• From Common Ground to Higher Ground
• Inspired Action on Behalf of the Whole
• Chaotic Organizing

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What Matters Most?

• Being a student humble, open, teachable,
  curious.
• The power of unconditional positive question
• Our positive images of the future lead our
  positive actionswords create worlds, nothing so
  practical. . .
• Ai accelerates the non-linear interaction of the
  positive.
• The best in people . . . wholeness heals
• Letting go of deficit based change vocabularies.
• Ai is not a thing, in its infancy still many
  questions.

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Our Inquiry Must Be the Change We Want to See in
the World

• There are two ways to live your life. One is as
  though nothing is a miracle. The other is as
  though everything is a miracle.
• -Albert Einstein

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Where to Apply Appreciative Inquiry

• Religious Groups
• Community/Municipalities
• Families
• Education
• Government/Political
• Business

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Applying Ai in Religion

• United World Religions
• Dalai Lama and 20 World Religious Leaders
• Inter-Faith Action Teams
• Marriage Parenting Cultures

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Applying Ai in Community

• City of Chicago
• City of Dallas
• South Carolina
• United Way - Denver

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Applying Ai in Business

• Motorola
• AVON
• Paine Webber
• GTE
• Body Works
• Hunter Douglas
• Nutrimental

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AVON

• Used AI for sexual harassment issues.
• Anti-female lawsuits were forthcoming.
• Women now make contributions equal to men.
• Avon Mexico won the Catalyst Award, an
• award given to the company in Mexico that has
• created progress and policies to make their
• organization a better place for women to work.

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PAINE WEBBER

• Conflict Among Senior Managers
• Merger of two Paine Webber Businesses
• Design of Leadership Vision, Characteristics and
  Critical Competencies.

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GTE

• Fourth largest U.S. telephone company.
• Used Ai to improve relations (culture initiative)
• Grassroots Management Over 15 million in
  direct profits in 1996 alone.
• IBEW CWA Union Unanimous Support
• On a moments notice, over 30,000 employees can do
  interviews.
• GTE Awarded Best Organizational Change Program
  in Nation -ASTD 1998

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HUNTER DOUGLAS

• International Organization
• Use Ai within one plant of 800 employees.
• Tremendous response and willing
  involvement--momentum gaining.
• So successful, Ai has spread to other areas i.e.
  Appraisals, Strategy, Employee and Supplier
  Satisfaction Surveys, etc.

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NUTRIMENTAL FOODS

• Approached Brazilian Economy in a Downturn 18
  mos. ago was first Ai.
• During a 6 months period, the value of Brazilian
  stock market had fallen by half.
• Companies profits had grown over 400 percent.
• Owner attributed it to Appreciative Inquiry.

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• We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of
  the dark.
• The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid
  of the light.
• - Plato

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Aspects Ai Can Improve

• Culture Change
• Strategy Design
• Problem Solving
• Improving Quality
• Product Development
• Human Conflict (all levels relationships)

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Impacts of Ai in a Case Organization

• The author (David Chandler) researched AI for the
  a thesis paper on engaging workers in an
  organizations mission and strategies. He
  collected quantitative and qualitative research
  from almost 800 employees in a client
  organization that used AI for whole-system
  change.
• A high level results of an AI intervention are
  shown on the following eight pages. A complete
  set of data is available from the author at
  www.tlcsite.com

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Good Understanding of Organizations Goals
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Commitment to Company Goals
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Understand How My Work Fits With Company Goals
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High Level of Initiativein My Work
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Motivated to be Productive
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Innovation and Creativityin my Work
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Committed to and Feel Responsible for My Results
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Would you recommend using Ai as a part of
significant change efforts?