And Now for the
Good News:
Appreciative Inquiry
Maureen Sullivan
Gene Spencer
ALA Annual Conference - June 30, 2008
Agenda and Format
This will be an interactive working session:
 Set the Context for Appreciative Inquiry in
Assessment
 Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry
 The “Art” of the Positive Question
 Application of Appreciative Inquiry
"The most serious mistakes are not being
made as a result of wrong answers. The
truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong
question."
Peter Drucker
Setting the Context
Focus of Assessment
Significantly
Better Results
Maintain or Tweak?
What are we doing well?
(within some +/- “gap”)
Fix or Abandon?
What’s broken or
ineffective?
Introducing Appreciative
Inquiry (AI) A Whirlwind Tour
What is Appreciative Inquiry (AI)?
 Appreciative Inquiry is the study and
exploration of what gives life to human
systems when they function at their best.
 This approach to personal change and
organization change is based on the
assumption that questions and dialogue
about strengths, successes, values,
hopes, and dreams are themselves
transformational.
(from The Power of Appreciative Inquiry by
Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom)
The Essence of
Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
Positive Core
AI’s Origins
 Research from the Weatherhead School of Management
at Case Western Reserve University
 David Cooperrider is Professor and Chairman of the
Case Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit
 Study at the Cleveland Clinic
A Positive View of Organizations
“Organizations are, first and foremost, centers of
human relatedness and relationships come alive
where there is an appreciative eye, when people
see the best in one another and the whole, when
they share their dreams and ultimate concerns in
affirming ways, and when they are connected in
full voice to create not just new worlds, but better
worlds. By making it possible for every voice to
be heard, a life giving process is enacted.”
(from The Appreciative Organization by Harlene
Anderson, David Cooperrider, et. al.)
Appreciative Inquiry - Simply Put…
If we continue to search for problems,
we will continue to find problems
If we look for what is
best and learn from it,
we can magnify and
multiply our success
Imagine the difference…
Starting with 2 very different questions:
 What works well in this organization?
vs.
 What problems do we need to fix to make
this organization better?
4-D Cycle of Appreciative Inquiry
Affirmative
Topic Choice
Discovery
“Appreciate
what is”
Destiny
“Create what
will be”
One example of a
Formal AI Process
Dream
Positive Core
“Imagine
what might be”
Design
“Determine
what should be”
From The Power of
Appreciative Inquiry
Problem Solving vs. Appreciative Inquiry
 Identify problems
 Appreciate “What is” (What
 Conduct Root Cause
gives life?)
 Imagine “What might be”
Analysis
 Brainstorm Solutions &
Analyze
 Develop Action Plans
 Metaphor:
Organizations are
problems to be solved
 Determine “What Should Be”
 Create “What Will Be”
 Metaphor:
Organizations are a
solution/mystery to be
embraced
The Art of the Positive
Question
Focus Again on the Positive Core
Positive Core
Language of Assessment: Deficit
Error Report
MISSED COMMITMENTS
Gap Analysis
“Satisfaction” Surveys
Variance
Report
CUSTOMER
COMPLAINTS
Failure Rate
Evaluation
WARNING
PERFORMANCE
REVIEW
“Missed Opportunity”
Root Cause Analysis
Post-Mortem
Fire Fighting
TROUBLE REPORT
Critical
Thinking
Emergency
Deadline
From the Appreciative Inquiry Handbook
The Art of the Positive Question
To be compelling, assessment topics should be:
 Positive – Overwhelmingly affirmative
 Desirable – You want more of it
 Motivational – Will take you where you want
to go
Taking Aim at the Extraordinary
Examples:
 Describe a peak experience or high point with
your library.
 Identify a time in your experience when you
felt most effective and engaged.
 What are three wishes you have to enhance
the health and vitality of your organization?
Exercise – Appreciative Questions
 Reflect on the sample questions in the
handout
 Form some new questions that you might use
to assess your own organization
 Share with a neighbor
When can you use these questions?
 At the beginning of internal or external
assessment efforts
 To “jump-start” weekly meetings
 In thought-provoking messages to staff
 In one-on-one conversations with staff or
community members
 At the conclusion of any activity to assess the
experience
Encyclopedia of Positive Questions
A Great Resource:
The questions in this
book are intended to
move the focus to
positive possibilities
Encyclopedia of Positive Questions
Sample positive questions are provided for:
 Seamless service
 Customer loyalty
 Exceptional partnership
 Compelling communication
 Integrity in action
 Quality moments
 Participatory decision-making
 Joy in a job well-done
 Ownership
Application of
Appreciative Inquiry
Underlying Benefits
Appreciative Inquiry unleashes power by:
 Building relationships
 Creating opportunities for people to be heard
 Generating opportunities for people to dream
 Allowing people to choose how they will
contribute
 Giving people the support to act
 Encouraging and enabling people to be
positive and affirming
4-D Cycle of Appreciative Inquiry
Affirmative
Topic Choice
Discovery
“Appreciate
what is”
Destiny
“Create what
will be”
Dream
Positive Core
“Imagine
what might be”
Design
“Determine
what should be”
From The Power of
Appreciative Inquiry
Exercise – an Appreciative Interview
It starts with an Appreciative Interview:
 Choose a partner
 Interview him/her based on the second
handout
 Take notes
 Reverse roles
4-D Cycle of Appreciative Inquiry
Discovery
“Appreciate
what is”
Affirmative
Topic Choice
Destiny
“Create what
will be”
Rapport &
Empathy
Dream
Positive Core
“Imagine
what might be”
Mutual
Understanding
Design
“Determine
what should be”
Trust
From The Power of
Appreciative Inquiry
Resources for Getting Started
Discussion
 How can this approach be applied proactively
to assessment in/for your library?
 How would your stakeholders respond to
questions that helped reflect on the “best of
what is”?
 How might this energy get beyond
“assessment fatigue”?
Questions for Personal Reflection
 How does the “appreciative approach” differ
from typical techniques used for assessment?
 Can you see how this approach (used regularly)
would increase energy, creativity & momentum?
 How would your stakeholders respond to a
“strengths-based” assessment process?
 Can you think of examples of how AI might be
applied to internal and external assessment of
your organization?
Closing Thoughts
 “No problem can be solved from the same
level of consciousness that created it. We
must learn to see the world anew.”
 “There are only 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
Thank You!
Maureen Sullivan:
Gene Spencer:
msull317@aol.com
spencerg@ptd.net
Bibliography
 The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry, Sue Annis
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Hammond (Thin Book Publishing Co.)
The Power of Appreciative Inquiry, Diana Whitney &
Amanda Trosten-Bloom (Berrett-Koehler Publishers)
Encyclopedia of Positive Questions, Vol. 1, Diana
Whitney, et. al. (Lakeshore Communications)
Appreciative Inquiry Handbook, David Cooperrider, et. al.
(Lakeshore Communications)
The Promise of Appreciative Inquiry in Library
Organizations, Maureen Sullivan in Library Trends (53(1)
Summer 2004, page 224)
Using Appreciative Inquiry in Evaluation, Hallie Preskill,
Anne T. Coghlan, editors
Reframing Evaluation Through Appreciative Inquiry,
Hallie Preskill, Tessie Tzavaras Catsambas
Other AI Resources
 The Appreciative Inquiry Commons
(www.appreciativeinquiry.org)
 The Taos Institute (www.taosinstitute.net)
 The Appreciative Organization by Harlene Anderson,
et. al. (Taos Institute Publications)
 Appreciative Leaders, edited by Marjorie Schiller, et.
al. (Taos Institute Publications)