Jim Taylor
Web:www.rolyatcorp.com
Email: rolyatcorp@shaw.ca
Phone: 403 343-7388
3421 – 39th St. Red Deer, AB T4N 5T7
Welcome!
An Introduction to
Appreciative
Inquiry
presented at
Appreciative Inquiry
is a positive, strength based
alternative to problem solving
as a means of initiating
and managing change in
organizations.
Appreciative Inquiry
“The study of what gives life to human
systems when they are at their best.”
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A methodology for positive change
An invitation to a positive revolution
A process for whole system
transformation (e.g. Avon Mexico)
Why Should You be Interested?
Appreciative Inquiry can help your
organization create a better future by:

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Fully engaging the creativity and talent of your
existing employees and volunteers
Magnifying the speed at which you can execute
positive innovations
Creating an organizational culture that attracts
the best and brightest talent (and volunteers!)
to it.
Two Approaches to
Initiating/Managing Change
Problem Solving Approach

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Asks: “What are the problems here?”
Focuses on: Problems, deficiencies, what’s wrong, what’s
broken, what isn’t working. Seeks “fixes” to problems. (A
traditional role for management consultants.)
“Appreciative” Approach


Asks: “What works well here?” What is this organization
like when it is at its best?”
Focuses on: Peak experiences, best practices, life
giving/life enriching forces. (This approach creates enormous
positive momentum for change.)
Appreciative Inquiry is based on the
ancient wisdom that
Whatever you focus your
attention on
GR
OW
S
The Case of BP Pro Care
79% Customer Satisfaction
Desire to improve…
First they tried a “problem
solving” approach: they
held focus groups with
“Dissatisfied” Customers
The Case of BP Pro Care

Using this approach:

…the bottom dropped out

Customer satisfaction plunged

Staff morale plunged
The Case of BP Pro Care
The Appreciative Inquiry Alternative

Interviews with satisfied customers

“...Outstanding Customer Satisfaction
Experience”

Generative Benchmarking

95% fully satisfied customers after
8 months
Because “whatever you focus
your attention on grows”
Appreciative Inquiry
seeks to discover the
root causes of success
rather than the root
causes of failure.
The term “Appreciative Inquiry”
comes from:



“appreciate”
to value or admire highly
to recognize with gratitude
to increase in value, like money in a good
investment
“inquiry”
• to seek to understand through the asking of
questions
Appreciative Inquiry is used to make
some existing positive quality in the
organization “appreciate”, by
systematically “inquiring” into
where this quality already exists
within the organization, even if it
currently exists only in very small
amounts. (e.g. Avon Mexico)
Appreciative Inquiry is used to get
“more” of something.
It is not used to try to “get rid of”
something (e.g. low morale, apathy,
poor performance, dysfunctional
organizational culture).
What do you want more of
in your organization?
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Employee and volunteer loyalty?
Effective teamwork?
Increased creativity and innovation?
Better client service?
High morale and enthusiasm for the job?
Fiscal responsibility & accountability?
Shared, inspiring leadership?
Whatever positive quality you
want “more of”, Appreciative
Inquiry can help you get it by
discovering where the quality
already exists in your
organization, and then leveraging
this to create more.
Ideally, an Appreciative Inquiry is like a
3-legged stool.
5 Generic Processes
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1. Choose the positive as the focus of inquiry
2. Inquire into stories of life-giving forces
3. Locate themes that appear in the stories and
select topics for further inquiry
4. Create shared images of a preferred future
5. Find innovative ways to create that future
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The 4D Model
Global Excellence in Management Initiative
British Airways
 Lost
Baggage
Given that whatever you focus your
attention on grows, how to reframe?
British Airways
 “Exceptional
experiences”
arrival
Women feel devalued in this
company. They complain about
male coworkers' attitudes towards
them, about workplace harassment,
and about limits on the jobs
available to them.
What can we do about
“machismo” attitudes?
Who is harassing women
and when are they doing
it? What circumstances
give rise to harassment?
What kinds of harassment
policies do we need?
What is preventing
women’s advancement in
the company and how
can we reduce the
barriers?
Women feel devalued in this
company. They complain about
male coworkers' attitudes towards
them, about workplace harassment,
and about limits on the jobs
available to them.
What are some examples
of the very best
experiences that men and
women have had working
together in this company,
experiences that were
very positive for both?
What circumstances
made these positive
experiences possible?
How can we recreate
these conditions so that
men and women have
more "best" experiences
working together?
What can we do about
“machismo” attitudes?
Who is harassing women
and when are they doing
it? What circumstances
give rise to harassment?
What kinds of harassment
policies do we need?
What is preventing
women’s advancement in
the company and how
can we reduce the
barriers?
Women feel devalued in this
company. They complain about
male coworkers' attitudes towards
them, about workplace harassment,
and about limits on the jobs
available to them.
Appreciative Inquiry is used to
make some existing positive quality
in the organization “appreciate”, by
systematically “inquiring” into
where this quality already exists
within the organization, even if it
currently exists only in very small
amounts. (e.g. Avon Mexico)
"When people are asked to participate in a
change effort targeted at changing
behaviors - specifically their behaviors they are ambivalent at best. When people
are asked to bring their best forward for the
benefit of the organization they do so with
enthusiasm and pride." Diana Whitney,
David Cooperrider, Maureen Garrison and
Jean Moore in "Appreciative Inquiry and
Culture Change at GTE: Launching a
Positive Revolution"
Developing an
Appreciative Mindset
Gervase Bushe
www.gervasebushe.ca
The Appreciative Self
 Tracking
 Fanning
st
1
D - Discovery
This is generally done using one on one
interviews lasting between 1-2 hours
Conscious decisions about “who interviews
whom” can add great value to the process.
Uses pre-written questionnaires
st
1
D - Discovery
Introductory Questions
These lay the groundwork for story telling.
They ask about:
The person’s beginnings & attraction to the
organization
The person’s peak experiences since joining the
organization
The qualities the person values, both personal and
organizational
st
1
D - Discovery
Topic Questions – There are usually 3 - 5 topics
A positive preamble to introduce the topic
Questions to elicit story telling about peak experiences
related to the topic
Concluding Questions
Direct the interviewee’s attention to the future, and to what
the organization is being “called” to become.
They connect with the interviewee’s imagination and vision
of the future.
They ask about the “positive core” of the organization that
should be preserved into the future.
Time to Try It!
Use Introductory
Questions - conversation
Overcoming Adversity –
interview 90/10
Sometimes our greatest accomplishments
result from challenges or adversity that we
overcome. Tell me about a time when you
overcame a significant challenge to achieve
something noteworthy. What was the
challenge? How did you overcome it? What
positive results did you produce? How did
this make you feel? How does it make you
feel now, as you recall this episode?
Debrief
What
was that like?
Compiling and Handling the Data

Interviews are summarized on
“Interview Summary Forms” and
distributed as widely as possible
among organizational members
prior to the “Dream” phase.
nd
2
D – Dream
– group activity
Imagining the best possible
future for the organization that
is grounded in the very best of
what has already been.
A vision/image of that best
possible future is collectively
created.
Organizations are not “pushed”
by their past; they are “pulled”
by the collective image they
hold of their future. (The wake
does not drive the boat!)
“The Generative Metaphor Intervention”
Medic Inn
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transformed organizational culture
from one of suspicion, backbiting and
negativity, into one of openness,
cooperation and collaboration
transformed the hotel from a 1 star to
4 star facility in one year
Time to Try It!
Create an image of
your ideal future
Dream/Imagine

Imagine that every “problem” or
“inadequacy” of your current
organization is solved, and your
organization is now in its best possible
state. What does that look like?

Draw some images on p. 5
RDPL AI Process

One of the presentations created by a
group at Red Deer Public Library to
illustrate their vision of an ideal future for
the library.
Provocative Propositions
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Written in bold affirmative language in
the present tense
“provocative” – offer stretch and
challenge, but are achievable
Grounded in the best of “what is”
Reflect people’s highest aspirations –
they provoke passion
Communication
Red Deer Public Library
We communicate openly, honestly, accurately and in a
timely manner while being sensitive to the context and
individuals involved. We recognize that individuals
have different preferred methods of communication,
and we accommodate these differences as much as
possible. All staff have access to a single internal point
of contact to communicate essential information. We
provide appropriate channels to facilitate the free
flow of information up, down and throughout the
organization and to our external stakeholders.
RDPL’s Action Steps
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Hold a 1-hour training session for the use of
the blog – learn @ lunch
Have sections on the blog for each department
Use one or more of the monitors as an “info
board” specifically for staff
Have a computer in the staff room
Designate the blog as the central source of
info for staff – encourage its use.
rd
3
D - Design
“First we shape our structures and then our
structures shape us.” Winston Churchill
Design with an Appreciative Lens
Appreciative Inquiry is an invitation to embed your
most cherished values in the structures that
guide individual and collective action – locally and
globally.
Designing with an
Appreciative Lens
It is an invitation to design the social
architecture* of your organization or
community so that your values are
inevitable.
* – the relationships, practices, programs,
processes, products, services, policies,
communications and technology
The AI Design Process
1.
2.
3.
Identify the elements of your social
architecture that were most talked about in
your discovery and dream activities.
Consider the data – what did your
discovery and dream activities say about
the ideal for each element?
Write a set of Design Principles that
describe and affirm your ideals, that put
your values into the elements you selected.
Values-Based
Organizational Design
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Value: Openness, Transparency

Architecture: Executive Offices – First Floor,
Glass Walls.
Social Architecture: Meeting Participation –
Open to one person from any other
department, just had to rsvp in advance.
Social Architecture: Financial Information –
Open books to all employees.
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Values-Based
Organizational Design

Value: Human Well Being

Architecture: Office Space – Secretaries’
desks by the windows; Managers’ offices on
the inside walls since they spend most of their
time away from their desks in meetings.
Social Architecture: Executive Sabbatical –
Each executive goes away from the company
for 6 months every 5 years.

th
4
D - Destiny
How the energy and focus
generated by the inquiry
plays itself out over time.
Ideally it helps to create
an “appreciative learning
culture”
th
4
D - Destiny
5 Steps
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Review, communicate and celebrate achievements
to date to everyone in the organization
For each provocative proposition, generate a list of
all possible actions that will bring it into being
Self organize for Inspired Action Projects
Support Success of the Self Organized Projects
Systematically apply AI to all aspects of the
organization
The Five Core Principles Defined
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The constructionist principle
Social knowledge and community destiny
are living, human constructions created
through the conversations that we have
with each other. "Reality is a negotiated
interpretation." Shapiro & Carr, 1991
The five core principles defined: continued
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The principle of simultaneity
Inquiry and change occur simultaneously . It
is not the case that "first we do the analysis
and then we decide on change." The very
process of inquiry/analysis creates its own
changes.
The five core principles defined: continued
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The anticipatory principle
Current behaviour is guided by images of the
future. Organizations are not “pushed” by
their past; (the wake does not drive the boat)
they are “pulled” by the collective image they
hold of their future. Self-fulfilling prophecy:
”Pygmalion effect”, “placebo” effect.
The five core principles defined: continued

The poetic principle
Human organizations, including
communities, are an open book,
constantly being revised and co-authored.
Its past, present and future are an endless
source of learning, inspiration and
interpretation.
The five core principles defined: continued
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The positive principle
The momentum for change requires positive thinking
and social bonding-qualities like hope, inspiration
and joy in creating with one another. Positive
questions guide organizational development and
foster long-lasting and effective changes. People,
businesses, organizations and communities move in
the direction of their questions. "What impact is my
question having on our lives together ... is it helping
to generate conversations about the good, the better,
the possible ... is it strengthening our relationships?"
“AI is based on a deceptively simple
premise: that organizations grow in
the direction of what they repeatedly
ask questions about and focus their
attention on. AI does not focus on
changing people. Instead, it invites
people to engage in building the kinds
of organizations they want to live in.
That’s hard to resist.” Gervase Bushe
“Organizations, says AI theory, are
centers of human relatedness, first and
foremost, and relationships thrive where
there is an appreciative eye – when
people see the best in one another, 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.”
Final Exercise – Mini Discovery

What was your best experience or
finest moment during the last 90
minutes?
So……..!

Go full speed ahead in the direction of
your fondest hopes and dreams for
the future or your organization.

May all your new connections be
positive connections!
Thank you!
Services
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Workshops – 1 hr. to full day
•
•
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A Four-hour workshop monthly at the Red Deer
Chamber of Commerce (excluding July, Aug.) –
partners for Edmonton & Calgary?
Full day Conflict Resolution workshops
Consulting – wide range, incl. performance
evaluation using BARS and conflict resolution
Research – lit reviews, internet research
Writing (including proposals) and Editing