Today, fairly significant accomplishments are occurring all around us on a fairly regular basis.  While the accomplishments in science and technology are usually the breakthroughs that make the news, there are also incredible advances being made in the world of personal and organizational development.  I want to share with you a very successful method for personal and organizational change that has been developed and practiced over the past 20 years known as Appreciative Inquiry. 

Why is this technology available?

Like many of the tools and technology that we use in our everyday life that originally designed for space missions or military needs, Appreciative Inquiry, commonly referred to as AI has been used over the last 20 years by local and global organizations, Fortune 500 companies and even in bringing together leaders of the major world religions.

Today, Appreciative Inquiry is mainly available to large organizations.  Because of my affinity to work with business owners and individuals, one my current objectives is to further its development while making it available for the benefit of individuals and the privately owned business community.

If you have ever been involved in change efforts, attempted to grow a business or non-profit organization – if you have ever attempted or been involved in creating any sort of meaningful change… then keep reading.  We're going to:

• describe Appreciative Inquiry and its principle components
• provide a summary of Appreciative Inquiry
• and will explain…
  
  Why me, why you, and why now?

Describing Appreciative Inquiry and its principle components

"Appreciative Inquiry is the exploration of what gives life to human systems when they function at their best. This approach to personal and organizational change is based on the assumption that questions and dialogue about strengths, successes, values, hopes, and dreams are themselves transformational.

It’s about the search for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. In its broadest focus, it involves systematic discovery of what gives “life” to a living system when it is most alive, most effective, and most constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms.

David Cooperrider

Diana Whitney

I want to share with you a powerful approach for creating explosive and sustainable growth within your organization using cutting edge management development tools.  I'll be doing this during a period of time when most of the materials that exist on this subject are still in academic journals and are hardly suitable for quick or pleasurable reading.

So what is Appreciative Inquiry? Let’s first consider the definitions of these words.

Appreciate: 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, Valuing, Prizing, Esteeming and Honoring

Appreciation is the strongest emotion we have for attracting what we want.

Inquire: the act of exploration and discovery. 2. to ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. discovery, search, and systematic exploration and study.

As people grow weary of change efforts, there is now a renewed sense of optimism for a process that recognizes inquiry and change can happen simultaneously - the moment that a positive question is contemplated. This is not to imply that we ignore problems - they just need to be approached from the other side.

Obviously, we have all had ups and downs in our careers and in our lives. But for the moment try to focus or recall a high point, a time in your work experience when you felt most alive, most engaged, or most successful. Perhaps you may recall when your business was at its peak or was considered a high-performance organization.

The crafting of this inquiry is all that is necessary to begin but it can also be the most difficult for people to do alone. Let me briefly explain some of the other concepts that combine to make Appreciative Inquiry work so effectively.

Some of the components and basic principles that make up AI are:
 

the constructionist principle	the anticipatory principle	the principle of simultaneity
the positive principle	the heliotropic principle	the open book principle

Click here to read about the specific components of Appreciative Inquiry.
 

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The entire AI article in PDF Format.  Right click above to download.
1) Discover AI	2) AI Technology	3) AI Components
4) Putting AI into Practice	5) AI Background	6) AI Application

If you are interested in developing a High-Performance organization or would simply like to schedule an initial conversation of "discovery" by phone or in-person...click here.