Appreciative Inquiry. The Power of Positive Change.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an organizational philosophy with practical implications for all sectors of society. Since its inception in the 1987 article "Appreciative Inquiry Into Organizational Life" by David Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva, AI has developed into a reliable method of improving self-awareness and collaboration within an organization.
AI is based on the idea that organizations change in the direction in which they inquire. Therefore, organizations that primarily inquire into problems keep encountering problems, while those that ask “What is our best?” continue to discover positive traits and grow. Thus, the process of appreciating (“valuing…recognizing the best in people…affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials”) along with inquiring allows organizations to create plans for the future that embody their best; this practice forms the cornerstone of Carson Greil’s work.
We follow AI’s “4-D” approach:
• Discover: What are the strengths of this organization? What is our positive core?
• Dream: What’s the best future we can imagine?
• Design: What practices will maximize our positives to reach that future?
• Destiny: How can we implement those practices to realize our dream?
For more details about Appreciative Inquiry, go to http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu
