Appreciative Inquiry-a book in the Practicing OD Series-is for leaders and organizational consultants who are ready to abandon the familiar tyranny of complex change programs. Recognizing that human systems are constructions of the human imagination and therefore capable of change at the speed of imagination, the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process frees organizations from the restrictive orthodoxy of "deficit based change" and allows them the freedom to mobilize strategic change and focus on the visible and tacit strengths of an organization. AI is capable of engaging whole systems at amazing scales? easily engaging hundreds or sometimes thousands of people, and often, in a matter of weeks or days, to leverage the positive core of the organization.

The authors reveal how using the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process can help you discover and tap rich, inspiring "high point" accounts of personal or collective capacity and link this "positive core" to any change agenda. Once you have determined what is really working, transformations never thought possible are rapidly and democratically mobilized.

This innovative process can be an effective way to work with organizations as organic systems whose success depends on a holistic approach to the connected human, technical, and organizational functions that make up any organization. Readers learn about the shifting paradigm in which we work and the role AI can play in enabling organizations to embrace the new paradigm. And, with case studies from such organizations as McDonald's, NASA, British Airways, and others, they illustrate the emerging applications of AI in a wide range of environments.

"This is a book about the future of organization development. It is a practical guide to Appreciative Inquiry for organization leaders and organization development professionals and it is a comprehensive explanation at the speed of imagination."Peter Sorensen, professor and director of the Ph.D. program in organization development and master of science program in management and organization behavior, Benedictine University

The Authors

Jane Magruder Watkins is a past chair of the board of the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science and a founding member of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting. In her thirty-five years in the field of organization development she has worked with a wide range of private, public, and government organizations, including Avon, GTE, Detroit Edison, SmithKline Beecham, ScottishPower, and more than 200 international organizations in nearly 50 countries.

Bernard J. Mohr is president of The Synapse Group, Inc., and co-founder of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting as well as co-creator of Whole System Design (WSD), an approach integrating changes to culture, work processes and systems. His clients have included AT&T, British Airways, BP, Coca Cola USA, Exxon, L. L. Bean, the Internal Revenue Service and the Episcopal Church. Editorial Board includes David Bradford, W. Warner Burke, Edith W. Seashore, Robert Tannenbaum, Christopher A. Worley, and Shaolin Zhang

Watkins and Mohr explain the Appreciative Inquiry approach to complex change that their consulting company is named after. They urge leaders to free themselves from the restrictive orthodoxy of deficit-based change, to mobilize strategic change, and to focus on visible and tacit strengths of the organization.
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"This is a book about the future of organization development. It is a practical guide to Appreciative Inquiry for organization leaders and organization development professionals and it is a comprehensive explanation at the speed of imagination." --Peter Sorenson, professor and director of the Ph.D. program in organization development and master of science program in management and organization behavior, Benedictine University

"This book is a gift to organization development practitioners. It takes us forward both professionally and personally. It challenges us to shift our perspectives, and deepens our understanding of organizations as organic systems. The book provides practical guidance--and encouragement--to creating sustainable change in large complex systems. Jane Watkins and Bernard Mohr are generous in sharing their wisdom and experience. In doing so they place on us tremendous responsibility for the fate of change efforts through our choice of approach to inquiry."--Cynthia Haddock, senior change advisor, The World Bank Group

"This is a book about the future of organization development. It is a practical guide to Appreciative Inquiry for organization leaders and organization development professionals and it is a comprehensive explanation at the speed of imagination." —Peter Sorenson, professor and director of the Ph.D. program in organization development and master of science program in management and organization behavior, Benedictine University

"This book is a gift to organization development practitioners. It takes us forward both professionally and personally. It challenges us to shift our perspectives, and deepens our understanding of organizations as organic systems. The book provides practical guidance—and encouragement—to creating sustainable change in large complex systems. Jane Watkins and Bernard Mohr are generous in sharing their wisdom and experience. In doing so they place on us tremendous responsibility for the fate of change efforts through our choice of approach to inquiry."—Cynthia Haddock, senior change advisor, The World Bank Group

Appreciative Inquiry-a book in the Practicing OD Series-is for leaders and organizational consultants who are ready to abandon the familiar tyranny of complex change programs. Recognizing that human systems are constructions of the human imagination and therefore capable of change at the speed of imagination, the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) process frees organizations from the restrictive orthodoxy of "deficit based change" and allows them the freedom to mobilize strategic change and focus on the visible and tacit strengths of an organization. AI is capable of engaging whole systems at amazing scaleseasily engaging hundreds or sometimes thousands of people, often in a matter of weeks or days, to leverage the positive core of the organization.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-216) and index.

JANE MAGRUDER WATKINS is a past chair of the board of the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science and a founding member of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting. In her thirty-five years in the field of organization development she has worked with a wide range of private, public, and government organizations, including Avon, GTE, Detroit Edison, SmithKline Beecham, ScottishPower, and more than 200 international organizations in nearly 50 countries.

BERNARD J. MOHR is president of The Synapse Group, Inc., and co-founder of Appreciative Inquiry Consulting as well as co-creator of Whole System Design (WSD), an approach integrating changes to culture, work processes and systems. His clients have included AT&T, British Airways, BP, Coca Cola USA, Exxon, L. L. Bean, the Internal Revenue Service and the Episcopal Church.