Appreciative Inquiry Accelerating Positive Change

1. Appreciative InquiryAccelerating Positive Change James D. Ludema, Ph.D. Benedictine University

2. What Do We Want? • Innovation: “Business Unusual” • Strategic Simplification: “A Unique Competitive Advantage” • Precision in Planning: “Linked at All Levels” • Positive Energy: “A Culture of High Performance”

3. “The world is increasingly divided into two kinds of organizations -- those that can get no further than continuous improvement, and those who’ve made the jump to radical innovation.”Gary Hamel, Leading the Revolution

4. Slow Conservative Leads to Organizational Inertia Mixed Results High-Velocity Change Innovation Explosion.. Energy for Action -- Hope, Cooperation Commitment A Culture of High Performance Problem Solving Appreciative Inquiry

5. Positive Results -- BP Procare • 100 stores in two states • Interviews with satisfied customers • Generative Benchmarking • 89% fully satisfied customers after 8 months

6. Problem Solving Appreciative Inquiry • Slow • Conservative • Leads to Organizational Depression • Mixed Results • High-Velocity Change • Innovation Explosion.. • Energy for Action -- Hope, Cooperation Commitment • A Culture of High Performance

7. Positive Results -- Nutrimental Foods (Brazil) • Whole System Visioning and Strategic Planning • Annual Whole System Summits (over 700 people) • 200% increase in profits • 300% decrease in absenteeism

8. Problem Solving Appreciative Inquiry • Slow • Conservative • Leads to Organizational Depression • Mixed Results • High-Velocity Change • Innovation Explosion.. • Energy for Action -- Hope, Cooperation Commitment • A Culture of High Performance

9. Positive Results -- John Deere • Whole System Visioning & Strategic Planning • Appreciative Project Teams • Improved Relationships Between Labor and Management • New Product Cycle Time from 5 to 3 Years • $5 Million in New Market Share

10. Problem Solving Appreciative Inquiry • Slow • Conservative • Leads to Organizational Depression • Mixed Results • High-Velocity Change • Innovation Explosion.. • Energy for Action -- Hope, Cooperation Commitment • A Culture of High Performance

11. Positive Results -- One of Your Major Competitors • 94 Restaurant Managers in Chicagoland (33 AI, 32 problem solving, 29 nothing) • 2 1/2-Year Program • Retention in AI Group 30% Higher than Problem Solving Group, 32% Higher than “Ignored” Group. • $103,320 Savings in Training Costs • Over $1 Million Savings in Total Costs

12. What would you call it?(all these things taken together) Achievements Strategic opportunities Product strengths Technical assets Innovations Capacities/capabilities Elevated thoughts Best business practices Positive emotions Financial assets Organization wisdom Core competencies Visions of possibility Vital traditions, values Positive macrotrends Social capital Embedded knowledge Business ecosystems eg. suppliers, partners, competitors, customer

13. The Positive Core “organization alive"

14. AI “4-D” Cycle • Discovery • Best of “what is” • Positive Core • Destiny • What “will be” • Action initiatives • People, Practices • Dream • What “could be” • Vision Positive Topic • Design • What “should be” • Relationship & Organization

15. The Positive Image, Positive Action Relationship • Powerful Placebo • Pygmalion: Not just the classroom • Imbalanced Inner Dialogue (2:1 positive to negative ratio = Health) • Rise and Fall of Cultures • Affirmative Competence? (Lessons from athletics and selective self monitoring)