Want to know more about Appreciative Inquiry and positive change?

Here are two articles written by our founder, Nancy Ogilvie. These are brief descriptions of ways to apply AI to specific needs.

• Achieve Better Results by Building on Your Strengths
• Becoming the Leader of Your Dreams

Here are some additional free resources. Rather than replicate material that already exists elsewhere on the web, here are links to articles, additional case studies, and other valuable websites.

Most of these links refer you to the Appreciative Inquiry Commons, a vast online library of resources maintained by Case Western Reserve University. David Cooperrider, the primary creator of Appreciative Inquiry 20 years ago, is still on the faculty there. You can also go directly to AI Commons and browse to your heart's content.

Foundational Articles

The following articles describe the underlying theory as well as the practice of Appreciative Inquiry in greater detail.

"Positive Image, Positive Action: The Affirmative Basis of Organizing," by David Cooperrider — discusses the power of positive imagery in a variety of applications (i.e. the placebo effect in medicine, the Pygmalion effect in education) and implications for organizational leaders.

"Appreciative Inquiry: A Transformative Paradigm," by Jane Magruder Watkins and D. Cooperrider — a brief and thorough overview of the theory and practice of Appreciative Inquiry in organizational change.

"Five Theories of Change Embedded in Appreciative Inquiry," by Gervase Bushe — explores five different ways of thinking about how and why Appreciative Inquiry works in organizational change.

Historical Timeline of the developments of AI by Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard Mohr — from their book Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination.

"From Deficit Discourse to Vocabularies of Hope: The Power of Appreciation," by James D. Ludema — discusses ways to create vocabularies of hope (instead of despair) and images of new possibilities in organizations, using Appreciative Inquiry.

Selected Websites

AI Practitioner, www.aipractitioner.com/ is a quarterly e-magazine on Appreciative Inquiry. Each issue explores a different theme or area of practice.

Appreciative Inquiry Consulting, LLC, www.aiconsulting.org is a collaborative of independent AI consultants. Its purpose is to promote Appreciative Inquiry as a vehicle for positive revolution in the world. Nancy Ogilvie is a member.

Taos Institute, www.taosinstitute.net/, is a community of scholars and practitioners working to explore, extend and share the view that through human relationships we construct our realities, moralities, and aspirations.

Corporation for Positive Change, www.positivechange.org— the principals in CPC include several of the most widely-respected leaders in the field of Appreciative Inquiry today. They offer a number of workshops and a certificate program in AI.

AI Listserve,
http://mailman.business.utah.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/ailist— this is the subscription address for this listserve, run by the Business School at the University of Utah. It is an invaluable resource for learning more about AI. People share cases, ask questions, and announce workshops on the list. Newcomers to AI are always welcome! You can also subscribe by sending an e-mail to ailist-request@lists.business.utah.edu.

Additional Case studies

Organizations in all sectors have created phenomenal and inspiring results using Appreciative Inquiry, and there's a large body of literature documenting these cases. The links below focus particularly on nonprofit organizations, although you can find examples from all sectors on the AI Commons.

http://ai.cwru.edu/practice/organization.cfm?sector=23, or go to AI Commons, click on "Practice and Management," click on "organizational sectors," click on "Non-profit/NGOs." There are other "sectors" included on this list that may be relevant, such as "environment" and "social service."

http://ai.cwru.edu/practice/toolsCases.cfm, or go to AI Commons, click on "Practice and Management," click on "AI Tools," click on "AI Case Studies."

http://ai.cwru.edu/practice/bibAiStories.cfm or go to AI Commons, click on "Practice and Management," click on "Stories from the Field."

Ready to explore how Appreciative Inquiry might work in your organization? We'll be happy to have an initial conversation with you to explore your hopes for your organization and the strengths you have to build on. Please either click on the "free consultation" button at the top of the page, or go to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you!