Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating

The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry:A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesBernard J. Mohr and Jane Magruder Watkins“The significant problems we face cannot besolved at the same level of thinking we were atwhen we created them.” —Albert EinsteinFor much of the last four centuries, humans havesought to improve the world through modern Westernscience, with its focus on linear logic and dissectingthings to understand them. When we’ve applied thisapproach to technical challenges, such as the need toshare information with people on the other side of theglobe, we’ve been highly successful. Nevertheless, despitedramatic developments in technological systems, ourprogress in developing human systems, such as families,work teams, community groups, corporations, andnations has been much slower. Many people wonderwhy we can succeed so well in one sphere and have suchdifficulty in another.People interested in improving human systems oftenassume that organizational change is sequential: Wefirst ask about how an enterprise functions and thentake steps to change it based on our findings. However,a growing number of social scientists are coming torecognize that the process of studying a phenomenonactually changes that phenomenon—in effect creatinga new reality during the process of inquiry. In the early1920s, renowned physicist Werner von Heisenbergarticulated this principle for the physical world. Forexample, the act of inserting a thermometer into a glassof water to determine the water’s temperature willchange that temperature. By extension, we can inferthat studying a company or community changes thatentity. Researchers have found that this influence beginsfrom the first questions that leaders, consultants, orothers ask during the inquiry process—and that theimages evoked by their questions have an almostmagnetic pull.As a result of this new thinking, some have begun to questionthe focus of what we typically study in organizationallife. Rather than concentrate on breakdowns and malfunctions,we’ve begun to ask: If the act of studying a systemalters it, why not do so in ways that create movementtoward peak experiences or successes? Posing this query canopen our eyes to the enormous potential of the positivequestion.ContentsThe Power of the Positive Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Origins of AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2The Holistic Nature of SelfRethinking Our Approach to Organizational ChangeWhy Questions Matter: The Power of ImageAn Invitation to ChangeHow AI Works: Five Generic ProcessesGuided by Five Core Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41. Choose the Positive As the Focus of Inquiry2. Inquire into Exceptionally Positive Moments3. Share the Stories and Identify Life-Giving Forces4. Create Shared Images of a Preferred Future5. Innovate and Improvise Ways to Create That FutureAI Principles in Practice:Three Stories From the Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Customer Service Improvement in an HR DivisionPost-Merger Integration of Three Cultures into One at aPrimary SchoolLeadership Development Among Top Managers of anR&D DivisionHelpful Conditions for Implementingthe AI Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.com3and action. Below are examples of thisresearch:The Placebo Effect: The Power ofOur Own Images of Ourselves.Undertaken in the mid-1950s, theseonce controversial experiments showthat from one-third to two-thirds of allpatients will show marked physiologicaland emotional improvement in symptomssimply by believing that they arebeing given an effective treatment.Their improvements are even greater ifthe doctor prescribing the medicine ortreatment also believes it will help(Beecher, 1955; White, Turks, andSchwartz, 1985).The Pygmalion Studies: TheImpact of Another’s Image of Us.These studies of classroom behaviordemonstrate the power that anotherperson’s image of us can have in shapingour performance. Researchers discoveredthat teachers’ responses to individualstudents reflected what they believedabout each child’s potential and ability(Jessum, 1986; Rosenthal and Rubin,1978). Furthermore, they demonstratedthat the teacher’s image of the studentwas a more powerful predictor of his orher performance than IQ scores, homeenvironment, or past performance.Long-term follow-up showed that thisjudgment affected the students far intothe future. So damaging were theseexperiments to the children labeledpoor performers that the scientific communitydiscontinued them.Internal Dialogues. Evidence suggeststhat we can create positive imagesof ourselves through our own internalconversations. Norman Cousins popularizedthe notion that a person’s mentalstate affects his or her health. In his bookHuman Options (Berkley Books, 1981),he writes of the therapeutic value ofhope, faith, love, will to live, cheerfulness,humor, creativity, playfulness, confidence,and great expectations, all ofwhich contribute to thebody’s healing. BillMoyers created a seriesfor PBS on the power ofthe mind to heal thebody. And JackNicklaus’s Golf My Way(Simon & Schuster,1974) argues that positiveinternal affirmations(“I’m going to hit itdown the middle of the fairway” ratherthan “Don’t hit it into the woods”) causethe entire body to respond to what themind imagines is possible.In the healthcare community, Jamesand Stephanie Simonton documentedan unusually high rate of recovery fromwhat was diagnosed as terminal cancerby patients who worked to resolve theirpsychological issues and practiced positiveimagery (1981). In other studies ofpeople facing major heart surgery,behavioral scientists recorded a two-toonerecovery rate of those whoapproached the operation with confidencecompared to those whoapproached it with fear and concern(Cooperrider & Srivastva, 1990).Rethinking Our Approach toOrganizational ChangeWith such scientific evidence emerging,many of us are rethinking our approachto organizational change. For example,the Pygmalion experiments suggest thata supervisor’s focus on an employee’sshortcomings during performanceappraisals will adversely affect thatemployee’s future performance. Thestudies on positive imagery imply thatemployees who hold self-images ofcompetence and success are more likelyto achieve high levels of performancethan those with poorself-esteem. If weaccept that we havethe power to createwhat we imagine,then an organizationalprocess thatseeks to achieve positivechange wouldconsciously focus onempoweringemployees to believe that they can makea difference; reward leaders who knowhow to empower others; and direct theenergy of the system toward the generativeand creative forces that give life andvitality to the work.Championed by organization development(OD) practitioners, these ideashave undergone continuous innovationand have been adopted by groups andinstitutions around the world. Somehave mistaken these new ideas formerely “positive thinking” or as justanother technique for facilitating organizationalchange. Nevertheless, manypractitioners are increasingly coming tounderstand AI to be an overall organizationalphilosophy that ultimatelytransforms our approach to the wholefield of OD, including knowledge management,joint ventures, post-mergerintegration, customer service, diversity,business process innovation, strategydevelopment, evaluation, capabilitydevelopment, and much more.Why Questions Matter:The Power of Image“Imagination is more importantthan knowledge.” —Albert Einstein

4The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.comAI is based on the power of positiveinquiry. But how can a simple questionnudge a whole company in a productivenew direction? Organizations are manifestationsof the human imagination.That is, no organization could exist if oneor several individuals hadn’t envisioned itfirst (even if that vision was sketchy orincomplete). The learnings that surfacethrough the AI process begin to shift thecollective image that people hold of theorganization. In their daily encounters,members start to create compelling newvisions of the company’s future together,grounded in their understanding of pastsuccesses. These visions initiate “ripples”in how employees think about the workthey do, their relationships, their roles,and so on. Over time, these ripples turninto waves; the more positive questionspeople ask, the more they incorporate thelearnings they glean from those questionsinto daily behaviors and, ultimately, intothe organization’s infrastructure.To see how we might start to framesuch questions, let’s suppose a team’sperformance has fluctuated for a whileand its members are now experiencingconflict and low productivity. Which ofthe following sets of questions is likelyto give us information that will generateforward momentum?What’s wrong with the people in thisgroup?Why isn’t this team doing better?What’s causing this conflict and who isresponsible?OrThink of a time in your history as a teamwhen performance was high and you feltengaged and valued. Tell me a storyabout that time. What were you and theothers doing?What external/organizational factorswere present that supported thesemoments?How might this team function if we couldexpand the conditions that led to pastsuccesses?Both sets of questions will generatedata that will begin to shift the team’sdynamics, but only the first will lead tothe blame, fatigue, and resistance thattypically accompany problem-focusedanalyses. Uncovering and supportingpeople’s passions, skills, knowledge,experience, and successes excite andmobilize them to implement innovationsthey never before thought possible.An Invitation to ChangeUnlike many behavioral approaches tochange, AI does not focus on changingpeople. Instead, it invites people toengage in building the kinds of organizationsand communities that theywant to work and live in. AI thusinvolves collaborative discovery of whatmakes an organization most effective—in economic, ecological, and humanterms. From there, people weave thatnew knowledge into the fabric of thefirm’s formal and informal systems,such as the way they develop andimplement business strategy or organizethemselves to accomplish tasks.This process represents true learningand change.For instance, in Curitiba, Brazil, thefood manufacturing companyNutrimental lost a major long-timecustomer and teetered on the edge offinancial disaster. In response, it shutdown for a day so that all 700 employeescould talk together about how tobeat the stiffening competition thatfaced the company. David Cooperrider(currently a faculty member at CWRU)facilitated the process. He invitedemployees to identify “the factors andforces that gave life to the companywhen it was most effective, most alive,and most successful as a producer ofhigh-quality health foods.”After the first day, a smaller groupof 150 stakeholders—employees fromall levels, suppliers, distributors, communityleaders, financiers, and customers—begana four-day strategysession to articulate a bold, new corporatedream. Six months later, salesreached an all-time high and profitsrose 300 percent. Using the short-termresults as a springboard, within thenext two years, the company completedimplementation of a radical restructuring,giving employees much greaterinfluence on a day-to-day level. Thatempowerment in turn enabled thecompany to execute three new strategicinitiatives, which led to even greaterincome and profitability.As this example shows, the AIprocess enables human systems toengage in continuous learning andtranslate that learning into ongoinginnovation. Organizations then becomeso agile that they are capable of thrivingeven in the midst of volatility andchanging at the speed of imagination.How AI Works:Five GenericProcesses Guided byFive Core PrinciplesThe AI philosophy is captured by fivecore principles that serve as the foundationfor AI’s five generic processes:

The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.com5●●●●●The Constructionist Principle: Ourorganizations evolve in the directionof the images we create based on thequestions we ask as we strive tounderstand the systems at work.The Principle of Simultaneity:Change begins the moment we askquestions.The Anticipatory Principle: Ourbehavior in the present is influencedby the future we anticipate.The Poetic Principle: Just as poetshave no constraints on what they canwrite about, we have no boundarieson what we can inquire and learnfrom.The Positive Principle: The morepositive the questions used to guide achange process, the more long-lastingand effective that process will be.Five generic processes comprise an“AI cycle,” which most people use whenintegrating AI practice into their organization(see “Five Generic Processes”).Whether you’re an external consultant,an internal organization developmentprofessional, or a line manager, you canconsider these processes a roadmap5. Innovate andimprovise ways tocreate that futureFIVE GENERIC PROCESSES4. Create sharedimages of apreferred future1. Choose thepositive as thefocus of inquiryAITWO CONTRASTING MODELS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE2. Inquire intoexceptionally positivemoments3. Share the storiesand identify lifegivingforcesDeficit-Based ChangeIdentify the ProblemWhat is the need?Analyze CausesWhat’s wrong here?Analyze Possible SolutionsHow can we fix it?Action PlanningProblem solved!rather than a prescription for applyingAI. You should customize them to fiteach situation, with its unique opportunitiesand constraints. Further, with onlysmall modification, you can use theseprocesses with teams, families, communities,and other groups. [Note: Literatureabout AI often refers to the 4D cycle:Discovery-Dream-Design-Destiny, whichalso emphasizes addressing problemsthrough inquiry into and learning fromexceptionally positivemomentsrather than analyzingbreakdowns(see “TwoContrasting Modelsfor OrganizationalChange”). However,our experience withAI led us to rewordthe 4D cycle intothe five genericprocesses to simplifyunderstandingof how AI works.]1. Choose the Positive As theFocus of InquiryAppreciative Inquiry begins when theorganization consciously chooses tofocus on the positive as the basis forlearning and change. The first stepincludes educating key stakeholders—such as senior management, unit leaders,union leaders, and employeegroups—about the AI process, philosophy,and supporting research; providingan opportunity for them to collectivelydecide whether AI is applicable to theirorganization; and, if they choose toimplement the AI process, identifying acore team to develop a customizedinterview guide and oversee the interviewprocess. You might ask these stakeholdersquestions such as:●●Constructionist-Based ChangeDiscoveryDiscover the best of what is.DreamImagine what might be.DesignDialogue what should be.DestinyCreate what will be.Does the AI approach feel right foryou and this situation?If so, what will the topic of inquirybe? How will we phrase the topicto focus on the positive as a corevalue?

7Pegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.comThe Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive Futures7A group can use a generic interviewguide (see “Generic Interview Guide” onpage 6) or customize the questions tofocus on the particular interests of itsmembers. On the right is an example ofa customized interview guide. It was createdby a core team at a middle schooldealing with the fallout from a mergerthat had angered and alienated many ofthe staff.3. Share the Stories and IdentifyLife-Giving ForcesIn this phase, interviewers share theirfindings with the rest of the organizationso that many people can collectivelymake meaning of the data,identify learnings about the organization’spositive core and the conditionsthat support moments of high performance,and develop ideas for what doesnot exist that needs to be created, asdescribed in the “wish” questions. Anorganization has several options fordeciding how to share the stories andinformation and for selecting who willdo the analysis (or “sense-making”) toidentify the life-giving forces. Sometimesa small group makes sense of thedata on behalf of the larger organization.Whenever possible, though, it is desirableto have everyone involved reviewthe interview results, for example,through an AI Summit, video conferencing,regional meetings, and so forth.A major part of the sense-makingwork is to identify themes, or importantthreads, gleaned from the interviews.Themes are the short answers tothe question: “What do we hear peopledescribing in the interviews as the lifegivingforces in this organization?”They become the basis for collectivelyimagining what the organization wouldSAMPLE CUSTOMIZED INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR A SCHOOL MERGER1. In each of our lives, there are special times when we just know that we havemade the right career choice—moments when we feel really good about thework we are doing and what we are contributing to others. As you think backover your last four or five years at this or another school, can you tell me a storyabout one of those special moments when you felt that your teaching was reallyalive and meaningful for your students—a time when you felt particularlyexcited about your involvement in your field, when you were affirmed in yourcommitment to being part of the teaching/learning field? (Use the questionsbelow to probe more deeply, to help your interviewee expand his or her story.)● What made it a peak experience? What was happening at that time inyour life?● What were the students doing?● How were you interacting with them?● What was it about the learning climate and task that sparked theirengagement?2. Without being humble, tell me what you value deeply about yourself as anindividual? as an educator?3. In planning this process, the sponsor team has said that one of the thingsthat enable great teaching/learning is when people in the school “feel connected,”when they feel “part of a family.” Thinking back over the last few years, can youtell me a story about a time when you felt that sense of connectedness, that senseof family? (Use the questions below to probe more deeply, to help your intervieweeexpand his or her story.)● What role did you play?● What did others contribute?● What other factors in the situation, in the environment, contributed tothis connectedness?4. With the hectic pace of today’s world and the need to juggle lots of differentballs at once, feeling valued and supported by the people around you can make abig difference. Would you tell me a story about a specific time, an experiencewhen, as a professional, you felt genuinely supported and/or valued by students?by your peers? by the administration?5. In your view, what are the community and societal expectations of this schoolfor the future?6. What is the core factor that gives vitality and life to the school—the one thingthat is important for us to retain, to bring with us as we move into the future?7. What three wishes do you have for this school—things that would enable it tobecome even more vibrant and truly the sort of place in which great learningand teaching take place on a daily basis?

8The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.combe like if the exceptional moments thatwe have uncovered in the interviewsbecame the norm. Themes also providethe link from this step in the process tothe next one, in which the group createsa shared image of their preferred future.To see how the first three phases interacttogether to assist the group in articulatingtheir preferred future, see“Making Sense of the AI Interviews.”4. Create Shared Images of aPreferred FutureIn the fourth process of the AI cycle,participants articulate a shared imageor dream of the most desired future forthe entire organization. Doing soinvolves inviting organization stakeholdersto engage in “possibility conversations”about the organization’sposition, its potential, its calling, andthe unique contribution it can make toglobal well-being.The first part of this process usuallyfocuses on descriptions of the organization’sculture, the ways in which peoplerelate to one another, and the overallfeel of the organization. The followingquestions can be useful for initiatingdialogue:● What is the world calling for ourorganization to be?● What are the most enlivening andexciting possibilities for ourorganization?● What is the inspiration that supportsour organization?These paths of inquiry generate anoverall “macro” vision for how the groupwants the organization to function—ashort narrative description of the desiredfuture written in the present tense.MAKING SENSE OF THE AI INTERVIEWSIn the middle school previously described, interviewees identified the followingthemes—that is, conditions that were present in the past that led to moments ofexcellence in teaching, learning, and quality of work life.● Authentic learning experiences● Collaborative efforts between teachers, students, and parents, and betweenteachers and administrators● High standards of classroom dialogue● Positive climate, including ongoing support and effective communicationamong staff, colleagues, students, and administration● Sense of community and connectedness at different levels, with feelings ofappreciation and kindness● Time to connect with kids and colleagues at different levels● Purposeful planning and work● Parent involvement● High teacher energyParticipants in the AI process presentthis vision—or “provocative proposition”—tothe larger organization firstcreatively and metaphorically (throughsongs, skits, collages, and so forth) andthen in writing. For example, at a consumerproducts firm, participants cameup with the following macro vision:“Our company is a learning organizationthat fosters the cross-fertilization ofideas, minimizes the building ofempires, harnesses the synergy of groupcooperation, and cultivates the pride ofbeing a valued member of one outstandingcorporation.”The second part of this processinvolves the participants in producing amore specific, detailed vision for howthe organization might function. This“micro” vision describes the structures,mechanisms, technologies, processes,and strategies that will help make thedesired future a reality. Ideally, thisactivity engages as many people as possibleand emerges directly from theinterviews and resultant themes. Theconsumer products firm mentionedabove identified 20 elements that theyfelt could be infused with the power oftheir vision for a new corporate culture.Their micro vision for the strategydevelopment process was: “Our companyaccelerates its learning through anannual strategic planning conferencethat involves all 500 people in the firmas well as key partners and stakeholders.As a setting for strategic learning, teamspresent their benchmarking studies ofthe best five other organizations,deemed leaders in their class. Otherteams present an annual appreciativeanalysis of our company, and togetherthese databases of success stories (internaland external) help set the stage forour strategic, future-search planning.”

The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.com95. Innovate and Improvise Ways toCreate That FutureThe final process seeks to engage asmany members of the organization aspossible in bringing to life, on a dailybasis in every locale, the new images ofthe future articulated in the previoussteps. At this stage, the momentum andpotential for innovation are extremelyhigh. Some people in the organizationmight form “initiative” groups aroundimplementing the micro visions, supportedby ongoing inquiry into how thenew changes are working.In another variation, each personhas the opportunity to publicly state asimple commitment, make an offer,orarticulate a request about which parts ofthe dream he or she wants to bring tolife. A simple commitment describesactions that can be taken easily, typicallywithin one to two weeks andwithin the existing authority andresources available to the person makingthe commitment. An offer is a kindof “gift” that can come in any form. Forexample, a participant may offer accessto a database she controls; someone elsemay offer financial assistance to get aproject started; another person mayoffer his help in response to a requestfor collaboration. A request articulateswhat one person or group needs fromanother person or group; for example,“The western region call center requestsa meeting with the chief informationofficer to explore upgrading our e-mailsystem.”The key to sustaining this momentumis to build an “appreciative eye” intoall the organization’s systems, procedures,and ways of working. Best practicesfor doing this include continuinginquiry into key business issues, updatingthe micro and macro visions, andconducting appreciatively based evaluationsof progress toward the vision—especially with new members of theorganization. Organization members arethereby involved in continuous learning,adjustment, and improvisation as theyexperiment with different ways of carryingthe vision forward.AI Principles inPractice: ThreeStories From the FieldCustomer Service Improvement inan HR DivisionIn this company, two groups within thehuman resources function, separated bycultural and organizational boundaries,did not communicate effectively, resultingin frustrated clients who receivedconflicting advice. Over a period ofweeks, through multiple dialoguesbetween consultants and key stakeholders,the departments reframed theirissue “internal conflict and lackof cooperation” from theinquiry “ServiceWithout Boundaries.”They formed a coregroup with representativesfrom all the stakeholdergroups and trainedthem in AI. This core group thendeveloped an interview guide andplanned a three-day, 300-person meetingcalled an “AI Summit.” The executivevice president served as the projectsponsor.At the AI Summit, participantsinterviewed each other in pairs usingthe customized interview guide. Groupsof six then analyzed the stories and collatedthemes/life-giving forces for inno-vations in customer service workprocesses, roles, and relationships.Report-outs took the form of an “artgallery walk”—a tour of each group’sflip charts displayed around the room.Next, groups of 12 created pictures,skits, and songs of the ideal future organizationalculture and systems, whichthey presented to the other groups.Participants then organized themselvesinto self-selected task groups to createvisions for key organizational elements,such as leadership, work processes,reward systems, information systems,and so on.Over the next year, Summit participantsreturned to their regional officesthroughout the country to engage colleaguesin implementing changes at thelocal level. One year later, an appreciativelybased evaluation process was usedto measure progress. The 600-memberHR division and some of its clients identifiedapproximately 300 stories ofimprovements and innovations. Thisdata formed the basis for yetanother three-daySummit, atwhich thefollowingquestionswere discussed:What have weaccomplished? What’sworking well in our change process?Where do we want to move to now?How do we build on the best of our successto get there?Additional staff members have beentrained in AI, particularly those in theorganization development function,which has grown tremendously in personneland financial resources to supportongoing AI practice. Rather thanRather than considering thechange process a one-time event,the organization now sees it as thenormal way of doing things.

The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.com11action, as people became inspired byhow their colleagues were moving forward.The organization has since createdan internal positive change network ofpeople trained in AI basics, and the divisionis applying AI to performance management,innovation, safety, officedesign, knowledge transfer, strategyimplementation, and other areas.Helpful Conditionsfor Implementingthe AI ProcessThough not an absolute prerequisite,we have found the following conditionsto be helpful in implementing AI toachieve rapid organizational learningand change:● Humble beginnings: The organizationhonestly acknowledges any currentdifficulties without assigningblame and invites co-construction ofsolutions that do not yet exist.● Congruence of means and ends: Theinquiry process itself and the endresults are congruent. For example,an organization seeking to increasethe meaningful involvement ofminority groups in all aspects of●●●organizational life must have significantparticipation from those groupsin planning the inquiry, creating thecustomized interview guide, anddeveloping the innovations that willbe required.History as a source of innovation:Key leaders believe that the organization’shistory is a source of newpossibilities and are intrigued withthe notion that accessing its “positivecore” can drive learning and change.They support participation of allvoices at all levels and are open tothe resultant innovation ideas.Focus beyond the event: Members ofthe organization see AI as a processfor creating a culture open to learning,discovering new possibilities fororganizing, and producing results inways that raise the collective standardof living in the organization and thecommunity, as well as on the planet.Learning and change are seen asongoing processes rather than a onetimeevent that brings the organizationto some final point of excellence.Stories more than numbers: Theorganization supplies the structuresand resources needed to collect anddistribute stories of “exceptionalmoments” and support creativeaction. Stories become valued fortheir ability to capture the wholenessof meaning.Appreciative Inquiry is a highlyadaptable philosophy and process forengaging people in building the organizationsand world that they want towork and live in. AI assumes that everyliving system has untapped stories ofexcellence and that these stories, whensystematically explored and shared,release positive energy. The AI processinvites people to consciously choose toseek out and inquire into these forcesin their own and other people’s livesand to explore their hopes and dreamsfor the future. It then enables people toweave their discoveries into the fabricof the organization’s formal and informalinfrastructure, enabling the systemto reconceptualize and transform itspurpose, processes, and design in waysthat support its most generative forcesand ongoing success.

12The Essentials of Appreciative Inquiry: A Roadmap for Creating Positive FuturesPegasus Communications, Inc. (tel) 781-398-9700 www.pegasuscom.comSuggested Further ReadingsAnderson, Harlene, et al, TheAppreciative Organization (TaosInstitute Publishing, 2001)Cooperrider, David, et al., AppreciativeInquiry: An Emerging Direction forOrganization Development (StipesPublishing, 2001)Cooperrider, David, and DianaWhitney, Appreciative Inquiry:Collaborating for Change (Berrett-Koehler, 1999)Fry, Ronald, et al., Appreciative Inquiryand Organizational Transformation:Reports from the Field (Quorum Books,2002)Magruder Watkins, Jane, and Bernard J.Mohr, Appreciative Inquiry: Change atthe Speed of Imagination (JosseyBass/Pfeiffer, 2001)Schiller, Marjorie, et al., AppreciativeLeaders: The Eye of the Beholder (TaosInstitute, 2001)Bernard J. Mohr, president of The Synapse Group, Inc., and a founding partner ofAppreciative Inquiry Consulting, LLC, is a leading practitioner and innovator inAppreciative Inquiry. For 35 years, he has helped clients with organization renewaland transformation, transcultural partnerships, organization (re)design, changeleadership, and the creation of cultures supporting organizational learning. He coauthoredAppreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination (Jossey Bass, 2001).Bernard holds an M.Ed. in adult and organizational learning from OISE at theUniversity of Toronto and a diploma in organizational design from ColumbiaUniversity.Jane Magruder Watkins, a past chair of the board of the NTL Institute for AppliedBehavioral Science, has worked in the field of organization development for 35 years.Since the mid-1980s, she has pioneered the use of Appreciative Inquiry in corporate,nonprofit, and government organizations across the globe. She teaches AI throughthe Taos Institute, NTL Institute, in client organizations, and for several universitygraduate programs. Jane coauthored Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed ofImagination with Bernard Mohr. She holds an M.S. in organizational development.We are grateful for the dialogues and support of our many colleagues in AppreciativeInquiry Consulting and would like to particularly acknowledge the published worksof David Cooperrider, Frank Barrett, Jim Ludema, Marjorie Schiller, and DianaWhitney.