Clergy

• Stories to Build Your Dreams Upon…

Coaching / Consulting

• Creating an Innovative & Creative Team – Empowered and Willing to Embrace Organizational Transformation
• Discovering You at Your Best Using Appreciative Inquiry
• Exploring Relationships using Appreciative Inquiry
• The 5D’s of Appreciative Inquiry Integrated in Individual Life Coaching

Colleges and Universities

• A Plan to Strategically Position Kirkland Community College
• AI for Energy Research Centre (ERC), University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Appreciative Inquiry in the Classroom
• Bringing Our Work Forward in a New Structure
• Building Teams and Camaraderie within Academic Cohorts
• Celebrating Peak Experiences as Math Team Members
• Celebrating Peak Experiences as Science Team Members
• Coming Together: Envisioning the Future of Communication at the University of Maryland
• Creating a Vibrant Learning Group Conducive to Transformation and Growth
• Creating an Exceptional Adjunct Faculty Experience
• Creating our Future Together – Communication Department
• Creating our Future…Together
• Developing the Meaning and Value of Institutional Research
• Empowering Off-Campus Students by Providing Opportunities that Enhance their College Experience
• Exceptional Communication
• On the Back of the Napkin: How Community Colleges Will Continue to Create Innovation
• Peak Experience as Part of the Testing Centre Team
• Peak Experiences When Involved in Exceptional Speaking Assessments
• Student-Focused, Engaging, Innovative Educational Opportunities through Career and Transfer Services
• Team Building and Visioning: The Generative Approach
• Universal Support for Student Success
• Using Appreciative Inquiry to Re-Imagine our College Strategy

Community

• Engaging Communities in Planning for Positive Change

Corporate

• Becoming the Most Frequented Restaurant through Extraordinary Hospitality & Culinary Excellence
• Being our Best…Together
• Creating an Innovative and Creative Team, Empowered and Willing to Embrace Organisational Transformation
• Creating Revolutionary Change by Facilitating Progressive Transformation
• Seeking What Gives Us Life
• Working in a High Trust Team Environment

Government

• Appreciative Inquiry in the Red Zone
• Exceptional Team Culture
• Successfully Engaging Citizens in Watershed Management

Healthcare

• Building Capacity for Quality Improvement at Southwest, Inc.
• Collaborating Together, We Will Create an Environment Where Ideas Flourish
• Coming Together for Change
• Creating a Clear and Shared Vision for the AIMS Department
• Creating a Compelling Image of the Future
• Expanding our Data Toolkit
• Innovative and Sustainable Services and Support to People with Addictions
• Optimal Data Tool Use
• Positive Topics: Safe Work Environment, Communication, and Healthy Staff Morale
• Power of Support, Appreciation, and Positive Communication
• Providing Comprehensive Behavioral Healthcare with Energized Optimism, Trust, and Teamwork
• Support, Appreciation, and Positive Communication in Healthcare

K-12

• Creating the Future We Want to be Known For
• Developing Effective Networks
• Ensuring an Exceptional Early Childhood Educational Experience
• Exceptional Classroom Learning Experiences: Breaking Down Language Barriers
• Facilitating the ‘Macon Miracle’
• Inspiring Parents and Teachers to Collaborate in Developing Dynamic, Strength-Based Relationships
• Motivating Teachers to Create Positive Change Within Learning Environments
• The Macon Miracle

Non-Profit Organizations

• Appreciative Inquiry at UNIMA South Africa
• Embodying the Vision of our Organization
• Networking for a Mission: A Special Gathering of Notre Dame Educators
• Positive Topic: Teamwork
• The Deer Industry – Future Vision

What I enjoyed most from that article was the professor’s activity – asking each student to come up and share what their dream is for when they grow up. I valued this exercise because it disrupted the normal dialogue we would normally expect to see/experience in school. We have been taught from an early age that school is a place where we listen, not speak. Like the author wrote, the professor’s exercise was an “unexpected request”.

This article also reaffirms that we are all students (life-long learners, I hope) and we can always pursue new dreams and opportunities as they present themselves, regardless of age, status, or position. Life is not meant to be static, but requires us to remain fluid. Living Appreciatively allows us to modify our dreams when necessary and celebrate milestones along the way.

I’ll end with a quote from the article: “Dreams are part of our life’s narrative. The possibilities that sharing our dreams with trusted friends creates is probably one of the most exciting things to go through.”

• First: they come unexpectedly
• Second: we tend to ignore the beginnings
• Third: we fight them initially
• Fourth: we finally surrender
• Fifth: Inquiry is the best way to handle the uncertainty a crises causes.

Engaging in inquiry means to be willing to look into what we do not know or understand, and to search for the coherence of a situation that we dislike. When we are courageous we can even find out what others see that might differ from our own perception.

Turning to inquiry is a way of being that invites dialogue, with ourselves and with others. Real and deeper inquiry, into ourselves, into life or into a situation, requires the ability to listen. Only when we suspend the urge to find a quick explanation for what is, when silence is allowed to take space, only then can inquiry lead to the depths of life’s data. What is known and interpreted as meaning this or that can be dismantled and re-synthesized.

In a difficult-to-answer question is a request to open beyond the old interpretations and take a fresh look at what one thinks one already knows. An attentive inquiry is likely to transform our habitual tendency to listen only to what we already know and overcome our inertia to go beyond conforming our memory’s choices to the meaning we made up long ago.

The ability to inquire is to perturb and penetrate the ordinariness of our past explanations, to go beyond it into the unknown and open and allow, with the question, a possibility to emerge that would not do so otherwise. It is a commitment to new possibilities of life.

Read Full Article >>

Author: Petra Kuenkel, http://petrakuenkel.wordpress.com

Creating A Positive Attitude

First and most obvious, drawing focus on the positive aspects of a workforce’s performance will help to improve morale, promote pride in their work, and motivate them to work harder. Taking away the threat of being caught as part of the ever present and ambiguous “problem” can greatly reduce stress on the average worker and actually reduce a large number of attitude related problems without ever actually addressing them. But that’s not the point of AI; the goal is to take the focus off of the problem and instead think about improvement and innovation.

Encouraging Communication

The first step in improving your organization through AI is to use it to encourage open communication. While most managers verbally encourage communication, they don’t actually build an environment that welcomes it because they’ll still have a “problem solving” attitude. When we’re focusing on what might be deficient in a group of workers they’re going to respond naturally, by getting defensive, shutting down, and trying to find a way to blame co-workers. Building the positive attitude mentioned above let’s team members feel like they’re not in trouble, and that improvement is a team effort rather than something that gets pushed down from the top. Ask someone what they do well (rather than finding issues to nitpick) and they’ll be happy to talk about it and think about ways to amplify those qualities.

To read full article, please click here>>

Company of Experts had the distinct honor of working with Disability Rights Nebraska for the past few years.  Working with DRN has been a personal highlight for us. An outstanding organization who have a deep love and commitment to creating a just and equal community. We have so much to celebrate as our communities have changed for the good over the years in structure, processes and culture through awareness.  This is from the DRN Website:

Our vision for the future is clear: All people with mental or physical disabilities are valued in their community, have control over their own lives, and have the necessary resources to live a life of quality.

That vision is captured in three words: dignity, equality and empowerment.

We start the first year of our new Five Year Strategic Plan this coming year. Our strategic plan was developed using a process called Appreciative Inquiry.

Appreciative Inquiry grounded by: 1) What you see, you find more of – the more positive and inspiring the strategy development, the more innovative ideas will be created and possibilities that can be explored, and 2) People commit to what they help create – the more participative the plan development, the more committed people will be to the success of the plan.

The process was focused on what our organization would look like if it were designed to maximize and preserve the themes lifted from those we interviewed – our internal partners and external allies.

Six priority areas emerged that captured the possibility of hope that was discovered from the interviews. These priority areas will be the framework for our efforts during the next five years:

• Protecting and Advocating for Human and Legal Rights

Seeking justice for people with disabilities; ensuring safety, personal integrity, self-determination

• Leading Change within the Community

Working with people with disabilities to create meaningful, authentic inclusion in communities of choice

• Empowering Others to Achieve Full Participation

Always mindful of the motto: “Nothing about us without us”; really listening to others, acting with compassion, and building trusting relationships; supporting people’s hopes, dreams and things not yet imagine

• Building Relationships in the Community

Maintaining our integrity through respectful, honest communication and teamwork; valuing connections with community partners

• Valuing and Appreciating Diversity

Respecting the strength of difference and diversity Valuing the energy, creativity and enthusiasm others bring to achieving our shared vision

• Cultivating Opportunities

Engaging in potent, relevant, effective, and expansive advocacy

 From the DRN website: http://www.disabilityrightsnebraska.org/about_us/strategicplan.html

This past week, during a training, a request was made of us – please send a message out to encourage people to write to the White House, to politicians, as well as to others who are interested in constructive, positive dialogue about the future of the U.S!

These four days were devoted to our internationally recognized Four Day Appreciative Inquiry Facilitator Training©, an introduction to the Power of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and specifically to the Power of the Principles of AI — learning about the benefits of Positive focus and Positive language.

These are not trainings focused on politics; rather trainings for leaders and others who are seeking methods and models for organizational change and positive dialogue. Change that engages, seeks out the best in people and organizations, is collaborative in nature and focuses on the good in all of us. The people who attend this training want to feel good about their work; to work in organizations that they share values with; and to be in an organization that strives to do good for the world community.

This request for us to become leaders in the national dialogue is not new to this training. We are a small group of committed people seeking change and if we look to the words of Margaret Mead, we know that this is where change begins.  We are reaching out to our community now as we see the political rhetoric reach new levels of negativity.  Please write to the White House, President Obama, Governor Romney and any and all of your legislative leaders – in Washington D.C. or at the State Level. Encourage them to change the tone.

Encourage our leaders to adopt a tone of hope, possibility, and encouragement. Encourage them to share with us their vision for our country, for our future. We need no less from our current and our future leaders. For wisdom, insight and guidance, search out the words of past leaders who have inspired our nation in times of challenge and opportunity.

There is sufficient data and research supporting the benefits of positive conversation. As people we thrive when our positive to negative words are at a 3:1 ratio (Positivity Ratio). We each want to thrive and we want our country to thrive. We need leaders who can lift the conversation, take decisive action toward a future that we can visualize and live into.

We recommend a book for each of us:  We Can All Do Better, by Bill Bradley.  It is well written, honest and understandable. Bradley sets the stage that “We The People” must engage in dialogue that is for the best for the Country. To set the tone.  “People see Washington irrevocably divided into two warring camps that care more about political advantage than about the Country” (Bradley 18).

The need for positive dialogue has reached a crucial level; we cannot make the substantive changes necessary unless we do. Join us for more positive dialogue by sending a letter or email to President Obama and Governor Romney. Don’t stop there. Send a letter or email to each of your representatives at the Local, State and Federal level. We each, no matter our political affiliation, have visions and dreams for the future. What do we really want? Like athletes at the Olympics last month, each of us can look at the greater good, focus on what we want more of. What would that look like if it were happening all of the time, right here, right now?

Email is a good way to start; writing a letter is an excellent way to really get their attention! Here is some contact information for:

• White House:http://centerforappreciativeinquiry.net/about-u/ai-trainers/kathy-becker/. From this site, you will find phone numbers and a link to email (the fastest way – per his website) as well as the phone number.
• President Obama: http://www.barackobama.com/contact-us/call-write/
• Governor Romney: http://www.mittromney.com/contact-us
• U.S. Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
• House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Our intention is to spark positive dialogue. To be part of the dialogue about Appreciative Inquiry, join us on our LinkedIn group – Discovering Appreciative Inquiry. We also invite you to visit our website at http://centerforappreciativeinquiry.net/ or join us on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter #WCW2012.

Author:
Kathy Becker is the President of the Company of Experts, Inc. — a consulting firm serving schools, colleges and universities, businesses, corporations and non-profits moving them from deficit models of planning and thinking to engagement, empowerment and collaboration. Leading others to ask “What might be possible if community and organization members were fully engaged and using their strengths to collectively achieve shared visions?” Kathy has initiated new programs and services to meet the challenges of the new economy. Read Full Bio>>

Crafting questions, active listening, looking for “lived” experiences that help to explore the future. These are just some of the learning dimensions that emerged for me from the World Appreciative Inquiry Conference held April 25-28 in Ghent, Belgium.

For several days, practitioners and learners of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) rubbed shoulders with founding elders of this positive approach to change.

My highlights: AI is firmly grounded in how we construct our daily life and reality. Enactment of key concepts, such as dialogue; generative design and connections and the AI summit were woven into the conference program. There was a rallying call for working towards the beckoning horizon of what is possible and not to get bogged down by reverting to past history of mistakes, failures, and pessimism. Read Full Article>>

Written by Russell Kerkhoven (writer for Axiom News) on May 24, 2012

A year after one conference, Ilma inquired into the effects the gathering had on the presenting companies. “The companies told us that after the conference, they generated new and interesting partnerships, and even a whole new way of building these partnerships,” she says.

“They also reported an impact on the growth of their business. And it was definitely clear that presenting at the conference propelled more positive exchange and dissemination of their good practices.”

These conferences have also had a remarkable effect on the image of the organisations, leading to more opportunities for projects.  “With the help of the media, they shifted their way of reporting on this issues,” says Ilma.

It is clear that storytelling can scale up change in business and society. Through stories, we can connect business interests to societal issues.  There are lots of opportunities out there. It is like Peter Drucker said: “Every single social and global issue we face is a business opportunity in disguise”.

Business has the opportunity to be a new creative force on the planet that could contribute to the wellbeing of people and planet. Through the sharing of stories of creative initiatives that are already taken, we can scale up this generative power.

Written by: Griet Bouwen. Article was originally published on the 2012WAIC website on April 27, 2012.

Mirrors on the ceiling,
the pink champagne on ice
And she said ‘we are all just prisoners here, of our own device’

Klaas van Egmond appeared on stage, obviously a professor, an environmental scientist, telling us that the Eagles meant that our devices – our greed – have caused the emergence of materialistic patterns in our (Western) civilizations. Unfortunately, as the song tells us:

… gathered for the feast.
They stab it with their steely knives,
but they just can’t kill the beast.

Klaas van Egmond argues that we must re-think and reflect upon human dignity and sustainability in order to re-­invent society. He has learned that the solution for the sustainability problem has to be found in social and cultural dynamics, rather than in technological development only. We must study our values first, as these determine the economic, financial and societal systems.

Van Egmond sketched a brief history of the Western Civilization. We have failed to stay between the lines. Our lack of consensus in the understanding of human nature has allowed society to degenerate into its own caricature and associated catastrophe. Instead of a focus on balance, reconciling the controversies, we generated a one-sided version of specific human values.

But there is always hope. Only last night, the Dutch parliament succeeded to draft a new approach including all political parties! For once, the adversaries chose to collaborate in designing a common future. Working with partners from opposite ends automatically results in a virtuous centre….

Klaas van Egmond sees an important role for appreciative inquiry. The ultimate truth is knowing by compassion. This implies that people must engage in connection, emphatically inquiring for the matters that worry, the dreams that inspire. It gives recognition and inclusion, establishing new societies at a higher level of complexity, able to face the challenges at hand. The collective outcomes of AI-findings will bring humanity at a higher level, aligning technologies with the dignity of mankind.

Sustainability implies skills to stay out from the periphery. We can check out anytime we like, but we can never leave!

Written by: Marcel van Marrewijk (author of the Cubrix). This article was originally published on the 2012WAIC website on April 28, 2012.