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| Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination | 
 enlarge | Authors: Jane Magruder Watkins, Bernard J. Mohr
Publisher: Pfeiffer
Category: Book
List Price: $48.00
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 95529
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 7 x 0.8
ISBN: 078795179X
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.406
EAN: 9780787951795
ASIN: 078795179X
Publication Date: February 7, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Appreciative Inquiry--a book in The Practicing Organization Development 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, often in a matter of weeks or days, to leverage the positive core of the organization. Tap into the rich and inspiring "high point" accounts of personal or collective capacity and link this "positive core" to any change agenda. Once you have have determined what is really working, transformations never thought possible are rapidly and democratically mobilized. "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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 AI is a technique, enveloped by a theory... January 23, 2002
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
Appreciative Inquiry is a method for getting the best, most positive, upbeat, and energizing images of your organization to the fore. AI contrasts to problem-focused inquiry, which usually provokes blame and evasion. A large cadre of Organizational Development and Human Resources types has developed AI, and they swear by its positive effects. The book contains nearly two dozen case examples of AI interventions, ranging from small organization to large multi-national corporations. The authors present a coherent theory (social constructionism) and method to bolster AI's techniques. It has much in common with post-modern psychotherapy, the construction of "magic solutions" ("best practices" in their terms), and centering on the individuals' perspectives (rather than some larger, "objective" truth) about an organization. It is clear that you have to be sophisticated to do AI interventions. One imagines that you should belong to an AI network, be thoroughly trained, and be supervised. The AI intervention probably does not work without the requisite OD/HR training and perspective. If you are interested, this is your textbook. I found the book moderately difficult to read and digest, partly because the authors have created such an elaborate theory behind the intervention. The authors are less than candid about "failed" interventions (p. 206), and terms like "co-creating" and "sociotechnical" (what?). I came away from this book believing that AI is something like Public Discourse applied to businesses. If you want to use this book, plan on studying it in detail and enrolling in AI workshops.
Elegant but with some limitations... January 19, 2002
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Appreciative Inquiry fits within recent "modern mediation theory" and Public Discourse techniques. I cannot add more to what previous reviewers have said (above), but note only that the techniques are more difficult to apply than the authors indicate and require all parties in the discussion to be committed to the end-result. AI techniques cannot work in groups where there are power vacuums or undisclosed power grabbing and coaltion-formation.
 Combining theory and practice with great art November 20, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
With a growing literature that deals with Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a truly revolutionary way of moving our organization, in their book Magruder Watkins and Mohr have accomplished more to help organization development consultants and managers to understand the potential of AI than any other book currently in print.Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination covers the subject by alligning both the theoretical concepts to practical applications. It is very well written and presented with a great flow. To the novice to AI it gives all the key elements to get started, for the more seasoned consultant and manager in the field of AI, it gives new ideas and opens up possibilities for further exploration. It is not be the only book on Appreciative Inquiry but it is at the very top of my reading list on this dynamic subject. When I recommend readings to students of AI, Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the speed of imagination, is the only book they need to read. Congratulations to Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard Mohr, they have produced the best book on AI that is available today.
Appreciative Inquiry an Orientation Toward Life and Work October 9, 2001
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Appreciative Inquiry is a way of seeing and being in the world. ... Appreciative Inquiry applied, whether as a planning process or an evaluative process, becomes empowering and life-affirming in any human system. (page 191) The key to sustaining the momentum is to build an "appreciative eye" into all the organization's systems, procedures, and ways of working. (page 152) AI is not simply a tool ... it is a total way of being/working. As an organization consultant I am interested in three things when learning about and considering adopting an approach or methodology: what are it's theoretical basis, fundamental assumptions and beliefs, basic process, and application to different types of organizational situations. Watkins and Mohr have written a book that offers all three. The opening two chapters ground Appreciative Inquiry in the history of the OD theory and method and clearly explain the core principles and generic processes of AI. The subsequent chapters each focus on one of the five generic processes plus evaluation. Each chapter explains one process in detail, illustrating it with two case examples. The combination of grounded theory and practice facilitates understanding, imagining, and applying. The examples are drawn from different consultants, types of organizations, and focuses of interventions, all of which support a rich understanding of the potential of this approach. My one wish is that chapter 8, "Finding Innovative Ways to Create the Preferred Future" be expanded. I wanted to read more about an appreciative approach to the Destiny Phase, the most complex part of any change process. Watkins and Mohr are generous with their knowledge and experience, offering the experienced practitioner enough to begin working from an AI perspective. This book plus the more academic, Appreciative Inquiry: Rethinking Human Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change, edited by David L. Cooperrider, Jr. Sorensen Peter F., Diana Whitney, and Therese F.Yaeger, are an excellent package for understanding Appreciative Inquiry: how it developed, its current practice, and directions for future development.
Practical guide to new change management approach May 8, 2001
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a fundamentally different approach to problem solving and change management which is gaining worldwide popularity rapidly. While the traditional approach focuses on analysing problems and then fixing what is wrong, AI does just the opposite: it searches for and amplyfies solutions that already exist (in this it is highly comparable to solution focused brief therapy). Quite a lot of good books have been written on AI. The thing I like most about this book by Watkins and Mohr is how practical it is. The authors generously packed it with very useble examples and tools. This makes it very recommendable for AI practitioners.
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