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8y 8ernard !. Mohr and !ane Magruder WaLklns



"
'lor much of Lhe lasL four cenLurles, humans have soughL Lo lmprove Lhe world Lhrough modern WesLern sclence, wlLh
lLs focus on llnear loglc and dlssecLlng Lhlngs Lo undersLand Lhem. When we've applled Lhls approach Lo Lechnlcal
challenges, such as Lhe need Lo share lnformaLlon wlLh people on Lhe oLher slde of Lhe globe, we've been hlghly
successful. neverLheless, desplLe dramaLlc developmenLs ln Lechnologlcal sysLems, our progress ln developlng human
sysLems such as famllles, work Leams, communlLy groups, corporaLlons, and naLlons has been much slower. Many
people wonder why we can succeed so well ln one sphere and have such dlfflculLy ln anoLher.

eople lnLeresLed ln lmprovlng human sysLems ofLen assume LhaL organlzaLlonal change ls sequenLlal: We flrsL ask
abouL how an enLerprlse funcLlons and Lhen Lake sLeps Lo change lL based on our flndlngs. Powever, a growlng number
of soclal sclenLlsLs are comlng Lo recognlze LhaL Lhe process of sLudylng a phenomenon acLually changes LhaL
phenomenon - ln effecL creaLlng a new reallLy durlng Lhe process of lnqulry. ln Lhe early 1920s, renowned physlclsL
Werner von Pelsenberg arLlculaLed Lhls prlnclple for Lhe physlcal world. lor example, Lhe acL of lnserLlng a
LhermomeLer lnLo a glass of waLer Lo deLermlne Lhe waLer's LemperaLure wlll change LhaL LemperaLure. 8y exLenslon,
we can lnfer LhaL sLudylng a company or communlLy changes LhaL enLlLy. 8esearchers have found LhaL Lhls lnfluence
beglns from Lhe flrsL quesLlons LhaL leaders, consulLanLs, or oLhers ask durlng Lhe lnqulry process - and LhaL Lhe lmages
evoked by Lhelr quesLlons have an almosL magneLlc pull.

As a resulL of Lhls new Lhlnklng, some have begun Lo quesLlon Lhe focus of whaL we Lyplcally sLudy ln organlzaLlonal llfe.
8aLher Lhan concenLraLe on breakdowns and malfuncLlons, we've begun Lo ask: lf Lhe acL of sLudylng a sysLem alLers lL,
why noL do so ln ways LhaL creaLe movemenL Loward peak experlences or successes? oslng Lhls query can open eyes
Lo Lhe enormous poLenLlal of Lhe poslLlve quesLlon.'

-8ernard !. Mohr and !ane Magruder WaLklns



























#
70)8)'& ,- .//0$1)*()2$ 3'45)06 9.3:
AppreclaLlve lnqulry flrsL arose ln Lhe early 1980s, when uavld Cooperrlder, Lhen a graduaLe sLudenL aL Case WesLern
8eserve unlverslLy, was hlred Lo conducL an organlzaLlonal dlagnosls of Lhe Cleveland Cllnlc Lo flnd ouL whaL was wrong
wlLh Lhe way Lhe organlzaLlon was operaLlng. uurlng Lhe research, he was amazed by Lhe level of cooperaLlon,
lnnovaLlon, and egallLarlan governance LhaL he observed wlLhln cerLaln parLs of Lhe medlcal faculLy. ln response Lo
Lhese observaLlons, Cooperrlder refocused hls research Lo sLudy Lhe causes of such excellence. Pe soon found LhaL Lhls
'appreclaLlve' approach was causlng a powerful and creaLlve sLlr wlLhln Lhe organlzaLlon. As he began Lo formallze a
Lheory based on hls flndlngs, cllnlc leaders asked hlm Lo help Lhem creaLe a pracLlce based on poslLlve lnqulry. Soon,
Cooperrlder began Lo see broader posslblllLles for applylng Lhls emerglng phllosophy Lo gulde change ln oLher
organlzaLlons.

"#$ ;,<$0 ,- (#$ ;,&)()2$ =5$&(),'
ln 1982 researchers aL Lhe unlverslLy of Wlsconsln conducLed a sLudy of Lhe learnlng process by vldeoLaplng Lwo
bowllng Leams durlng several games. LaLer, members of each Leam sLudled a copy of Lhe vldeo of Lhelr efforLs ln order
Lo lmprove Lhelr skllls. 8uL Lhe coples were edlLed dlfferenLly. Cne Leam recelved a vldeo showlng only Lhe Llmes when
members made mlsLakes, Lhe oLher Leam's vldeo lncluded only Lhe Llmes when Lhe members performed well. AfLer Lhe
bowlers sLudled Lhe vldeos and acLed upon whaL Lhey learned, whaL happened? 8oLh Leams dld lmprove Lhelr game,
buL Lhe Leam LhaL sLudled lLs successes lmproved lLs score Lwlce as much as Lhe one LhaL sLudled lLs mlsLakes.

Learnlng from momenLs of excellence serves as Lhe foundaLlon of AppreclaLlve lnqulry (Al). Al ls an emerglng approach
Lo organlzaLlonal LransformaLlon based on Lhe decepLlvely slmple premlse: LhaL organlzaLlons grow ln Lhe dlrecLlon of
whaL Lhey repeaLedly ask quesLlons abouL and focus Lhelr aLLenLlon on. Why make Lhls assumpLlon? Soclologlcal
research has shown LhaL when people sLudy problems and confllcLs, Lhe number and severlLy of Lhe problems Lhey
ldenLlfy acLually lncrease. 8uL when Lhey focus on human ldeals and achlevemenLs, peak experlences, and besL
pracLlces, Lhese Lhlngs - noL Lhe confllcLs - Lend Lo flourlsh.

8y encouraglng a broad range of sLakeholders boLh wlLhln and ouLslde Lhe organlzaLlon Lo ask cerLaln klnds of
quesLlons, make shared meanlng of Lhe answers, and acL on Lhe responses, Al serves as a wellsprlng for
LransformaLlonal change. lL supporLs organlzaLlon-wlde learnlng and renewal.

8uL how can a slmple quesLlon nudge a whole company ln a producLlve new dlrecLlon? CrganlzaLlons are
manlfesLaLlons of Lhe human lmaglnaLlon. 1haL ls, no organlzaLlon could exlsL lf one or several lndlvlduals hadn'L
envlsloned lL flrsL (even lf LhaL vlslon was lncompleLe). 1he learnlngs LhaL surface Lhrough Lhe Al process begln Lo shlfL
Lhe collecLlve lmage LhaL people hold of Lhe organlzaLlon. ln Lhelr dally encounLers, members sLarL Lo creaLe compelllng
new vlslons of Lhe company's fuLure LogeLher, grounded ln Lhelr undersLandlng of pasL successes. 1here vlslons lnlLlaLe
'rlpples' ln how employee's Lhlnk abouL Lhe work Lhey do, Lhelr relaLlonshlps, Lhelr roles, and so on. Cver Llme, Lhese
rlpples Lurn lnLo waves, Lhe more poslLlve quesLlons people ask, Lhe more Lhey lncorporaLe Lhe learnlngs Lhey glean
from Lhose quesLlons ln dally behavlors and ulLlmaLely, lnLo Lhe organlzaLlon's lnfrasLrucLure.














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1o see how we mlghL sLarL Lo frame such quesLlons, leL's suppose a Leam's performance has flucLuaLed for a whlle and
lLs members are now experlenclng confllcL and low producLlvlLy. Whlch of Lhe followlng seLs of quesLlons ls llkely Lo
glve us lnformaLlon LhaL wlll generaLe forward momenLum?
WhaL's wrong wlLh Lhe people ln Lhls group?
Why lsn'L Lhls Leam dolng beLLer?
WhaL's causlng Lhls confllcL and who ls responslble?
C8
1hlnk of a Llme ln your hlsLory as a Leam when performance was hlgh and you felL engaged and valued. 1ell
me a sLory abouL LhaL Llme. WhaL were you and Lhe oLhers dolng?
WhaL exLernal/organlzaLlonal facLors were presenL LhaL supporLed Lhese momenLs?
Pow mlghL Lhls Leam funcLlon lf we could expand Lhe condlLlons LhaL led Lo pasL successes?

8oLh seLs of quesLlons wlll generaLe daLa LhaL wlll begln Lo shlfL Lhe Leam's dynamlcs, buL only Lhe flrsL wlll lead Lo
blame, faLlgue, and reslsLance LhaL Lyplcally accompany problem-focused analyses. uncoverlng and supporLlng people's
passlons, skllls, knowledge, experlence, and successes exclLe and moblllze Lhem Lo lmplemenL lnnovaLlons Lhey never
before LhoughL posslble.

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unllke many behavloral approaches Lo change, Al does noL focus on changlng people. lnsLead, lL lnvlLes people Lo
engage ln bulldlng Lhe klnds of organlzaLlons and communlLles LhaL Lhey wanL Lo work and llve ln. Al Lhus lnvolves
collaboraLlve dlscovery of whaL makes an organlzaLlon mosL effecLlve - ln economlc, ecologlcal, and human Lerms.
lrom Lhere, people weave LhaL new knowledge lnLo Lhe fabrlc of Lhe flrm's formal and lnformal sysLems, such as Lhe
way Lhey develop and lmplemenL buslness sLraLegy or organlze Lhemselves Lo accompllsh Lasks. 1hls process presenLs
Lrue learnlng and change. Al enables human sysLems Lo engage ln conLlnuous learnlng and LranslaLe LhaL learnlng lnLo
ongolng lnnovaLlon. CrganlzaLlons Lhen become so aglle LhaL Lhey are capable of Lhrlvlng even ln Lhe mldsL of volaLlllLy
and changlng aL Lhe speed of lmaglnaLlon.

Pow Al Works: llve Cenerlc rocesses
1. Choose Lhe poslLlve as Lhe focus of lnqulry
2. lnqulre lnLo excepLlonally poslLlve momenLs
3. Share Lhe sLorles and ldenLlfy llve-glvlng forces
4. CreaLe shared lmages of a preferred fuLure
3. lnnovaLe and lmprovlse ways Lo creaLe LhaL fuLure


















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1hough noL an absoluLe prerequlslLe, Lhe followlng condlLlons may be helpful ln lmplemenLlng Al Lo achleve rapld
organlzaLlonal learnlng and change:
?5AB+$ B$8)'')'8&C 1he organlzaLlon honesLly acknowledges any currenL dlfflculLles wlLhouL asslgnlng blame
and lnvlLe co-consLrucLlon of soluLlons LhaL do noL yeL exlsL.
>,'805$'1$ ,- A$*'& *'@ $'@&C 1he lnqulry process lLself and Lhe end resulLs are congruenL. lor example, an
organlzaLlon seeklng Lo lncrease Lhe meanlngful lnvolvemenL of mlnorlLy groups ln all aspecLs of Lhe
organlzaLlonal llfe musL have slgnlflcanL parLlclpaLlon from Lhose groups ln plannlng Lhe lnqulry, creaLlng Lhe
lnLervlew guldes, and developlng Lhe lnnovaLlons LhaL wlll be requlred.
?)&(,06 *& * &,501$ ,- )'',2*(),'C key leaders belleve LhaL Lhe organlzaLlon's hlsLory ls a source of new
posslblllLles and are lnLrlgued wlLh Lhe noLlon LhaL accesslng lLs 'poslLlve core' can drlve learnlng and change.
1hey supporL parLlclpaLlon of all volces aL all levels and are open Lo Lhe resulLanL lnnovaLlon ldeas.
D,15& B$6,'@ (#$ $2$'(E Members of Lhe organlzaLlon see Al as a process for creaLlng a culLure open Lo
learnlng, dlscoverlng new posslblllLles for organlzlng, and produclng resulLs ln ways LhaL ralse Lhe collecLlve
sLandard of llvlng ln Lhe organlzaLlon. Learnlng and change are seen as ongolng processes raLher Lhan a one-
Llme evenL LhaL brlngs Lhe organlzaLlon Lo some flnal polnL of excellence.
F(,0)$& A,0$ (#*' '5AB$0&C 1he organlzaLlon supplles Lhe sLrucLures and resources needed Lo collecL and
dlsLrlbuLe sLorles of 'excepLlonal momenLs' and supporL creaLlve acLlon. SLorles become valued for Lhelr ablllLy
Lo capLure Lhe wholeness of meanlng.