“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. Even when we don’t “win,” there is fun and fulfillment in the fact that we have been involved, with other good people, in something worthwhile. We need hope. An optimist isn’t necessarily a blithe, slightly sappy whistler in the dark of our time.To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives.

If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places — and there are so many — where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however a small way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

To be reminded that the seemingly smallest acts of kindness, acknowledgement, appreciation: a smile, a hello, holding the door for someone, telling a child how good she/he is, a wave to the neighbor can have a profound effect and made a big difference. It is the compounding effect we can’t anticipate. You never know how far positive kind work or action will travel and for how long. What we can do is make those little acts of kindness a more conscious behavior. The moments will add up to hours and days and months and lifetimes.

What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives.

What are you choosing to emphasize in this complex history we are co-creating?  What are our news media choosing to emphasis, our nations choosing to emphasize.  We determine our history.

How so absolutely real is that!  After visiting India and Nepal, and being immersed in the experience of other cultures brought “the experience of being alive” up front and personal. I saw and felt both the rawness of poverty co-exist alongside the comfort of wealth, and latest mobile technologies being used along side women filling vessels from community water pumps.   It’s those in-your-face contrasts that jolt us into the fullness of being alive.

If we don’t experience the fullness of life personally, we can vicariously.  We see more and more reality TV shows in the US which expose us to aspects of life that maybe outside our own experiences.  For example, where bosses are going undercover into the trenches to experience what it’s like to work in their own companies outside their board rooms; where couples race around the world and experience many difference cultures and environments;  where cooks initiative food revolutions to expose school kids to food that is different from their regular, routine food in the hope to introduce healthier diets that will create greater awareness of what it takes to live a healthier life style, free from fatal diseases associated with obesity.  And there are so many others that open us up to the fullness of being alive.

Awareness is the first step in any change.  If we can suspend judgment and see others as they are, it opens us up to seeing the wholeness of life with an appreciation of difference and what it could be like to be in someone else’s  shoes.  With such awareness, we begin to expand our own perspectives and the experience of being alive, and with that, comes the principle of Ubuntu – I am because you are.

My dream for a more equitable, loving world, where communities can sustain themselves, women increasingly take public leadership roles, in the home, in business and governments, children are literate, and wealth is more evenly distributed is being realized bit-by-bit.  This bit-by-bit phenomenon is growing.  Social entrepreneurs, who believe in patient capital, participatory leadership and mindsets, and social media that instantly spread messages, are powerful facilitators of this positive, equitable trend.

If you too embrace the “fullness of being alive”, with optimism, hope and possibility, how is it showing up for you?

I love the question.  In my practice of Appreciative Inquiry, we say  it’s the question that starts the change process.  A powerfully affirmative question inspires us to share stories about the successes and strengths I already know about and can celebrate.  Moreover, the question leads me to focus on what I want more of.

It is no effort to list what I am excited about.

I am excited that the conversation is widening and we are becoming more conscious of what is importance to us and what we value – more people becoming engaged and more voices are being heard.

I am excited that we are changing policies and introducing reforms to bring greater equity and justice into the world, especially in the financial sector.

I am excited we are taking actions , globally, around all the factors pertaining  to ecological sustainability – energy, transportation, earth.

I am excited when I hear leadership speak from the heart, ethically, and listens loudly.

I am excited that social media is increasing our participation and collaboration across the world and is a force of natural democratization in the world.

I am excited our global conversation is widening because more people are standing up and expressing what’s important to not only them but what’s important for the longevity of all human kind -  the sick, children and elderly who are most vulnerable in our world.

I am excited the natural and human-made unrest and chaos are showing us we how inter-connected we are and we cannot not think systemically.

I am excited that Americans continue to pay attention that there is a world outside the US and it’s a beautiful world to be celebrated and shared.

I am excited that we are learning more about good health and there is conversation and action about eating natural, unprocessed, wholesome food with less sugar and less salt.

I am excited that there is continued conversation about the inhumanity of cruelty to animals.

I am excited that as a human species,  we are evolving rapidly and exponentially to live our lives with heightened and enlightened levels of consciousness.

I am excited we are thinking holistically, and seeing the world through multiple lenses, and listening to the myriad of diverse stories, and integrating the physical with the virtual

I am excited to be alive in 2011 and have this opportunity to tell my story.

I am excited to know if you, too, are moved to answer this question: “What are you excited about?”

How does it serve self and others to share stories, particularly focusing on the positive? Here’s a quick response with a professional and a personal story.

Professional Story
Story Telling has become important in my work. My field of expertise is leadership and organizational development. I talk about corporate connections. We help leaders and their teams connect to the very best of who they are and what they do. Sharing stories is a big part of that; and I consciously direct the energy towards the positive. Organizations move in the direction of what we most frequently and systematically ask questions about. Our methods tap into what already works and what the existing strengths are. It brings into the open what people care about and what matters and gives them joy. When we access positive emotional states we have great chance of producing positive actions. For example:

• Joy produces playfulness innovation,
• Confidence leads to creativity and being open to possibilities;
• Love allows for deeper connections and relatedness

Love allows for deeper connection and relatedness. Follow your heart. That’s I did. So to my personal story.

Personal Story

I followed my heart to another country. It wasn’t the land that enticed me – although the land has great beauty – nor the need to escape to something different . It was a feeling of deep connection with another human being. A two hour meeting in Sydney, Australia, led to an email trail of story telling and even deeper connection to the point that separation was painful.

Many people have told me my story is inspiring. They admire my courage, my strength, my conviction and the honoring of myself. I am humbled by that. My story serves to demonstrate that sharing positive stories of success and joy brings out the best in people. It is an acknowledgment that everything we achieve is in connection with others. Passions and dreams are shared and commitments are made.

Concluding Story

When I get into a cab these day and after I have clicked into my seat belt, I ask the driver ” What’s the best thing that has happened to you today?” From my back seat I notice his ears go up, a slight movement in his skull as he lifts his eyes to the rear vision mirror. The tired, strained eyes begin to twinkle “the best thing that happened to me today?” he repeats, and then he proceeds to tell me.

Do you think I had a positive impact on his day. And I most likely had a positive impact on others who got into his cab later that day.

The value of positive stories.

Engaging with others through an appreciative inquiry is underpinned by a number of guiding principles, the foundational one being that we are all active participants co-constructing our world together.  Wow, what a responsibility that is!  I am co-constructing my world as I engage with it. Big responsibility to make it work for me and others!

A strong second principle is what we focus on grows.  The more we focus on what gives life and energy and success, the more we’ll find it ….. everywhere and in everyone.

I’m currently working with creative people, helping them transform their art form into interactive, dynamic content for iPad apps.  First off, they are passionate about their work and/or their message, whether it’s photography, filmmaking, writing, painting or leading in some way.  We work with them, not only to help transform their existing content  into this new, exciting interactive medium, but we engage with them to bring the very best of who they are as artists and leaders.  We want to know what excites them, what inspires them, what else they aspire to? How do we do that?   We seek to discover the stories behind the work.  We do it in a particular way.

Here’s an example.

We have just completed an iPad app, entitled FilmOneFest. It’s for a an actual film festival of one-minute films.  Yes, one-minute.  Imagine the talent it takes to tell a compelling story on film in one minute.  Our vision for the app was to have more than just a list of one-minute films that you could see on You Tube or Vimeo.  We wanted the world to learn more about the artists and their visions for their art. We wanted to give greater context and meaning to the content in the app that the users could connect to.

We invited the filmmakers to respond to the following questions.

High Points:

• What has been a real high point point for you in creating this film?
What excites you about your submission to the One Minute Film Fest in 2011?

About One Minute Films:

• As you think about one minute films, what kinds of possibilities are there for this medium?
• What does it mean to you particularly?

Influences:

• If you think about the gifts and skills you bring to film-making, what do you find energizes you most?
• Say a little about what inspires you or compels you in your art form. It could be subject matter or people, and in what other ways are you inspired?

What are your aspirations?

• What's your biggest dream as a film maker?
• What are you working on now, or what are you aspiring to do next?
• What else do you want us to know about you and your work?

The responses to these question were fabulous.  They are documented in the FilmOneFest app and they enhance our appreciation of the artists and their art.

These questions are developmental in nature, they help to bring new connections and new possibilities.  We connect at new and deeper levels. They are generative because they help build new insights and we experience the co-constructive nature of our relationships in action.

The outcome will be to tap into your strengths, discover your personal power and energize you in ways that are fully aligned with your own authenticity and integrity.

Up until now, Appreciative Inquiry has been available only in face-2-face interview situations, and in small or large groups, and organizations all over the world. In your own privacy, and in a reflective, self-directed way,  you also can experience this empowering, strength-based approach to change.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeZgZEyAy7k

The Approach

You will be coached through 4 steps to:

• Discover your existing strengths and talents
• Dream what more is possible in your life
• Design the pathway to realize your deepest desires
• Sustain the energy and momentum to live the destiny of your choosing

As you read and participate in the content of Embracing Change, I will be your coach. As a professional Appreciative Inquiry practitioner, I will guide you through the question sets to develop in the ways you truly desire. You will discover you own strengths and best qualities. You will tap into your “positive core” to unleashed your fullest potential. You will be guided to tell your own story in the most life-affirming way. From the seeds of your own grounded reality, you will create and design new possibilities.

What helps you to make real commitment to yourself is the ability to write your story, dreams, insights and learnings right inside the app in the specially integrated text editing tools. In addition, you can email your notes to yourself for reference. You’re able to revisit and change your notes on demand. And, when faced with a new change, you can tap the reset button and be coached anew. You could also take on the role of coach, or facilitator, or interviewer to use the 4 steps to help others make changes they want.

A great value of this app is to be able to use it again and again to help you reconnect with your own power whenever you need to be reminded. What is extra valuable is that you could also guide a friend or colleague through this appreciative inquiry when they might need a strength-based, developmental conversation to overcome a challenging situation.

The richness of the compelling content is augmented on the tablet device.

• You will be amazed how much more personalized and engaging the experience is when content comes alive in this format compared to reading static content or a pdf file.
• You will experience all the multi-touch abilities such as tapping, swiping, expanding, rotating, and your senses will be activated further with attractive imagery, videos, slides shows and audio files.
• In addition, Embracing Change gives you the functionality to write your own notes and email them right from within the app.

FAQ

What is Embracing Change and how does it work?

Embracing Change is a self-development app following the framework of a highly successful and world-acclaimed positive change methodology called Appreciative Inquiry. Up to now, what this app delivers has been available only in the context of organizations where consultants or practitioners design workshops and conferences to help their clients in facilitating change. Coaches also use the methodology to help their clients move forward.  This app takes the methodology, Appreciative Inquiry (see below) and has designed the experience in a way that individuals can now participate in this most valuable inquiry for themselves.

What is Appreciative Inquiry (AI)

Appreciative Inquiry is a change methodology and, as a change methodology, it is first and foremost an inquiry into discovering what already works well before any change is introduced.  We are educated at home and at school and in our workplaces to ask “what’s wrong” with a situation.  That sets us off in a certain direction – usually, looking for things that don’t work, or block us from achieving that which we want.

Within the framework of Appreciative Inquiry, we start with the premise that in every human being and organization, something already works well.  So we ask, “What’s already working here?” Or, “What’s a high point for you?” With the Appreciative Inquiry lens, we seek to discover “what gives life to a living system when it is most effective, alive and constructively capable in economic, ecological, and human terms” (Cooperrider, Whitney, & Stavros, “ In the Appreciative Inquiry Handbook, 2008, p. 3)

Why did you create Embracing Change: the app?

All of us live and work with change every day, so it’s a really important topic; and it isn’t going away!  Not all of us are in situations where we can attend workshops and trainings to learn the latest thinking and methods to help us grow and develop greater capacities to live to our fullest potential. People are living busy lives. I wanted to bring to individuals resources they may not be aware of, and they can have access to when it suits them and they can fit into their own busy lives.

In designing this app, readers have access to an empowering worldview that potentially can put them in the driver’s seat of their life, not the passenger’s. To be at cause rather than at effect in life is liberating. Moreover, the technology is so cool.  Learning and interacting with great content in this way is highly enjoyable and totally immersive.   I am convinced that just as personal development books are a huge market in print, they will also become a huge market in apps.  I am so excited with this shift in engaging with knowledge and content that I have other apps in the pipeline that focus on developing us all to be the best we can.

What’s the value of the text-edit tool?

You are working through a learning and development process. As you read through the 4 steps and respond to the reflective questions, you will get in touch with some really rich and valuable content of your own. You don’t want to gloss over it or lose it. If you write down your own high point stories, what you value about yourself, others and the situation, the very act of writing it down, will be a far more meaningful and lasting experience. You learn to value yourself more and savor the best of yourself. So being able to record your thoughts right here in the app, and reflect on your insights, and then go back and refine your own content as you choose, is really helping you get greater clarity about what really matters to you.

• The system saves your note-taking automatically. You can edit your notes right there on the page where the original sticky notes are, or you can edit your notes on the summary-sticky-note page, which is the page immediately after Step 4.
• You can tap the email icon on the summary-sticky-notes page to activate your email program so you can email your thoughts to whomever you wish to share them.
• The only way you can lose your comments is to tap the reset button.

How do I engage with the community of users?

Embracing Change will have a Facebook Page once the app is available, where you can read updates and meet others who are embracing change. Please befriend us there, stay up to date and show that you like us!

How can I learn more?

A starting point will be to visit our blog, www.positivematrix.com to read stories of Appreciative Inquiry in action.  My book, Appreciative Inquiry for Collaborative Solutions is also available from my website.
You can fill in the contact us forms to learn more about our seminars and trainings and sign up for our webinar series of how you can use Appreciative Inquiry in many, many contexts for many, many outcomes.  Examples include:  The Power of Women’s Leadership, The Gift of Relationships, The Joy of Intergenerational Dialogue, Caring for our Environment, Performing at Peak, Working with Integrity, Making Strengths Productive,  The Language of Power and others.

First time, we were at dinner with a couple when their three year old pulled out the iPad, tapped into one of her favorite apps and was immediately engrossed as she tapped, swiped, dragged and, from time to time, sat up, tilted her head confidently to reflect on the objects she was engaging with.  Her fullest absorption in her iPad totally attracted the attention of older people in the restaurant,  amazed at her competence with the tablet device.

Next day at a friend’s house for dinner,  their 3 year came up to the table with her iPad, opened the Netflix app, picked out a movie she wanted and downloaded it and started to watch it without asking help from any adult.

Earlier that day, I had offered my iPad to a three year old and she immediately took it out of my hands with a big smile, and started tapping and dragging and swiping, immersed in the content, participating in the cute animations and sounds that delighted her.

As described in Huffington Post this week,

“The iPad’s sensitivity to touch preserves the intimacy of the magazine-reading experience. It also puts the reader in control. You are the navigator. Because the content is non-linear, interesting connections become possible and immediate. ……..You can venture as deep into the experience as you like….[this] digital technology has enormous potential. It brings a new dimension to our storytelling, making the experience more immersive than ever. It’s exciting to think about where it will take us.”

I am very caught up in this new way of experiencing content, as a consumer and now as an author and content creator.  My first app is about to be launched.  Called “Embracing Change”, it’s a self development app that takes readers on a personal learning journey following the Appreciative Inquiry framework.  As a learning and development professional, I  advocate using all the tools we can, in all the ways we can, with as many others as we can, to create the best experience learning experiences we can.

In the tablet format, content, theory, charts, images, interviews come to life, in fullest color and sound with the consumer interacting physically as well as cognitively and emotionally.  No wonder kids love the aliveness of this new form factor.  It’s playfully engaging.  And as adults, we, too can we re-connect with our inner kid, as we discover what it’s like to  interact with content in this immersive, engaging way.

Background

Jersey City planner, Tanya Marione-Stanton was thumbing through GOOD magazine when she saw the call for cities to take part in GOOD 2.0, (R&D) Initiative described as “an open workshop platform for improving your city.” Tanya entered Jersey City into the contest and the application was one of eight accepted out of 100s. You can read more about the background in The Jersey City Independent

Workshop Design

Over 60 (from 80+ RSVPs) people showed up at the elegant Culinary Conference Center, Hudson County Community College  to participate in the world cafe style workshop on the topic of THRIVING FARMS IN THE CITY.   We followed the classic appreciative inquiry story-telling format first to DISCOVER what strengths, gifts and capabilities already exist in the community in relation to our topic:

Question 1: Discover
What already exists in us, around us that we can build on to create thriving farms in the city?

We moved on to DREAM in order to tap into our imaginative capacities to envision what else in possible in urban agriculture in the neighborhoods of Jersey City:

Question 2: Dream
Imagine your biggest dream for your Farm in the City.  In 2 years, what do you see, hear, taste, smell, touch, enjoy?

Next, we turned our serial conversations to DESIGN where we began to co-create how we best organize ourselves and include others to bring the dream into reality;  we got tactical about the requirements and resources:

Question 3: Design
How do we make it happen?  What are the organizing elements? Who do we work with and where and when?

From there the participants broke out into their 6 residential wards to look at huge maps of their streets and place icons of what already exists as designated green space and what can be turned into green space.  This information will be added to the Jersey City Green Map. While in their ward groups, residents noted projects they’d like to be part of with their commitment to participate in an ongoing way, and they were invited to design some kind of creative, fun announcement that would inform and entertain the other breakout ward groups of their initiatives.

By way of closure, we gathered in a large circle to share what new insights had come as a result of investing 4 hours on a Saturday afternoon in community with others who share their interest in healthy food and farms in the city.  I was touched (and not surprised) to hear some deep and practical reflections from members of the group.

Facilitator’s Reflections

I continue to be energized and rewarded with how Appreciative Inquiry (AI)’s Discover, Dream, Design affirmative questions deliver immediate, heightened energy, excitement and power to a group.  I know why:  I am grounded in the theory and practice of AI, yet it still astounds me and brings butterflies to my gut and tears to my eyes.  The structure takes participants immediately into a state of valuing themselves and others present in the room (and may not be present in the room), and quickly moves them into imagining what they have the power to collectively co-create.  Because I know that, I can only stress, it is so important not to short-circuit or derail the creative sharing opportunity that people find they have courage to present in the moment, nor cut off  the deep insights and reflections they feel moved to share.  These two pieces touch the core of our being and bring out our inner leadership.  In a closing circle, not to let that emerge is such a missed opportunity.  We are on sacred ground when we connect with each other at this new, deep level.  When we by-pass it, we possibly short-change the passion and power of everyone in the circle.

Discover Best Stories

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUpGpPIROuo

Best Stories of Purpose-Driven Selling

We have all, at some time or another, been part of a successful, rewarding selling experience, whether it was selling a pretty pink lipstick, a million-dollar service contract, or tickets to your local arts fund-raising dinner. Reflect on a time when you felt at your best in a selling situation. Everything seemed perfectly aligned—timing, customers, your knowledge and message, the questions, and how you managed your responses, and so forth. Share your story.

• What was the situation?
• What was the purpose?
• Who was there?
• What was the outcome?
• How did you feel?

Without being modest, what do you value about yourself in your story?

What do you value about the work you were doing?

What did you value about the organizations—yours and your customer’s?

The participants paired off to interview each other. Very soon the room was alive with energy as the pairs exchanged stories of their best selling experiences.  After 25 minutes, single pairs linked up with another 2 pairs to form groups of six where interviewers introduced their interview partners and shared highlights of their partners’ stories of a high point purpose-driven sales experience.  They were invited to:

• Listen respectfully, focus on the common themes that came up across the stories;  listen for the collective strengths across all the stories:  key roots of success.   They selected a story that exemplified the strengths, best assets, and successes in a sales experience and shared with all other groups.

We then reconvened to listen to what came up for people during this discovery interview.

Collective findings of best selling experiences

We identified the most powerful and successful selling experiences happened when the following elements were present:

• we took time to notice and observe client behavior;
• we listened deeply;
• we engaged with full presence (not distracted by others, seeking information from them);
• we proposed a solution that represented the above two points and was fresh in its presentation;
• there was synchronicity and alignment of mutual respect and purpose;
• we knew we were helping;
• we felt confident and were very well-prepared; we were authentic and loved what we did; we trusted our intuition; we let go of assumptions;
• it felt easy and natural;
• we were acknowledged, complimented and  invited back;
• clients reported to feeling heard and understood and the solution offered was very good.

Participants agreed participating in the AI approach was an empowering experience, as most of them didn’t believe that selling was a strength, yet during their interviews they discovered strengths they were not yet aware of, or did not consider to be valuable.   Moreover, in hearing stories from other consultants in the room, they discovered skills and behaviors they too had, and made the connection that they could develop those same skills sets and behaviors that would help them shift to a new level of performance when it came to selling their services and products.

As a close, they each made a wish or two (in the form of a personal commitment) about what they would do to reconnect to their latent talents around selling-on-purpose and how to co-construct it with their clients.

Debriefing

As a debrief we contrasted this strength-based, generative approach to selling to the more traditional approach of telling people how to sell.  Moreover, there is a strong underlying assumption in sales-drive organizations, that sales people  are motivated by financial incentives, competition and fear of failure.  We recognized the negative consequences of contraction in such circumstances, when we feel fear and unconsciously we  jump to control mode and shut down.  On the other hand, when we come from a place of strength and feel positive about ourselves, we access our generative states, trusting ourselves and others.  We open ourselves up to possibilities, become more personally expansive and are more inclusive of others. We also spoke of the value being in positive resourceful states that the AI process facilitates, such as appreciating, imagining, collaborating and empowering.

I thank all who showed up to participate in the workshop to make it a fun and generative learning experience.  I would be most honored for those of you who were there, if you took a moment to add your own insights and experience to this blog post.

Workshop details – FREE

Wednesday, July 28 2010 5:45 – 8:00 PM

You’re invited to experience Appreciative Inquiry in Action and discover your strengths in relation to selling. If you think you can’t sell, or wish to improve, come along to this workshop on the affirmative topic of PURPOSE-DRIVEN SELLING and discover strengths you did not know you had in relation to selling.

I  will be facilitating this workshop which is one of the 21 workshops in my new book, Appreciative Inquiry for Collaborative Solutions: 21 Strength-based Workshops.

Location

John Jay College
899 10th Avenue @59th Street
New York, NY
Room 531

To Register

Please register in advance at this link:  http://bit.ly/bQZxcN
Questions: contact robyn @ positivematrix.com