All of the AI Principles are evident in her story.  She opens with examples of the Constructionist Principle: how words create worlds and the role we all play in co-creating our realities and defining each other.

She advocates the need to honor the wholeness, possibility and potency of ourselves and each other.  She asks us to open ourselves up to and embrace our adversities, rather than sweep them under the carpet.

She reminds us from her own story that we live up OR down to others’ image of us, and how positive imagery leads to positive outcomes.  She is such an example of nurturing the human spirit, keeping hope, seeing the beauty, valuing curiosity … and so much more.

I highly recommend this video.

Aimee Mullen’s TED Talk on “The Opportunity of Adversity“.

My publisher had emailed me 3 days earlier with the following heartwarming message:

It’s here and it’s beautiful!!!!
Congratulations.  You should get your copy soon.

I am really happy, as my book is a unique application of Appreciative Inquiry to the world of learning and development.  Amid global challenges and complexities, the Appreciative Inquiry worldview asks, “What is it that we do already that is working for us, and how can we leverage our strengths going forward?”

The twenty-one workshops in this book are on topics of strategic importance, addressing the desire and need, in our interconnected world, for greater participation and active collaboration in meaning making and resource sharing.   This book is for change agents, leaders, trainers, facilitators, organization development professionals, and consultants.

All 21 workshops are ready for delivery; the topics are all highly relevant in today’s world, and with the Appreciative Inquiry design, they are equally applicable in global corporations, local communities, schools, colleges, universities, government agencies, non-profits, non-governmental agencies, special interest groups, communities of practice, and small business.

Workshop titles include classic topics, such as team building, leadership, and change, as well as on newer topics, such as cultural diversity, corporate social responsibility, intergenerational mix, and social media, to name a few.

This book takes Appreciative Inquiry principles and processes and applies them to real, everyday work and relationship issues in a workshop format that allows organizational members to resolve issues and create solutions from a strength-based perspective.

See larger image Appreciative Inquiry for Collaborative Solutions: 21 Strength-Based Workshops (Paperback) By (author) Robyn Stratton-Berkessel List Price: $60.00 USD New From: $49.91 In Stock Used from: $93.83 In Stock

Peter Drucker wrote in his 1967 classic, The Effective Executive. “To make strength productive is the unique purpose of organization. It cannot, of course, overcome the weaknesses with which each of us is abundantly endowed. But it can make them irrelevant.”  So if, in fact, a key task of leadership is to create an alignment of strengths, then imagine the possibilities of strengths connected to strengths?  What might that look like and why might that be worth striving for?

For leadership to create an alignment of strengths, it most likely means looking at organizations with new eyes.  What if we were to look at organization not as problems to be solved, but as miracles to be embraced?  What if we were consciously to look for the good and hold up the achievements and the successes; to invest generously and respectfully in inquiring into existing organizational strengths and assets?  What if we were to invite people to tell their stories of when they felt most energized, enlivened and valued at work.  And we listened.  Really listened.  What language would employees, customers, vendors, media be using?  Is it uplifting and positive?  What stories are they sharing about their experiences with the various products, services and people?  Are they focusing  on what works well, and what they want more of?  If yes, that’s great, as such language creates upward spirals, and there’s the broadening effect of noticing more acutely what works.  As a consequence, you are more likely to enact your capabilities and your potential. Performance improves, since it is more energizing and creative to have people talk about what they can do and what they aspire to than the reverse.  Two maxims come to mind:

What you focus on grows.

People support what they create.

To connect strengths to strengths and to see anew, with an appreciative eye,  and to facilitate the leadership capability so that it creates flourishing organizations is work that is meaningful, joyful, rewarding and essential.

The decade beginning 2000 was a good decade for me.  I married a wonderful human being in 2000; we have enjoyed great fun and a wide range of intensely pleasurable physical experiences; we have grown together and independently through many stimulating, engaging intellectual learnings;  and we have both experienced deeply meaningful emotional times.  We have traveled a lot and created a home we love. I am blessed in my relationship.

So, in this last decade, I have continued to change, as has the world around me.  A dominant and exciting force that is enabling this rapid growth rate of change is social media. We have new and additional ways in which we communicate and connect with people and we have many more topics and stories to share.  My sensitivity has been even more heightened as to how alike we really are across the globe.  How vulnerable we all are, and how much more we can become together.  I have been moved by so many stories shared in private and in public places – face-to-face, virtually, in books, on TV, in film.  All my senses have been sharpened.  For example, in Italy, I savored during and for months afterwards the landscape and the smells and sounds; the sensations and the tastes:  I admired the art work and architecture and imagined what it was like when armies of ancient Rome traversed the land battled against the Carthaginians and the Gauls;  I imagined the beauty of the Etruscans, even before the Romans, and then I imagined what life may have been like during the Renaissance when art and commerce flourished.  History and culture revealing how peoples continue to shape the future and leave their legacies.

I experienced similar emotions and wonderings while traveling in India and visiting Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.  My curiosity and interest is always aroused to learn how people get to where they are and what has shaped their current situation.   What are their stories?  My own birthplace, Australia, has untold stories that the land longs to share.  The more stories we can hear of all peoples on this planet, the richer we all will be.

I love to find the themes and connect dots.  What keeps coming up for me?  My filtering system is constructed to find the beauty, the goodness and what truths endure across time and space.  Horror and evil also endure across time and space. They co-exist.  History and the arts are full of co-existence. The victories of love overcoming fear, and good overcoming evil and beauty overcoming horror is the human story.

I learned at Christmas time, a dear colleague, whom I haven’t communicated with since 2002 has Stage 4 cancer in her brain and has very little time left in her present form.   Going about my business (busy-ness), I thought about her a lot, but didn’t call.   After Christmas, I learnt her condition had worsened.  I felt remorseful that I had not acted on my best intuition to call her when I wanted to.  I actually feared I had missed my opportunity to let her know I cared for her.  I had weak excuses, like a 14 hours time difference, Christmas was an awkward time, etc. etc.  Finally, I did call and our conversation was truly meaningful.  I also send the flowers I had been thinking about sending for four days.  I decided that moving beyond thought to action would be my commitment to myself in 2010.  To move beyond dreaming and thinking into action – action that serves others, and in doing so, serves me.

All plans can change.  So when the world changes around you, what constants provide you with a sense of safety or equanimity that enables you to go on?  The tiniest belief in oneself helps; some hope for a future; the support of others.  I have been in that state, when I had no self-confidence, despaired of any future and indifferent to the support and love of others.  How I’ve pulled myself out of such low points is my story and some parts of the dark story I am not proud of and some parts I am.  I realize the parts I am proud of are when I found the inner strength to shift my perspective enough to make a different choice.  Through the tears and the pain (both physical and emotional) I could sense a faint awareness that I wanted to feel/do something different.  In such times, I open up enough find an inner resource that offers a glimmer of hope and possibility that I am willing to admit there is a different way and I will do something about it.  I also believe that having experienced the intense discomfort of chemotherapy and radiation, that in the future, and if in a conscious state, when faced with death I can have the same experience.  I will find an inner resource that offers a glimmer of hope and possibility that I am willing to admit there is a different way and I can find it.  I know I will seek peace and love over fear.

What is your story?  What victories, celebrations and joys have you experienced in the past decade?  In telling your story, what have been highpoints of your first ten years in the 21^st century?  What will you remember with a smile on your face, a warmth in your gut, a tenderness in your heart?  What are you most grateful for or even a little bit grateful for – personally and professionally?  Who have you met in the past 10 years that has influenced your life in a good way?  What have you done for others that you know has been of service to them?  What thoughts may inspire you for action in 2010?

We are offering some great presentations and workshops online using iCohere collaborative platform and we are seeking a number of volunteer online hosts who will be able to participate in the conference and perform some support activities.   This is a great opportunity for those who want to participate, but for a variety of reason can’t make it to Nepal in November.  Colleague, Sue James is co-ordinating the online hosting activities.

What are the benefits of volunteering?

• Receive support and training in the virtual conference environment, prior to the conference itself;
• Become part of a global network of volunteers, all of whom share your interest in Appreciative Inquiry;
• Gain personal and professional recognition across the AI community; and
• If you can act as an online host for six (6) hours or more over the four days of the conference, you will receive a 50% discount on virtual conference registration!
• (These hours will not have to be contributed in one block, but can be spread out in two-hour time slots over the four days)

For all the details and to register, please go to http://suejames.com/aihosts2009/

I am fortunate to be able to travel to Nepal for the Conference and will also co-facilitating an online workshop, “Flourishing Destinies: How to Sustain Positive Change.”  I will be happy to answer any questions and request that you use the contact form on this site to reach me.

The benefits of such a shift in perspective is equally applicable to the importance of taking vacations, as it is to dealing with difficult situations at work or in the family.

I’ve just returned from a two week vacation in Tuscany, Italy, where the landscape is a textured tapestry of  verdant vineyards, silky grey olive groves, sunburnt fields stockpiled with hay bales, paddocks of sunflowers stretching tall and wide, remote stone farm houses surrounded by slender poplars,  walled townships with bell towers, forts and castles perched high on the hill tops all around.  It is pure sensory overload.

When traveling to new place (literally or metaphorically), do you surrender to the delight of new discoveries.  I do; and even if they jolt my sensitives, they are at best a new experience, or at worst an opportunity to revisit an old pattern, which to me is what life is about – embracing all experiences and deciding what sense to make of them.  I am reminded of: “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” (Shunryo Suzuki-Roshi).

Experiencing new environments combined with the mindset of being open to possibilities, we expand and enrich ourselves to what is new and unfamiliar.  When we stick to what is what is known and comfortable, such as when we impose our modus operandi in a foreign context, it can lead to disagreement, frustration, annoyance, and disappointment.

With a beginner’s mind and an appreciative eye, our relationship with the world shifts:  we are opened to many possibilities;  we see in new ways,  we inquire from interest and curiosity;   we listen respectfully.

One practical reflection from my Tuscany break is to apply my awareness of a beginner’s mind and an appreciative eye to developing greater tolerance of learning new technologies – when I get frustrated, I need to take a break and then come back with clear eyes.

What are some of your personal insights about the value of taking a break?

The overall theme of the Global Forum is “Manage in an era of massive innovation” and our workshop’s purpose is to prototype a container for massive innovation. Our container is made up of a process with web-based technologies.  Our process is Appreciative Inquiry and our web-based technologies are Facebook, Linked-In, Twitter and a collaborative platform iCohere.

So through the Appreciative Inquiry process we seek to discover high peak stories of when the energy, innovation and  commitment generated in the planning process of a workshop or conference have not withered on the vine, but  continued to build after the event, spiraling into greater levels of achievement.  Through all of our shared stories and experiences of successful sustained implementation and our dreams for what such implementation could look like, we will develop a deeper understanding of how the energy and innovation created in the planning process can build after the event and spiral into ever greater levels of achievement that lead to flourishing destinies.  We will co-create insights and understanding that we can take away to apply within our own organizations and projects in order to create sustained continuity for positive change and innovation at the scale of the whole.

You are welcome to participate free by going to our site www.flourishingdestiny.org and follow the prompts.   To join the Twitter discussion, use @BAWBGlobalForum;  Facebook; LinkeIn

This powerful question invites us to be in the moment, real and responsible.

We use it successfully in Appreciative Inquiry workshops after the dream / imagining step. (See 4-D graphic)

Why is this important? Asking what can you start right now after collectively dreaming about a shared, preferred future brings the energy back to the present – the here and now.

Remember,

• We open an appreciative inquiry with discovering best stories from our own past.
  
• Next,we project our collective strengths and successes – our positive core – into the future as we dream what’s possible together. Example:
  Say, we’re inquiring into the topic of “protecting and valuing our environment for future generations”.
  
  • The smallest change I can do right now is to stop using plastic bags. I will now take my own reusable shopping bags to the stores.
    
  • Similarly, in the office I can stop using plastic or styrene cups by using my own glass and mug.

  The act of asking the individual what small thing he or she can do right now that will impact the future serves as a great transition to the
  third and forth steps in the full appreciative inquiry process: Design and Destiny.

  When we recognize it’s within our own power to start with a seemingly small action step, it opens us up to begin the co-creative process of
  designing a future we care about, and, with our own actions can be sustained.

• Then before moving to the next steps we ask, what is the smallest change you can do right now, in the present that will have an impact going forward?

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So I gathered resources for him, as he works in a community college and they are about to embark upon a significant change initiative. As I wrote the email to him, I thought this could be a blog item as others may find the information helpful.

As with most research on AI, I started with the AI Commons website to find articles that seemed to be the best examples of AI in schools and colleges for a range of outcomes, from strategic planning to community involvement and other issues. I list them with a brief explanation of each below.

AI is a process and philosophy that can be applied to any issue or problem. With AI we start with the premise that there are things that already work well in the system, so we focus on those as a start rather than on the problems we need to “fix” … what you study grows…..

In an educational context, as with any other, you find as many solutions to problems as there are people. John said it so well, “searching for answers in a sea of solutions”. Each of us has our own prefered frameworks and problem solving methods, to which we are attached because they work for us to some degree. Furthermore, we don’t like to let go of “the tried and true” because the known is safer than the unknown.

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When invited to say what attracted them to the workshop they offered the following shared themes:

• To gain greater understanding of AI and how I can integrate this into various aspects of my work with individuals and groups.
• Learn how to do it right so that the outcomes for people and organisations (and me!) are realised.
• Looking for practical examples.
• Understand the process of moving through an AI
  “discovery” with the others in the room as well as gaining insight into
  the facilitation process itself.

• Feel comfortable about integrating AI methods/approach in my coaching and facilitation.

What stood out as highlights and common themes following the discovery interviews of a high point in their work:

• creating environments where people can act in a positive way, facilitating challenge, using skills, creating something, making a difference, discovery of skills and unlocking potential, awakening, contribution to something value, creating value for others.

And what they valued about the experience of the discovery interview:

• having my story validated by others, encouragement;
• prompt that reflection on past success should be done more often to feed future growth and success;
• I valued the opportunity to remember my story and to get in touch with how significant it was in my own growth and awakening. It was also uplifting to hear my colleague’s story and to recognise another person’s amazing growth and discovery…
• Time to reflect … the interview was an opportunity to learn about my own experience and then the value is real as it was what had happened. No need to justify or to prove the research….it was re living something real; real listening and appreciation of the story;
• Just a chance to take some time and space; to be able to slow down;
• Sort of acknowledgement, validation as well as delight in the fact that the important bits were successfully communicated and understood. Being present when people are experiencing positive emotion seems to itself create the atmosphere of creativity and potential;
• Sense of one’s self at a higher place.
• Reinforced the worth of my work, realisation that I can make a difference, am positive about the next stage;
• I was happy to find that that someone else could see the value in the story I was telling. I was also moved by the story that was narrated to me because it had simpatico vibes for me;
• Opportunity to get closer to a new friend;
• I felt uplifted, positive, a sense of something greater than myself, encouraged;
• The simple sharing of stories and having a conversation of personal experiences.

This caring group of eight individual professionals identified their positive core as

• not leaving their heart at the gate, shared endeavour, valuing and encouraging people, passion, sense of purpose; collectively working in a relationship of trust and creating an environment where people can learn.

The wishes expressed to realise the dream workplace in 10 years time included:

• Happy place;
• Positively focused collaboration;
• Flexibility, trust, fulfillment;
• I wish for people to have the time and space to appreciate their fellows, share understanding and grow together;
• Camaraderie, energy and meaningful work;
• New directions by collaborative design and sharing leadership;
• Work which is in line with my deeper purpose.

Here are some responses to the question: What do feelings of joy bring out in you, as you work, play and relate to others? Where do you feel joy in your body?

• Song in the heart literally!
• Lightness of body and mind, easing and reduced tension of muscles.
• I feel joy in my face and in my core – feel light and happy – almost floating.
• A satisfaction and tiredness with the inner glow.
• A lightness and warmth in the gut.
• More ideas, alive and invincible.
• Overall heightened sense of well being.
• Relaxation, ease.
• Feeling joy – lightness, feel it in your chest/heart – breathe deeper, feelings of warmth, connected.
• Heightened connectivity of ideas and concepts firing at a faster rate.
• Relieved; stress makes you smile and be animated. Feel it in your face, feel warm.
• Jumping for joy – literally I feel like expressing myself physically – like a child jumping up and down with glee.

The collaborative software platform we use facilitates the capturing, sharing and sense making of all participants’ ideas in a generative way.

What becomes clearer to me each time is how valuable the technolgy is, not only to capture participants own words and feelings throughout the workshop as shared above, but especially when it comes time to do the operational, more linear tasks as well, such as creating provocative propositions, making the topic selection and creating the interview protocol.

As an example of the latter, the task was: (1)Take your selected topic; (2) create a “lead-in” statement and (3) write two affirming questions to elicit “high peak” experiences related to the topic and the lead-in statement just created. The tool truly facilitates this process elegantly.

Teams worked on these three steps and in a very short time produced three excellent interview protocols. Using the technology provides a focussed energy augmenting teamwork, the co-creative process and the desire to share and contribute.

At the end of our two-day workshop, when invited to express how they will introduce AI into their work and personal life these views were recorded.

• Hope as the lead-in.
• AI frame will help my work with groups facing challenges.
• Taking a refreshed / fresh perspective and positive approach.
• Make a real difference, new approach that may engage people.
• Satisfaction to add (not deficient thinking).
• Discovering and deploying strengths, both active and dormant.
• Growth and benefit to all concerned a real positive experience of life through a new way of seeing and being.
• An approach that I can draw upon to help move groups forward in a positive, generative way.