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?”

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.

(Link to the full interview below)

Q: What do you see as the New Paradigm of Work?

Killian: The new paradigm is about Life. One life, and work is part of that life and increasingly these two blend like fluids. Much of this is driven by the exponential rate of technological advances, automation by machines of routine tasks and the unstable and unpredictable business climate (and in part, planetary climate conditions!) The technologies we use for work and for socializing blend; the devices we use at home and at work blend; our networks blend; our hours of work and home-time blend in a ubiquitously connected global economy; our work spaces blend and even the boundaries between our professional personas and our personal reputations blend. Increasingly, our employers blend as many people become self-employed or work on contract terms for multiple organizations, over time our careers will blend from one life stage to another, much like seasonal workers or the way in which actors work.

In this new paradigm of work, where work and life are inseparable, happiness will only be possible if work blends with play, if passion blends with purpose, and if creativity is as vigorously cultivated as profitability.

What about this interview so resonated with me? Annalie offers stories and insights for creating environments where people show up fully so their radiance shines.

And, it takes effort. It is about developmental work – as opposed to problem-solving work. In order to live into the new paradigm, it requires us to:

1. do personal inner work – develop our own inner capacities:
2. identify and invest in the appropriate structures to support and facilitate the development
3. recognize we can only make this shift to a “new paradigm about life” in relationship with others.

To read the full interview, please go to Michelle James’ fabulous blog, The Fertile Unknown and read her full interview with Annalie Killian, in her series of Creativity in Business

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.

My New York Cab story:

I’m in New York City and when I get into a cab, after I put on my seat belt and settle into the backseat, I ask the driver casually. “What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?” It could be any time of day. It could be snowing, sleeting, or sweltering with heat and humidity. The traffic is usually at a stand still and horns are honking and sirens screeching. And, every single time, I get an almost identical response …. the driver suspiciously raises his eyes and looks up into the rear view mirror to check out who is this kook in the back of his cab. Then slowly a smile comes across his face, his eyes twinkle as they make contact with mine and he repeats: “The best thing that’s happened to me today?” And he begins to tell me. There is more. Through my appreciative inquiry I get to hear more of his story – where he comes from, who is family is, what he does in his spare time, what life is like back in his country of origin and much more. Over these last years, I have connected with the most wonderful and extraordinary people simply by asking an unconditionally positive question.

Every person, whose story I’ve heard has touched me and I know I have touched them. Perhaps, most illustrative of the power of inquiry is the driver who was so moved by our generative conversation, driving me from Wall Street to Park Avenue said, when we reached my destination, “Ma’am you do such good work in the world, you don’t pay me!” I thanked him and responded he also was doing such good work in the world. Then as I got out of the cab, I mentioned to the next passenger who was already impatiently holding the cab door, “He’s a good guy”, flicking my head in the direction of the driver. Before the cab pulled away from the curb, I heard the driver laugh out loud when the new passenger said, “I hear you are a good guy.”

Appreciative inquiry, it works every time.

Five actions using appreciative inquiry to shape your experience

1. Pay special attention to your first question, it determines what comes next.
2. Ask what works, rather than what’s wrong?
3. Notice, the more positive the question, the more it will create the possible.
4. Stay in the inquiry to help people think and feel.
5. Believe in the goodness of people to see the goodness of people.

What are your positive stories about shaping your experience to bring out the best in you and others?

image courtesy of berkessel.com

I am equally inspired by their responses, so I’ve created a comment area on my blog for us to continue sharing ideas, stories, experiences, insights and aspirations.

Below are some examples of their emails:

“I read the activity about Business as a change agent in the world … I love the legacy aspect. So this gave me an idea for my storytelling….You inspired me at lunch, and also in the subway! This book arrives at the perfect time for me it seems!”

“Now that I’ve had a little time to actually read the book (the first few sections), I love it more. It’s got clear insights and your tapestry of weaving together the several strands that influence your thinking/this book is one of golden and silver threads. Just stunning synthesis and vision. This book is simply wonderful.  Much success!”

“I’m back in Germany now after a very exciting two weeks in New York City. Your workshop at Marymount was one of the highlights of the workshop circuit. I am planning on using appreciative inquiry in BPW and present it, as you did, as a useful trainer tool and at the same time to find out what members and prospective members want and need from BPW.  Perhaps I can also use the method in a team building workshop.”

“I’ve had a quick browse – what a wonderful resource it will be for the AI community ”

“I love your book! It’s a perfect tool for incorporating Appreciative Inquiry in group coaching/training, so I can’t wait to put it into action. Thanks for this beautiful work, it’s really going to change things ”

“Looking forward to working with your book – maybe already next week in an interview with a friend to capture her Art of Hosting training experience in Sweden last month. Will let you know -   Here is my little report from Friday’s event on Pioneers of Change.”

“Robyn Stratton-Berkessel led us through an Appreciative Inquiry exercise that showed us the power of hearing other people telling our own leadership story.”

“Can your workplace benefit from better collaboration + appreciation of each others work? Try @robbiecat‘ s workbook.”

Please also read my interview on Axiom News,  whose mission is “To be the news agency of the world’s most socially generative organizations’.

I am very grateful to you all!

And let’s keep sharing and here’s the comment area to share ideas and practices.

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.