1. Appreciative Inquiry 2.0
Bernard Mohr

2. Appreciative Inquiry 2.0
a) History - Action Research – the common thread in STSD,
Total Quality (Lean, Six Sigma), Organization
Development and Appreciative Inquiry
a) AI 1.0
• Discovering the power of Inquiry,
• Rediscovering the Power of Image and the Positive
Scholarship Revolution
• Towards relational transformation - Social Construction
as a frame
a) AI 2.0 – Elevating “Design”
• 3 Stories – Moundsville Gypsum, Vision Council, Tufts
• Appreciative Designing of the Future – what’s
different?

3. The Positive Scholarship* “Revolution”
Research Drives Awareness of Another Choice Point in How We Approach Designing
3
Image
Appreciative
Designing
(Appreciative Inquiry)
* 2003 Cameron, Dutton, Quinn “Positive Organizational Scholarship: Foundations Of A New Discipline”

4. Business
Environment
Adaptive Capacity =
The current capacity of
the organization to
…anticipate, respond
and if needed regroup
frpm disruptive change
in the market place… ..at
a pace fast enough to
provide competitive
advantage.
Mission
And
Strategy
Organization
Culture
and
Behavior
Business & Human Results
Appreciative Designing – Whats New
( A Whole System Organization Performance Picture)
Start Here ! -- Is there a good match ?
Org’n Boundaries, Roles,
Authorities And Responsibilities
Compensation, Reward
And Incentive Systems
People Systems
(Selection, Development
Promotion, Perf Mngt.
And Justice)
Planning, Renewal and
Continuous Improvement
Systems
Measurement, Information
& other Business Monitoring
Systems
Core Work
Processes, Tools
Physical Layout/space
Patterns
Of
Organizational Dialogue
About Identity, Values and Beliefs
© Innovation Partners International, adapted from R Hanna by Bernard Mohr

5. Large Group Processes: Expanding “Who” Does The Designing
(Paradigm Shift #1)
5
Representative small
groups design both
Technical and Social
Systems
(Representative
Design Team model -
1960’s onward)
Intact work groups make
Improvements by
designing both
Technical and Social
Systems
(“Participative Design”
1970’s onward)
Large Groups (50-500 +)
engage people actually doing
the work in designing
both Technical and Social
Systems (Conference Model,
Fast Cycle STS,1980’s onward)
Note:
All three approaches are
based on the assumption
that the system only
changes after redesign
i.e.- the data gathering and
diagnostic activities are seen
as “neutral” acts

6. Large Group Processes And Appreciative Inquiry:
Two Paradigm Shifts in Designing Organizations
Representative
small groups design
both Technical and
Social Systems
(STS Design Team
model - 1960’s
onward)
Intact work groups make
Improvements by
designing both
Technical and Social
Systems
(“Participative Design”
1970’s onward)
Large Groups (50-500 +)
engage people actually doing
the work in designing
both Technical and Social
Systems (Conference Model,
Fast Cycle STS,1980’s onward)
Large Groups engage
people actually doing
the work in designing
“whole” organizations
(both Technical and Social)
from a strength based
perspective

7. 7
Co-Creating Appreciative Organizations
• A call for new ways of thinking about the nature of human
collaboration within institutions (playing to strengths)
• Enhancing wealth creation for all and elevating potential for world
benefit
• Engaging “everyone” to invent new “social architectures” which:
1. Unleash the energy of the dream
2. Serve as an organizational fabric within which work is
accomplished
3. Enable people to experience dignity, meaning and community
4. Enable new and innovative combinations of individual tasks
5. Radical rethinking of work flows, technologies, measures and
goals for monitoring performance
6. Governance and decision making processes which assure vibrant
internal integration and simultaneous connection of the
organization to environmental opportunities