"Make no small plans. They have no magic to stir humanity's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical plan once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency." Daniel Burnham, a famous US architect, may have said those words in the late 19th century but it wasn't until the late 20th century that Appreciative Inquiry showed the way to generate provocative propositions in the service of transformational change.
Most of us grew up with strong examples of command-and-control leadership. "Because I said so" is the emphatic refrain of this leadership style. In today's world, however, it's become a liability to manage people and institutions from this framework. The world is too complex and moving too fast for commanders to maintain visibility and control. Appreciative Inquiry (AI) offers a different framework, empowering people to share leadership and to coach-and-collaborate each other in the discovery and design of new possibilities. Want to learn how?
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) does not seek to appreciate the best in life and work as an academic exercise. It's not an end in itself. It's rather the foundation for inspired action in the world. When people are discouraged and depressed, their actions are small or nonexistent. When people are energized and hopeful, their actions are large and courageous. If you are ready to stop going through the motions of life, if you see the need for transformational change, then perhaps AI is the tool you need to get things moving.
