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Rating: 
Summary: Practical guide to new change management approach
Review: Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a fundamentally different approach to problem solving and change management which is gaining worldwide popularity rapidly. While the traditional approach focuses on analysing problems and then fixing what is wrong, AI does just the opposite: it searches for and amplyfies solutions that already exist (in this it is highly comparable to solution focused brief therapy). Quite a lot of good books have been written on AI. The thing I like most about this book by Watkins and Mohr is how practical it is. The authors generously packed it with very useble examples and tools. This makes it very recommendable for AI practitioners.
Rating: 
Summary: Elegant but with some limitations...
Review: Appreciative Inquiry fits within recent "modern mediation theory" and Public Discourse techniques. I cannot add more to what previous reviewers have said (above), but note only that the techniques are more difficult to apply than the authors indicate and require all parties in the discussion to be committed to the end-result. AI techniques cannot work in groups where there are power vacuums or undisclosed power grabbing and coaltion-formation.
Rating:
Summary: AI is a technique, enveloped by a theory...
Review: Appreciative Inquiry is a method for getting the best, most positive, upbeat, and energizing images of your organization to the fore. AI contrasts to problem-focused inquiry, which usually provokes blame and evasion. A large cadre of Organizational Development and Human Resources types has developed AI, and they swear by its positive effects. The book contains nearly two dozen case examples of AI interventions, ranging from small organization to large multi-national corporations. The authors present a coherent theory (social constructionism) and method to bolster AI's techniques. It has much in common with post-modern psychotherapy, the construction of "magic solutions" ("best practices" in their terms), and centering on the individuals' perspectives (rather than some larger, "objective" truth) about an organization. It is clear that you have to be sophisticated to do AI interventions. One imagines that you should belong to an AI network, be thoroughly trained, and be supervised. The AI intervention probably does not work without the requisite OD/HR training and perspective. If you are interested, this is your textbook. I found the book moderately difficult to read and digest, partly because the authors have created such an elaborate theory behind the intervention. The authors are less than candid about "failed" interventions (p. 206), and terms like "co-creating" and "sociotechnical" (what?). I came away from this book believing that AI is something like Public Discourse applied to businesses. If you want to use this book, plan on studying it in detail and enrolling in AI workshops.
Rating:
Summary: AI is a technique, enveloped by a theory...
Review: Appreciative Inquiry is a method for getting the best, most positive, upbeat, and energizing images of your organization to the fore. AI contrasts to problem-focused inquiry, which usually provokes blame and evasion. A large cadre of Organizational Development and Human Resources types has developed AI, and they swear by its positive effects. The book contains nearly two dozen case examples of AI interventions, ranging from small organization to large multi-national corporations. The authors present a coherent theory (social constructionism) and method to bolster AI's techniques. It has much in common with post-modern psychotherapy, the construction of "magic solutions" ("best practices" in their terms), and centering on the individuals' perspectives (rather than some larger, "objective" truth) about an organization. It is clear that you have to be sophisticated to do AI interventions. One imagines that you should belong to an AI network, be thoroughly trained, and be supervised. The AI intervention probably does not work without the requisite OD/HR training and perspective. If you are interested, this is your textbook. I found the book moderately difficult to read and digest, partly because the authors have created such an elaborate theory behind the intervention. The authors are less than candid about "failed" interventions (p. 206), and terms like "co-creating" and "sociotechnical" (what?). I came away from this book believing that AI is something like Public Discourse applied to businesses. If you want to use this book, plan on studying it in detail and enrolling in AI workshops.
Rating:
Summary: Appreciative Inquiry an Orientation Toward Life and Work
Review: Appreciative Inquiry is a way of seeing and being in the world. ... Appreciative Inquiry applied, whether as a planning process or an evaluative process, becomes empowering and life-affirming in any human system. (page 191) The key to sustaining the momentum is to build an "appreciative eye" into all the organization's systems, procedures, and ways of working. (page 152) AI is not simply a tool ... it is a total way of being/working. As an organization consultant I am interested in three things when learning about and considering adopting an approach or methodology: what are it's theoretical basis, fundamental assumptions and beliefs, basic process, and application to different types of organizational situations. Watkins and Mohr have written a book that offers all three. The opening two chapters ground Appreciative Inquiry in the history of the OD theory and method and clearly explain the core principles and generic processes of AI. The subsequent chapters each focus on one of the five generic processes plus evaluation. Each chapter explains one process in detail, illustrating it with two case examples. The combination of grounded theory and practice facilitates understanding, imagining, and applying. The examples are drawn from different consultants, types of organizations, and focuses of interventions, all of which support a rich understanding of the potential of this approach. My one wish is that chapter 8, "Finding Innovative Ways to Create the Preferred Future" be expanded. I wanted to read more about an appreciative approach to the Destiny Phase, the most complex part of any change process. Watkins and Mohr are generous with their knowledge and experience, offering the experienced practitioner enough to begin working from an AI perspective. This book plus the more academic, Appreciative Inquiry: Rethinking Human Organization Toward a Positive Theory of Change, edited by David L. Cooperrider, Jr. Sorensen Peter F., Diana Whitney, and Therese F.Yaeger, are an excellent package for understanding Appreciative Inquiry: how it developed, its current practice, and directions for future development.
Rating:
Summary: A Concrete Guide to an Abstract Concept
Review: As the first book in a series describing lead-edge concepts and approaches to change for human resource practitioners, it has set the standard. This book provides a much needed guide to understanding the theory as well as the practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The authors are both seasoned practitioners who teach and actively use the approach in their consulting work. They present several frameworks and walk through each step of a typical engagement giving samples of meeting agendas, conversation scripts, and questionnaire designs. While there is no one standard approach to using AI, the authors have shared the core principles that enable the competent professional to modify and adapt the approach to fit his/her circumstance. They, also, include numerous case studies with contact names and details of those conducting the work to enable follow-up by those interested. The one weakness I found was the discussion of chaos theory and its link to AI. Having done some reading on the subject, I found the treatment of the topic a little brief and the connection with AI unclear. In addition, I really wanted the references grouped by topic, i.e. social constructionism so that I could pursue the various topics more in-depth. Yet, despite these two minor points, I feel they have made a major contribution in meeting the "challenge of making this thinking accessible to many without either trivializing it or overcomplicating it."
Rating:
Summary: A Concrete Guide to an Abstract Concept
Review: As the first book in a series describing lead-edge concepts and approaches to change for human resource practitioners, it has set the standard. This book provides a much needed guide to understanding the theory as well as the practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI). The authors are both seasoned practitioners who teach and actively use the approach in their consulting work. They present several frameworks and walk through each step of a typical engagement giving samples of meeting agendas, conversation scripts, and questionnaire designs. While there is no one standard approach to using AI, the authors have shared the core principles that enable the competent professional to modify and adapt the approach to fit his/her circumstance. They, also, include numerous case studies with contact names and details of those conducting the work to enable follow-up by those interested. The one weakness I found was the discussion of chaos theory and its link to AI. Having done some reading on the subject, I found the treatment of the topic a little brief and the connection with AI unclear. In addition, I really wanted the references grouped by topic, i.e. social constructionism so that I could pursue the various topics more in-depth. Yet, despite these two minor points, I feel they have made a major contribution in meeting the "challenge of making this thinking accessible to many without either trivializing it or overcomplicating it."
Rating: 
Summary: A Practictioner's Guide
Review: From my experience in the field, I believe this to be the first comprehensive guide to the application of appreciative inquiry. If you are interested in approaching change in your organization or community, leaving the old deficit-based models behind, then this book will be very useful to you. It contains case studies and practical instructions along with a history of the development of the approach and its underlying theories. It's only drawback is that I wish it was a little more descriptive in some of its application guidance, but this keeps it more focused.
Rating:
Summary: Combining theory and practice with great art
Review: With a growing literature that deals with Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a truly revolutionary way of moving our organization, in their book Magruder Watkins and Mohr have accomplished more to help organization development consultants and managers to understand the potential of AI than any other book currently in print. Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the Speed of Imagination covers the subject by alligning both the theoretical concepts to practical applications. It is very well written and presented with a great flow. To the novice to AI it gives all the key elements to get started, for the more seasoned consultant and manager in the field of AI, it gives new ideas and opens up possibilities for further exploration. It is not be the only book on Appreciative Inquiry but it is at the very top of my reading list on this dynamic subject. When I recommend readings to students of AI, Appreciative Inquiry: Change at the speed of imagination, is the only book they need to read. Congratulations to Jane Magruder Watkins and Bernard Mohr, they have produced the best book on AI that is available today.
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