Encyclopedia of Positive Questions Volume I : Using Appreciative Inquiry to Bring Out the Best in Your Organization [Paperback]

Diana Whitney (Author), et al David Cooperrider (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2001

Human systems and organizations move in the direction of what they study--is the premise and focus of this practical handbook. The book is composed of generic interview questions central to the "Discovery" phase of the Appreciative Inquiry process. Appreciative interview questions such as those discussed in this book seek to discover who and what the organization is, at its best.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... this handbook on the power of positive questions has implications for every aspect of our business." -- A user of a previous version

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Lakeshore Communications; 1st edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893435334
• ISBN-13: 978-1893435339
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,112,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diana Whitney, Ph.D. is President of Corporation for Positive Change, a consulting firm dedicated to the creation of collaborative advantage and life affirming organizations. She is an internationally recognized consultant, keynote speaker, and thought leader on Appreciative Inquiry, positive change, Appreciative Leadership and spirituality at work. Diana is a fellow of the World Business Academy, a Distinguished Consulting Faculty with Saybrook University, and a founder of the Taos Institute.
She is a coauthor or coeditor of fifteen books and dozens of articles, and chapters including The Power of Appreciative Inquiry (with Amanda Trosten-Bloom), The Appreciative Inquiry Handbook (with David Cooperrider and Jackie Stavros), The Appreciative Inquiry Summit and her newest Appreciative Leadership: Focus on What Works to Drive Winning Performance and Build a Thriving Organization. Diana is the 2004 recipient of the OD Network's Larry Porter Award for contribution to the field of OD through writing.
Diana's work is large scale and high engagement, focusing on culture change, strategic planning, merger integration, union-management partners and service excellence. Included among her clients are British Airways, CapGemini, Verizon, Glaxo Smithkline, PECO, NY Power Authority, Canadian School of Public Service, Merck, the Sisters of Good Shepherd and the University of Virginia Health System. Diana is a founding consultant and ongoing advisor to the United Religions Initiative, a global interfaith organization that now exists in over 450 locations worldwide.

Diana lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and can be reached at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not So Good, October 4, 2003

By 

Robert C. Adams (Milton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Positive Questions Volume I : Using Appreciative Inquiry to Bring Out the Best in Your Organization (Paperback)

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a means of planning change by focusing on the positive rather than the negative in organizations (or in an individual's life for that matter). The Discovery phase (Step 1 in the process) relies in large measure on obtaining input from stakeholders and that in turn requires having the right questions to encourage people to open up positively about past experience, the present situation, and future hopes and dreams.

This "encyclopedia" lists sample questions, usually three per topic, on a variety of issues that are arranged alphabetically (like an encyclopedia). I have two problems. One is that the topics might have better been grouped, e.g., those dealing with Mission and Vision, those dealing with Marketing (customers, products, quality), and so on. The other problem I have is that the questions after a while all sound somewhat similar. This would have been a more useful book, I think, if more space had been devoted to how to frame and ask questions. That particular chapter is rather brief but helpful.

Unfortunately the last 70 pages (of a 150-page book) could have been almost entirely eliminated. A chapter gives a template for a sample interview. It then makes it concrete by simply adding the phrase "the Human Resources Department at XYZ company" in the "Company Name" space of the template. There then follow four copies of the same blank template for the reader's use. Why four copies I don't know, unless the reader doesn't have a computer or copy machine. Is one supposed to cut out each copy for use? One simple chapter explaining the template would have been fine. The "sample interview" was a total waste, as were the four copies of the same template presented earlier.

While, as a planning consultant I think AI is a good tool for information gathering and assessment, I don't think I would find myself reaching for this book on a regular or even seldom basis.

I think the book to be written has to do with gathering positive information from people but also dealing with negative information. People will share positive experiences and hopes and are too infrequently asked for them, but they will also want to "vent" with negative information and an AI researcher needs to know how to react to and absorb and use that as well. The danger is that AI becomes a reaction to negativity (we all love to complain) and so simply tips the scales in the other direction rather than achieving balance in gaining people's contributions for change.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When there is no one else - use this book !, February 24, 2004

By 

Bernard J Mohr (Portland, Maine United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Positive Questions Volume I : Using Appreciative Inquiry to Bring Out the Best in Your Organization (Paperback)

Approach this book as a point of departure for writing your own unique questions and you will be delighted. I was !

Whenever possible, I always move towards engaging members of the community or team or organization with which I'm working in the co-writing of the appreciative protocol. Such a co-constructionist approach invariably leads to more vibrant language, terms and phrases that are part of the culture yet expand it - and generally a better set of questions than anything I produce on my own. (and of course such a process also builds internal capability!)

But sometimes my best efforts to enage the client system come to no avail and so I find myself sitting in my hotel room in front of my laptop, facing a blank page. It is at those moments that this book really shines for me. The questions listed here serve as a stimulant, a point of departure and as a surrogate for a co-creator(s).

If you understand Appreciative Inquiry, and if you have learned the skills of question development, then this book is a gem for those times when no one else is around. !

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedia of Positive Questions, January 19, 2010

By 

Cove Reader "Cove Reader" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Positive Questions Volume I : Using Appreciative Inquiry to Bring Out the Best in Your Organization (Paperback)

Disappointing. The word "encyclopedia" seems to imply a large body of information clearly describing the subject. This book misses the mark in every possible way. Lots of filler repetition, lots of empty space on the last 70 pages.