Appreciative Inquiry Handbook: The First in a Series of AI Workbooks for Leaders of Change

One of today’s most popular change methods, Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has been used to undertake transformational initiatives in dozens of organizations, ranging from McDonald’s to the U.S. Navy to Save the Children. The assumption of AI is simple: Every organization has something that works right—things that give it life when it is vital, effective, and successful. AI begins by identifying this positive core and connecting organizational visions, plans, and structures to it in ways that heighten energy and inspire action for change.

The Appreciative Inquiry Handbook contains everything you need to launch any kind of AI initiative. The authors provide background information on what AI is and how it works, and offer sample project plans, designs, agendas, course outlines, interview guidelines, participant worksheets, a list of resources, and more. From abstract principles underlying AI to actual tools used in different settings, from detailed descriptions of AI interventions to practical tips to classic AI articles, this workbook presents all of the introductory concepts, examples, and aids necessary to engage yourself and others in Appreciative Inquiry.

David L. Cooperrider is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Organizational Behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. He is the author or coauthor of nine books. His 1987 article Appreciative Inquiry Into Organizational Life (with Suresh Srivastva) introduced the concept of Appreciative Inquiry.
Jacqueline M. Stavros, EDM is associate professor at the Graduate College of Management at Lawrence Technological University, a principal in the Corporation for Positive Change, and Associate of the Positive Change Corps and Taos Institute.
Diana K. Whitney, Ph.D. is president of Corporation for Positive Change and cofounder of the Taos Institute and a Distinguished Consulting Faculty at Saybrook Graduate School. She is the author of five books on AI, including The Power of Appreciative Inquiry.