[Ailist] Customer care by an IT department

[Bruce Halliday]

Hello, in situations like Nick and Mary describe, we have been successful
when we remember that AI is a process rather than an event. We find or
co-create a question that is up to the job and begin the dialogue. I have
often presented a question and we have gone with it, to get the appreciative
process rolling. It gets easier once we in the group have common experiences
looking at our world through the appreciative lens and some shared meaning
about what it is that works for us, including shared meaning around AI and
how it works for us. After this step there many topics and questions that
present themselves and lots of positive energy that is future focused and a
desire to re-discover and re-design....

All the best, Bruce
-- 
Bruce Halliday
B. Halliday Consulting Inc.

the human side of business
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
bruceh@cadvision.com

"connecting as human beings first to co-create preferred futures"


> From: "Allen or Mary Jensen" <jensens@chicagonet.net>
> Reply-To: "Allen or Mary Jensen" <jensens@chicagonet.net>
> Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 22:02:58 -0500
> To: "Nick Heap" <nickheap@tesco.net>, "Appreciative Enquiry (E-mail)"
> <ailist@business.utah.edu>
> Subject: Re: [Ailist] Customer care by an IT department
> 
> Nick,
> 
> Sorry this reply is so late.  Regarding helping out with questions vs.. the
> struggle of it...  This calls to mind some adult learning theory about the
> value of doing it themselves, but not to the point of stiffling learning by
> passing the frustration point.
> 
> I remember putting a question to Diana Whitney "Is being positive is easy
> for you?  It is dreadfully difficult for me!  Where do I start?" (the
> question is paraphrased with much more civility than I actually asked it.)
> 
> I will always remember what she told me.  She said that when she started
> work with David, she had experiences from her work, not Ai work.  She just
> started in and began to build new experiences one by one until now she has a
> whole library full.  I will always be grateful to Diana for her kindness
> toward me during that workshop.
> 
> But the message is, if perhaps the group you are working with needs practice
> formulating appreciative statements, conversations, etc.  there is no time
> like the present to start to accumulate new experiences.
> 
> I can tell you it may be painful.  They may gasp, but it won't kill them.
> I'm living proof.
> 
> Best regards
> 
> Mary J
> Chicago
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Nick Heap <nickheap@tesco.net>
> To: Appreciative Enquiry (E-mail) <ailist@business.utah.edu>
> Date: Thursday, July 27, 2000 9:54 AM
> Subject: [Ailist] Customer care by an IT department
> 
> 
>> Dear All,
>> 
>> I am working with an IT department in an engineering consultancy. I did
>> some fairly conventional "diagnostic" interviews. At the feedback meeting
>> the group expressed a wish to improve the service they offer their
>> customers and to improve their systems for documentation.  I am working
>> with two sub-groups on these two issues at their request. This has not been
>> a full Appreciative Enquiry", I went on Anne Radford and Tricia Lustig's
>> introduction to AI only two weeks ago! So this work is a bit of OD.
>> 
>> However, I think they could use some appreciative questions to find out
>> what is good about the service they offer to their customer's and how to
>> make it better. The group is trying to develop some questions themselves
>> but finding it hard going. Do you have, or know of, any effective questions
>> I could offer them in this context? Or would it be best to encourage their
>> struggle to find good enough questions that they will own?
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> Nick Heap
>> 
>> 01707 886553 and mailto:nickheap@tesco.net
>> 
>> 
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