[Ailist] Organization wide AI summit question

Marge Schiller margeschiller at yahoo.com
Fri Feb 27 06:30:28 MST 2009


Dear Susan,

The reverse process was used with a large Federal agency.

The client asked that I do all the interviewing so there were one on  
one interviews with the 20 leaders of the agency.  At the end of the  
interview I asked these very senior people if they would each do three  
interviews and submit notes to then be  examined for themes.  All but  
one of the 20 people (to the surprise of the HR department) decided to  
do interviews.  They looked forward to connecting with colleagues in a  
focused conversation.

  This process worked because the 20 who were interviewed  had a  
successful AI experience.  They knew what an appreciative approach to  
inquiry looks like and feels like.

  We  took some time to debrief post interview so it was clear just  
what had worked and why.

  AI is the "Dr. Seuss" of approaches (you can do it in a box, you can  
do it with a fox, you can do it here or there, you can do it  
anywhere! ) The approach is more significant than the method.

Marge

Marjorie Schiller , PhD

49 Rockwood Road
Hingham, MA 02043
781 749 4373

1057 Hillsboro Mile
Hillsboro Beach
Florida, 33062
954 788 3009


On Feb 20, 2009, at 9:35 AM, Susan_Duff at ssmhc.com wrote:

> I have a question; we are planning an AI summit later this year, and  
> had
> the idea of having people who would actually attend the summit  
> facilitate
> a "mini" AI session in their department, and bring data from  
> interviews to
> the summit, with the idea that everyone's voice is heard.  Has  
> anyone ever
> done something like this? I'm open to thoughts/ideas regarding  
> gargantuan
> data collection, opening of the summit itself--use the same set of
> questions for opening interviews?  If the summit participants bring
> collected data from their department, the benefit will be themes  
> specific
> to departments, but I'm afraid we'll lose the benefit of
> "cross-pollination" and sharing of ideas that sparks creativity.  
> Thoughts,
> anyone?
>
> Thank you!
> Susan Duff
> Organization Development Consultant
> SSM Health Care - St. Louis Network
>
>
>
> Confidentiality Notice: This email message, including any
> attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and
> may contain confidential and privileged information. Any
> unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited.
> If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by
> reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
> _______________________________________________
> The Appreciative Inquiry Discussion List is hosted by the David  
> Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. Jack Brittain  
> is the list administrator. For subscription information, go to:
> http://mailman.business.utah.edu:8080/mailman/listinfo/ailist



More information about the Ailist mailing list