Appreciative Inquiry: List of Principles & Assumptions

[chris]

When I mention Appreciative Inquiry to someone I often get the response, ‘What’s that?’ So for those new to AI here’s a list of principles and assumptions to whet your appetite. I’ve also provided a link to our previous posts on some of the 8 Principles.

8 Principles

• Descriptive or Contructionist Principle

• Simultaneous Principle

• Poetic Principle

• Anticipatory Principle

• Positive Principle

• Wholeness Principle

• Enactment Principle

• Free Choice Principle

8 Assumptions

• In every society, organization, or group, something works

• What we focus on becomes our reality

• The language we use creates our reality

• Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities

• The act of asking questions of an organization or group influences the group in some way

• People have more confidence and comfort to journey to the future when they carry forward parts of the past

• If we carry parts of the past forward, they should be what is best about the past

• It is important to value differences
  
  

For a brief overview of AI go to Appreciative Inquiry.

[Kunchok Tsundue]

Does AI not use problem solving techniques after all in designing and implementation?   

[Olivia Munoru]

• The language we use creates our reality

• Reality is created in the moment, and there are multiple realities

I love these two assumptions. They allow us the freedom to find or speak of only the reality that we desire. 

Thank you for sharing this. I have always wanted to better understand AI because I know that intrinsically, it is aligned with my way of working, and the way of working we espouse in the Constellation community. 

[chris]

Hi Pem

I'm not sure what you mean by 'building project'. If you go to our link on Appreciative Inquiry in the post you'll get a better overview. I'm aware of the SWOT analysis but AI is based on a strength based approach and not on weakeness as is part of the SWOT analysis. AI focuses on what works well and builds from there - a very simplistic explanation here but with further reading I'm sure you'll become aware of the potential AI. I'm biased, we use AI in our work with various government and business organisations, and also aspects of AI with school children.