Ed Morrison · The Next NEO: Appreciative Inquiry

July 11th, 2008

Years ago, a group of us (we called ourselves the Universities Collaborative) tried to get the foundations to consider using Appreciative Inquiry as the basis for developing strategy in Northeast Ohio. Instead, they went with an outside consultant and delivered Voices and Choices.

The thought came to me as I saw David Cooperrider’s face on the cover of a national magazine. David invented AI at Case Western Reserve.

Sometimes, the Biggest Ideas Arise when people gather together to ponder many small questions. That’s the premise behind “appreciative inquiry,” a meeting methodology that, through a focus on peer-to-peer interaction, results in tangible outcomes. AI’s creator, David Cooperrider, has had great success using the format in the corporate world, and he believes it may be the next big thing for association meetings. Meetings that think big, that is.

AI is, after all, designed to discover an organization’s strength through questioning, then come up with real-world solutions that add both to an organization’s bottom line and to society at large. Cooperrider serves as faculty director at the Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit, Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland.

Think Big

At Purdue and I-Open, we’ve used AI as the basis for developing Strategic Doing, a discipline to guide strategy in open networks (like a regional economy).

(You can see examples of how we are using Strategic Doing next week here and here.)

Voices and Choices is now history and just about forgotten. The web site is down. Yet, the need to engage a large number of citizens in Northeast Ohio in a stable process to design a future for the region has never been greater.

The Northeast Ohio Citizens League is forming. We have more people trained in AI concepts than anywhere in the country.

It’s a great time for the foundations to rethink their approach to citizen engagement.

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Category: Economic Development
7 Comments »

7 Responses to “The Next NEO: Appreciative Inquiry”

  1. John Ettorre Says:
    July 11th, 2008 at 9:25 pm

    The N.E.O. Citizens League is being backed by essentially the same folks that brought us Voices and Choices (which famously awarded a giant contract which I believe was well into seven figures, to a D.C. firm to lead the process). So could this be a case of old wine poured into a new bottle? I don’t know the answer, but perhaps like many others, I’ll be watching with interest.

  2. Mike Gesing Says:
    July 11th, 2008 at 9:30 pm

    Thanks for the mention of the Northeast Ohio Citizens League, Ed! You touch on some great points, especially about the need to engage citizens in an on-going process – it has to be a normal part of decision making & policy formation.

    Definitely would like to sit down with David and see how we can all plan a solid and continuous civic engagement process that result in real actions! Voices & Choices has taken a lot of hits but just looking at the data, it did uncover quite a lot to build on. We also need to do a new-version University Collaborative – would like to hear your thoughts.

    As far as the Northeast Ohio Citizens League: we’re holding formative meetings throughout the region. Goals are basically two fold: reintroduce the citizen into the policy decision-making process & participate in developing a new regional governance structure in NEOhio. More soon. Email.Email

  3. Mike Gesing Says:
    July 12th, 2008 at 12:24 am

    Au contraire mon John, neither Georgia Reasch or I were ever involved with either Voices & Choices or The Fund for Our Economic Future. We consider them spectators and fans. And think of us more as a high-energy drink in real and virtual containers. Hey, welcome your participation for the next meeting – we need more passionate citizens like you. Consider yourself on the list!

  4. Ed Morrison Says:
    July 12th, 2008 at 12:57 am

    John:

    The figure for Voices and Choices was north of $3 million, I’m told. So, do the math with me: 20,000 people at $3 million; that’s $150 per participant. That’s not a replicable model.

    In contrast, a “Strategic Doing” or an AI process is, by definition, home-grown. The costs vary but it’s under $5.00 per participant over the long term. (At REI, we were running our Tuesdays at REI for under $1.00 per per participant; we were over $1.00 if we threw in a fruit plate.)

    Our Universities Collaborative proposal was designed to provide support for an on-going, iterative process anchored at our region’s colleges and universities.

    The region could still benefit from that approach. AI (or its cousin, Strategic Doing) provides the discipline and framework for focus, accountability and metrics.

    Other regions are moving ahead.

    We are working now with a range of regions in a variety of states. I just talked to workforce development officials in Idaho today, and they want to do a statewide process to integrate education, economic development and workforce development (starting in October).

    Another call came in from SW Wisconsin today. They will kick off in September. And later, a call from NW Indiana. They have already started.

    In September, I’m out in California introducing these models to the state’s workforce professionals. Pretty much the same story everywhere I go. People are getting the picture.

    They want to guide a strategic process in open networks. That’s what Strategic Doing (based on AI principles) does. Strategic planning models — designed for hierarchical, command and control organizations operating in relatively stable environments — don’t work.

    In contrast, deliberative dialogue approaches (Voices and Choices) are too unstructured to yield actionable initiatives. They do not focus explicitly on the five core networks underlying regional prosperity.

    AI and Strategic Doing (enabled by Web 2.0 technologies) strike the balance between open collaboration and leadership direction.

    I think that’s what Mike has in mind.

  5. Jack Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    What’s important, from the model George and I have proposed in the new book, is that people come together in new conversations. In most communities, AI is efficacious in this respect because it moves people from a focus from needs to assets. The conversations about needs, gaps, and problems are the old conversations that only have the power to maintain the status quo. The conversations about how we better engage the assets we have is a new conversation that has the power to create new futures. Thanks Ed.

  6. Ed Morrison Says:
    July 13th, 2008 at 5:19 pm

    Jack:

    Guiding purposeful conversations — whether in a community or an innovating network of companies — is the essence of what strategy has become. Your work with George to help us understand the nature (and consequences) of our conversations is path-breaking and useful for me.

    We need new approaches, new practices, new disciplines.

    As the philosopher Yogi Berra reminds us, “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

  7. John Ettorre Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

    Mike, by splitting hairs so finely you’re a very short step away from being dishonest about this, I think (perhaps without meaning to be, he says, taking the most charitable view). Considering the fact that the first time I ever heard about this was when you told me a friend from the FFEF was encouraging you to do this, and that Jay Miller (one of the region’s most savvy reporters on this beat) also writes this week (link below) that “the Fund for Our Economic Future informally has been helping the organization get off the ground,” I think your response is less than candid. Not a promising way to embark on what could otherwise be an important initiative.

    http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080714/FREE/72578851/1008