Appreciative Inquiry is Not Reasonable

In Chapter 3 of The Power of Momentsby Chip and Dan Heath, they refer to Forrester’s research on customer satisfaction. Forrester has built models on the financial value of customers and has shown that very satisfied customers spend more money with you than less satisfied customers. On a scale of 1-10, the very satisfied customers were identified as a 7. They go on to say that if you focus on the customers with a satisfaction of 4-6 and work to improve their experience, it is better for your business than fixing the issues of customers with a satisfaction score of 1-3. In other words, you should not focus all of your energy and budget on your most unhappy customers, but rather on your neutral customers. 

This research validates how important it is for organizations to focus on using the Appreciative Inquiry framework in their planning and business processes. Appreciative Inquiry is inclusive and will generate energy and help create the mechanisms necessary in your business to move neutral customers to very satisfied customers. This will happen through customer ideas, employee ideas and the shared energy in your organization to reach a common goal that everyone works on together. If you have not experienced the Appreciative Inquiry process, it can be difficult to understand how valuable it is.

Chip and Dan Heath refer a little to that in The Power of Moments when they talk about reasonableness. They state that often times we don’t create memorable moments because it isn’t reasonable. That’s also what organizations say when we talk to them about having an Appreciative Inquiry summit and including their staff. They say it isn’t reasonable to shut down their company for an entire day, or to pull half of their organization out of production to create an inclusive plan. They say it isn’t reasonable to invite their customers into their planning processes, or to even let competitors know what they are planning. It may not sound reasonable, but it is remarkable, and it produces results.

The final fact I’ll leave you with on this topic was also cited in The Power of Momentsby Chip and Dan Heath. “There is nine times more to gain by elevating positive customers than by eliminating negative ones.” Appreciative Inquiry will allow you to elevate positive customers, create a strategy to elevate neutral ones, accomplish whole system change, and have a remarkable experience in the process. It might not be reasonable, but it is profitable.

What is Energy Management?

Energy management is a system for thriving among the demands of modern living. Today’s world is 24/7- work never stops and the boundaries between work and home may be blurred. Between being constantly connected and working long hours, we may find it difficult to find the time to take care for our health, spend quality time with loved ones and do the things we enjoy! Humans are not machines, though sometimes our work environments assume we operate like them. Humans are designed to work in a cyclical, rhythmic way that requires periods of rest to renew energy in between times of exertion.

 Managing energy is an alternative to managing time. Maybe you have tried systems of time management before, but nothing really changes in your ability to get things done. Maybe you even feel stretched thinner than ever. Managing time does not take into account that in order to show up and be fully engaged in what you do, it is important to manage your own energy.

Consider this scenario: You have decided to commit to an exercise routine and schedule a run outdoors after work. You have good intentions, but every day you come home from work too late and too tired to actually lace up your sneakers and hit the pavement. You were managing your time, but weren’t managing your energy in a way where you could actually follow through. Managing energy would look more like scheduling your workout for a time when you know it makes sense for your energy levels. This might mean running in the morning, which could even increase the energy levels you feel during the work day!

 Energy Management takes into account that humans are complex systems of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual energy. When we can care for, build awareness around and tap into these energy sources, we equip ourselves with the tools for a highly-engaged life. When we are highly engaged, we are “physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritual aligned” (Loehr & Shultz). This new paradigm of high engagement requires a fundamental shift in how we view our lives! Effective energy management allows us to allocate our resources to the tasks that are most important and create healthy habits that result in abundant energy.

 That’s why I developed the Energy Management course. How might learning to manage your energy create a positive shift in your own life?

What I Learned from Stephen Covey

About fifteen years ago, I had the great opportunity to travel to Sanford, Florida and get certified in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I was sent to get certified to come back and train the workshop in my company. It was an awe-inspiring, growth opportunity for me in so many ways!! If you want people to point out any mistake you ever make – facilitate something like the 7 Habits workshop. It raised the bar so high on the expectation of how I would react in any given situation that I started working at home about 50% of the time to sharpen my saw. It sounds funny to talk about it now, but the employees at the law firm I worked at would analyze my reaction to things in every situation after they attended this workshop. The work is powerful and I am still striving to do my best in the habits today. Stretch goals!

Some things I still find to be amazing about that experience is that a) the habits are still relevant in my life and b) it wasn’t anything new. Stephen Covey didn’t invent the 7 Habits, he merely studied human behaviors and principles. He crated the package, but all the information he covered was available long before he wrote the 7 Habits.

So, what did I learn from the experience? I learned that your vision and values create the framework, roadmap and compass for you to get where you are going. I learned that if you don’t take care of yourself and consider your needs, you won’t be able to help others, and I learned that the most important thing that I could do in my career was listen. I’ve taken this learning with me everywhere I’ve gone and I’m still working on getting better at it today.

I found that the real power from the workshop was not the information that was covered, but the questions that were asked. The reason the workshop was so powerful was because it asked you – What do you want to achieve in your life? What is the most important thing for you? What do you want to be remembered for? How do you spend your time? It was the power of imaging yourself in that light that handed the reins over from the facilitator to the participants. It wasn’t about the workshop, it was about you.

The Website

I’m not sure if you’ve ever gone through the process of creating a website or not, but it is a great opportunity to define what it is that you are, as well as what you are not. It has given me the opportunity to really look at how to present Positive Impact Force to the outside world. I think I would have had an easier time going through Monet’s paintings and finding one that captured the essence of this company. Finding words to explain something that is bigger than you have proved quite difficult.

I did create some art to help me in the process, but still, at the end of three long weeks, I summarized the company with a set of inquiries instead of statements. I realized that we’re not really a company that is offering specific services, we are a company that is offering inquiry. Our force is group of experts on related cultural topics, and our goal is to implement the best of what each of our individual clients can be. We are the reflection of our clients. Our inquiry process allows our clients to determine what their vision is and our force of talented individuals come together to help create that vision as a reality. Since I do not know the vision of the client, it is hard to define our services as a specific solution. We are more like walking on the path with you to create a positive impact with your vision.

Since my background is in learning and development, and I know we can offer many solutions for specific learning needs, it has been an interesting journey to transform from problem solver to inquirer. We study works like Conscious Capitalism and Everybody Matters and build those principles into the fabric of our work with clients who know that their businesses do and should have a positive impact on the communities that they serve.

I had a colleague ask – “How are you going to make them do it?” I thought long and hard about that question and I realized we’re not going to make them do it. Nobody is going to make them do it. Positive Impact Force wants to work with clients who want to do this work. His follow-up question was, “What type of client is the right client for you?” That response was easy, “We are looking for clients with great vision that believe that their people are important and want to invest in a strategy for sustainable growth over time.” He mumbled something like, “Good Luck”, and smiled with his big grin. I don’t think it will take luck, just a few compassionate CEOs with great vision.