Strategic Focus:  Build an Executive Team – the Executive Team of this finance division of a major utility wanted to strengthen their strategic focus, decision-making ability and utilize team strengths

Corporation for Positive Change Services: Lead consulting partner designed a two-day advance built on the principles of Appreciative Inquiry that brought the twelve-person team together.

• Prior to the Advance, one-way interviews were completed with team members
• The Advance was divided into four-parts replicating the 4-D process of Appreciative Inquiry
• During the Advance, each ‘D’ was allocated roughly half a day with peer interviews beginning the two days
• The Executive Team was paired into improbable pairs based on information garnered during the one-way interviews
• The Interview Guide focused on questions of trust, decision-making and leadership
• At the end of the two-days, each team member had specific action steps and the team had agreement on new operating behaviors

Corporation for Positive Change Consultant: Ralph Weickel

Results: The Executive Team became more focused in their decision-making while exhibiting a greater strategic focus.  This was evident in their meeting structure and performance, which became more productive and produced more consensus decisions.

• Ripple Effects – Direct reports of the Executive Team collaborated more and sought out each other to address problems
• Success Factors – The opportunity to have conversations and have a better understanding of each other’s strengths

Strategic Focus: To enhance service excellence by engaging employees in sharing best practices, envisioning opportunities, and self-organizing to design and implement customer service innovations.

Project Brand: The Power of Two

Corporation for Positive Change Services: We designed and facilitated a two-year process of Appreciative Inquiry into Service Excellence. Key milestones included:

• Formation of a cross level, cross-functional core team.
• Forty people met to for two days to select affirmative topics and draft an appreciative interview guide.
• One hundred people were trained as interviewers.
• Within six months nine hundred employees were involved in interviews.
• Meetings were held in each of 18 airport locations to summarize interview results and prepare representatives to attend the Appreciative Inquiry Summit later in the year.
• Ninety people participated in the two-day AI Summit.
• Cross location, cross-functional innovation teams were formed and worked for three months making significant contributions to the organization in the areas of: happiness at work, continuous people development, harmony among work groups and exceptional arrival experiences.

Corporation for Positive Change Consultants: Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten Bloom

Results:

• Significantly improved employee satisfaction as reported on the annual employee survey.
• Dissemination of customer service best practices, especially those related to arrivals, resulted in improved service and customer satisfaction.

Ripple Effects: Appreciative Inquiry became contagious. It was used to redesign HR processes, as well as to enhance employee engagement and to identify best practices within business development.

Sisters of Mary, Korea

Population Services International

Strategic Focus: To develop a sustainable and vibrant future for the health and well being of the Lesotho community by designing an AI Summit that increases awareness of inter-departmental roles, responsibilities, and the communication of system-wide service delivery strategies.

Situation:  Client – “Can you imagine a country where 40% of men and women 35 years old are HIV Positive – well, you don’t have to imagine, it’s right here…We are not interested in another “campaign” – what we need is no less than a “prevention revolution”… it’s time for a paradigm shift in how we view ourselves and our mission…”

Population Services International (PSI) is a global healthcare not-for-profit organization, but in Lesotho, they are in the business of HIV prevention; full-stop. The overall HIV prevalence rate in Lesotho is about 24% (the 2nd highest in the world). But here are the really frightening figures… according to a study released in 2009, HIV prevalence rises from 8% among women 15-19 years to 25% among women 20-24 years – a 300% increase. HIV prevalence then increases to nearly 40% among 25-29 year old women – and men are right behind them reaching a 40% prevalence rate by age 34.

Project Brand: A Sustainable and Vibrant Future for the people of Lesotho, South Africa

Corporation for Positive Change Services:

• (Pre-Summit)Facilitation of project team building
• Design and implementation of AI Summit in Southern Africa for all 125 members of PSI/Lesotho community
• Clarify core values and accountability between departments
• Revitalize staff, revision future, and make recommendations for change
• Follow-up for PSI teams, establish ongoing initiatives to keep the dreams alive and reinforce new communication patterns
• Follow up for management and leadership training

Corporation for Positive Change Consultants: Claire Fialkov and David Haddad

Results: Summit experience was translated into actionable and relationally responsible goals organized around PSI/Lesotho core values and collective dream of a 50% reduction rate in new HIV infections by 2015.

Testimonial:  YOU ROCK! Claire and David, amazing, beyond expectations, very very impressive… Just back to Maseru but wanted to immediately send a big THANK YOU for really going above and beyond the call of duty, putting in so much more time than was budgeted, and finally for rewriting the entire day 2 to make sure we maximized our staff inputs and outputs – WELL DONE!

Dennis Walto, Country Representative
PSI Lesotho

Hunter Douglas Window Fashions Division

Strategic Focus:  Culture transformation, strategic planning and business process improvement.

Project Brands:  Focus 2000 and Focus on Excellence

Corporation for Positive Change Services:  Over a period of five years, we designed and facilitated a multi-phased initiative to address the organization’s evolving needs.  The initial culture transformation work took place over a period of 18 months. It involved one-on-one Appreciative Interviews with approximately 1000 employees, along with key customers and suppliers, followed by two 100-person Appreciative Inquiry summits.  Subsequent activities included leadership training, annual strategic planning summits, and development of an AI-based quality improvement model.   Below is a summary of key milestones.

Getting Started:

• A five-person Project Leadership / Advisory Team was formed and trained.
• A 12-person cross level, cross-functional Core Team came together.  This team guided the first two years of the work.
• Each of the company’s 1000 employees participated in a 90-minute “Town Meeting”, in which they were introduced to the initiative, and invited to volunteer in a variety of ways.
• 90 people met for two days to select affirmative topics and draft and appreciative interview guide.
• 100 people were trained as interviewers.

Year 1:

• Within six months, 500 employees, as well as key customers and suppliers, had been interviewed.
• The first Appreciative Inquiry Summit engaged 100 people (employees, customers and suppliers) for 3½ days.
• During this summit, a series of Design Statements were conceived, addressing issues of leadership, vision, employee development and quality.  These set the course for the planning and operational improvement activities that were to follow.
• In addition, this summit launched 14 cross-functional Innovation Teams, which later involved the broader workforce (including those not involved in the summit).  These teams worked for between three months and two years making significant contributions to the organization in the areas of: leadership and employee training, education and development; strategic planning; and employee engagement.
• At the end of Year One, an additional 500 employees had been interviewed, thus fulfilling the original intention of actively engagement the division’s entire 1000-person workforce.

Year 2:

• A second 125-person Appreciative Inquiry Summit took place – this one focused on strategic planning.  During this meeting, the company forged its first division-level strategic plan, including a vision statement, strategies and objectives.
• 75 of the company’s executives and senior level managers participated in a 3-day Appreciative Inquiry training.

Years 3 through 5:

• Annual Appreciative Inquiry Summits were held, with alternating focus on division- and business unit-level planning.
• Focus on Excellence – a business process improvement program, merging Total Quality / Lean and Appreciative Inquiry principles and practices – was conceived and launched.
• Dozens of process improvement teams participated in a two-day training, and launched process improvement and cost savings teams across the organization.

Corporation for Positive Change Consultants: Amanda Trosten Bloom and Diana Whitney

Results:  Following are excerpts from The Power of Appreciative Inquiry, 2nd edition (Whitney and Trosten-Bloom, 2010).  Where appropriate, page numbers for extended quotes are indicated.

Year 1 (pp. 238-239):

• Production and productivity had both improved, particularly in the departments or teams that had most fully embraced the AI philosophy and practice.
• Operations improvement suggestions were up more than 100 percent throughout the division. This in turn had a big impact on both quality and internal customer service.
• Turnover was the lowest it had been for six years, despite almost nonexistent unemployment in the local job market.
• In the process of conducting a routine cross- business unit interview, one of the division’s printer operators had discovered the existence of a dual-fold printing machine that doubled the sister business unit’s printer capacities. He imported the idea to his business unit and prototyped a similar machine that ended up saving that business unit $220,000 in new equipment.

Year 2 (pp. 239-240):

• “Relationships between this and other divisions of the company really grew over the past couple of years—largely as a result of changes that were initiated as part of the Focus 2000 effort. Cross-divisional collaboration that was initiated at this location during Focus 2000 has resulted in an integrated, streamlined customer communication process. Under the division’s leadership, the larger organization is starting to build relationships between quality and our customer service functions throughout North America, again using the tools that were learned through the division’s work with AI.” (Rick Pellett, President, p. 239)
• “Perhaps the most telling change in our division is demonstrated by people’s increased involvement in personal and professional development activities—both on and off the job. This includes such things as formal coursework, training programs, mentoring and career development activities, and peer support groups. For example, our Dale Carnegie enrollment soared within six months of our having started the intervention. First one and then several other “Toastmasters” chapters formed and “graduated.” Both programs were largely filled with employees from the hourly and nonprofessional ranks, particularly from the production areas of the company.” (Mike Burns, former Vice President of Human Resources, pp. 239-240)
• When Hunter Douglas North America undertook the challenges of ISO 9001 registration and conversion to SAP, Appreciative Inquiry made life easier. According to Pellett, “These changes—which transformed the way we do business by raising the bar on standards for supplying quality products and services—were infinitely more doable because of Appreciative Inquiry.” (Pellett, p. 240)

Years 3 through 5 (pp. 240-242)

• In the first year of their existence, Focus on Excellence teams (formerly Innovation Teams) saved the division over three and a half million dollars.
• TechStyle Acoustical Ceilings – a new interior design business – is launched, in response to the company’s expanded strategic vision.  This business is eventually spun off to become a separate Hunter Douglas division.
• From 1998 to 2003: sales increase 30.1 percent; profitability increases 37.1 percent; employee turnover is reduced by 52.2 percent; returned goods are reduced by 55 percent; an on-time delivery of fabric and shades reaches 97 and 95 percent, respectively.
• “Appreciative Inquiry influenced how Hunter Douglas grew by showing how the answers we get are determined by the questions we ask. When we asked, ‘What are we doing well that we can improve?’ we set a vision for our future as a ‘world-class’ organization, and set the tone for our continued success. Many of today’s most cherished programs—the scholarship and contributions committees, Hunter Douglas University, ISO, and recycling, to name a few—had their roots in Focus 2000 and Appreciative Inquiry. When organizational momentum moves and continues in a positive direction, great things can happen.” (Jim Anthony, Senior Development Engineer, p. 242)

Boulder County Aging Services

Strategic Focus:   Develop a widely supported 10-year plan for countywide aging services, along with an ongoing process of engagement that will reinforce the plan and assure its successful implementation.

Project Brand:  Greeting our Future: A New Approach to Aging

Corporation for Positive Change Services:  We designed and facilitated an 18-month inquiry to create communities in which we all age well.  Key milestones included:

• Formed and developed a Strategic Vision Leadership Team, whose participants included Boulder, CO county aging services and city senior services staff.
• Fifty-five people, representing a broad range of stakeholder groups (county and city staff, service professionals, elders, caregivers, elected officials, etc.) met for two days to select affirmative topics, draft an appreciative interview guide, and launch a six-month period of outreach and inquiry.
• Engaged broad, diverse local and regional participants through one-on-one interviews and a series of three-hour, locally hosted group inquiry sessions.
• 175 people participated in a two-day Appreciative Inquiry Summit.  This gathering forged new partnerships and stimulated ongoing engagement, while articulating strengths and developing a strategic vision.  Principles for Aging Well were drafted, then further refined by the Strategic Vision Leadership Team.
• Concrete strategies and priorities were articulated through a series of four-hour, locally hosted community meetings.

Corporation for Positive Change Consultant: Amanda Trosten Bloom

Results:

• Widespread community support for the plan, which was adopted by the Boulder County Aging Services Board and Commissioners in July 2006.
• Inclusive structures were created that continue to foster high levels of engagement and integrated action.
• The initiative received local, regional, and national awards:
  • Columbine Award (Colorado Parks and Recreation Association, 2008).
  • Local Government Innovation Award for Planning with Vision (Denver Regional Council of Governments, 2007).
  • Aging Innovations and Achievement Award (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, 2007).

Testimonials:  “The plan has transformed every aspect of our work, from funding to grant-making to staffing and more. Our inclusive process brought the plan to life— made it the real and powerful force for change that we’d hoped it would be.”

Sherry Leach, Aging Services Division Manager
Adapted from The Power of Appreciative Inquiry
Whitney and Trosten-Bloom, p. 259

City Of Longmont, CO

Strategic Focus:   Develop community-supported strategic policies, to make sure that Longmont can continue to be a great place to live both now and into the future as it approaches build-out within its planning boundaries.

Project Brand:  Focus on Longmont

 Corporation for Positive Change Services:  We designed and facilitated an 18-month process that would enable city residents, Council and staff to “Share Your Vision, Create Our Legacy.” Key milestones included:

• Thirty-four (34) people, representing a broad range of stakeholder groups (community leaders, citizens of all ages and cultural backgrounds, elected officials, city staff, etc.) met for two days to select affirmative topics, draft an appreciative interview guide, and launch a four-month period of outreach and inquiry.
• Constructively engaged broad, diverse local and regional participants through one-on-one interviews and a series of 15 three-hour, locally hosted group inquiry sessions.
• 150 people participated in an Appreciative Inquiry Summit.  This multilingual gathering forged new partnerships and stimulated ongoing engagement, while articulating strengths and developing a strategic vision.

Corporation for Positive Change Consultants: Barbara Lewis and Amanda Trosten Bloom

Results:

• Created a common language, shared vision and collective pride among diverse stakeholder groups with a wide-range of perspectives on community issues
• Built energy and momentum for a series of choice-making sessions, which ultimately resulted in articulation of a broadly supported strategic plan, including five strategic policy directions and measures that continue to guide City Council in setting direction for the city, more than five years later.
• The network of engaged citizens continued to grow
• Focus on Longmont engagement processes were refined and continuously re-applied to ongoing community challenges, including:
  • Education
  • Economic vitality
  • Immigrant integration
  • Public safety taxes
  • Environmental planning
  • Strategic planning efforts within numerous city departments
• The city has continued to build the capacity of its staff to plan and facilitate a wide range of community involvement efforts
• The initiative received the International Association for Public Participation’s Core Values Project of the Year Award in 2006. Key accomplishments noted in this award were:
  • Commitment to improved community engagement
  • Boldness in innovation
  • Organizational transformation
  • Whole system involvement
  • Lasting effect

 Testimonial: “Focus on Longmont exceeded all of our expectations. It has become the driving force for the future of Longmont. We couldn’t have imagined the way the initiative has galvanized energy around Longmont’s sustainable future.”

Karen Roney, Director of Community Services
City of Longmont, CO