Zone Positive

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a movement started in the mid 1980s by Professor David Cooperrider and colleagues from Case Western Reserve University.  Since then, the subject has been extensively researched and applied worldwide by thousands of organizations and communities.  Dr. Cooperrider’s theory  maintains that a change of perspective, such as focusing on and asking questions about the positive characteristics of an organization rather than focusing on negative aspects such as problems, needs, and deficits, can inspire an image of what the future could be, mobilize positive creative energy and initiate a process of discovery and change within an organization.  The goal of Appreciative Inquiry remains as it has been from the start of the movement:  AI seeks to help organizations build upon what they do best in a positive manner. In the words of Thomas H. White, head of GTE, “Appreciative Inquiry focuses us on the positive aspects of our lives and leverages them to correct the negative. It’s the opposite of ‘problem-solving.”