I am most often engaged on a program or project when things are not going well. I am frequently asked the question, “Can you help us find out what we are doing wrong and help us make it right?”  I am rarely asked, “Can you tell us what we are doing right and help us do even better?”  Yet focusing on what is going right yields the most positive result. 

The creativity and energy that arises from positive inquiry into what we do well and how we do more of it is simply unmatched by any traditional problem solving approach. If we wanted to map a journey to a place we have not been in a long time, would we look at all the ways that took us down the wrong road or would we look at the road that that helped make our journey a delight?

My approach is to focus energy on the positive, look for the best that is, dream about what could be, design what might be, and deliver what will be.  Typical outcomes from this approach include:

• Employees deliver results they care about and co-create
• Possibilities never thought possible become real
• Sustainability is built into the ongoing effort of performance improvement