Lesson 6:AI: Action Plan

by Joanna Ng

Mission

• A synthesis of what members and customers see as the business of the organization
• Built on your core values

Elements of an effective mission

• It includes a clear statement about:
• What(customer’s need, products, services)
• Who(customers, -both internal and external)
• How(methods)
• Why(overriding purpose in action, commitments, belief system)

To do and ODI: you should do an action plan.

Sample Model: McKinsey Framework

Action Plan= 7s

• Strategy: the plan devised to maintain and build competitive advantage over the competition.
• Structure: the way the organization is structured and who reports to whom.
• Systems: the daily activities and procedures that staff members engage in to get the job done.
• Shared Values: called "superordinate goals" when the model was first developed, these are the core values of the company that are evidenced in the corporate culture and the general work ethic.
• Style: the style of leadership adopted.
• Staff: the employees and their general capabilities.
• Skills: the actual skills and competencies of the employees working for the company

Sources:

http://www.positivechange.org/about-us/appreciative-inquiry.html

http://www.inspiring-results.com/aboutai.html

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_91.htm

Reflection

Appreciative Inquiry is a good process because it’s about looking for the best in people, their organizations, and the relevant world around them. Instead of identifying the problem and fixing the problem, AI emphasizes what already works. It doesn’t dwell on the problem but it focuses on the life-giving forces. It’s a systematic way of discovering what gives “life” to a particular system when it is most alive and most effective and it amplifies that. It doesn’t only help improve the organization but with the “appreciate”, it makes the members feel involved and helpful; that they are appreciated due to their positive contribution and that they are needed. Ai also involves the practice of asking positive-inducing question these questions could tap rich and inspiring accounts of the positive. There are the high point moments, lived values and principles, and their vision for the organization. These things could actually help people appreciate themselves more but above all, these collective data helps the organization improve because these data of experiences are already part of the organization. They should just know how to maximize its use. I personally like AI because I like formulating questions for interviews and I like listening to stories especially personal experiences or things that they value because you see how engaged they are and in a way, it’s also inspiring. AI made me believe that doing interviews or inquiries don’t necessarily always have to be based on facts but personal views are also helpful for data gathering.