Replace problem solving with appreciative inquiry

In The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry by Sue Annis Hammond, she says that "The traditional approach to change is to look for the problem, do a diagnosis, and find a solution. The primary focus is on what is wrong or broken; since we look for problems, we find them. By paying attention to problems, we emphasize and amplify them."

Appreciative inquiry, on the other hand, focuses on what works in an organization. "The tangible result of the inquiry process is a series of statements that describe where the organization wants to be, based on the high moments of where they have been. Because the statements are grounded in real experience and history, people know how to repeat their success."

An example is the case of a hotel called Medic Inn. The management team was "locked in a frame of distrust and backbiting negativism," and it was "quickly realized that to follow the traditional problem-solving approach would only further educate the group on their problems and unleash huge amounts of anxiety and defensiveness."

The solution was for the management team to visit and conduct interviews with an award-winning hotel. "In the process of looking for and sharing what worked in another organization, the 'dysfunctional' group realized that they, too, could work in similar ways and have similar results."