This was a different discussion and not one I am sure I resonated with.  So, if you do not believe in positive thinking then consider thinking about mortality and in the right vain, you too could be moved to success. For me personally, I am trying to consider broad perspectives and views because I do believe in the power of positive thinking. That said, it hasn’t helped me accomplish all of my goals because the negative person on my shoulder keeps beating me down. So if the positive does not motivate you, consider the alternatives.  Look, I get that we all beat to our own drum but if someone is considering the negative, could that not lead them down a dark path and a point of no return? I think about the old news reports about music and how it had satanic influence.  Now that’s an extreme example but could the same context apply to this video discussion? If you do the opposite of what Appreciate Inquiry suggests you should do and you be negative in everything you do, the outcome is negative, narrow minded and narrow focused. Your possibilities would become limited and evolve around the negative story you are creating for yourself.  Maybe that’s where my head is at.  IF it is true that we are the authors of our own story, focusing negatively, making negative choices will lead you to a negative life. I don’t believe happiness can be found amongst a field of negativity but maybe, it’s just me.

I was thankful that we were only required to watch a short portion of this presentation.  I will be honest, I felt bad for the people in the audience.  When I think about Appreciative Inquiry and practitioners, I expect to see individuals who model the behaviors and leadership style of my vision of what can be.  This video demonstrated the complete opposite for me.  All the more reason to identify practitioners that DO resonate with your dream.

When Gervase shared that he was consulting to a firm with 80 engineers to help create leadership, and no one had strong leadership stories, he laughed at the fact that he would not be invited back.  I didn’t find that funny.  If I was that organization and it took us to get to the Summit to realize this wasn’t going to work, I would have been appalled.  In my mind, I leverage consultants for their expertise.

This was one of the worst presentations I have seen on this topic.  I don’t think either of the speakers were funny or well prepared.  I certainly would not be reaching out to hire either of them for my firm.  As it relates to the question they were trying to address; positivity versus generative connection – I did not have a connection with these two presenters and found myself struggling to keep focused on what they were trying to position.  I know, a little out of context but it does play to the importance of connectivity.

I liked the statistic that 90% of the people who come to an event leave volunteering to do something.  The summits, with the exception of the engineers, do create an environment for brainstorming and an opportunity to connect intentionally and build on each other’s ideas.  Just make sure you have the right practitioner to help navigate the journey with you and your colleagues.