I attended the first Appreciative Inquiry (AI) Forum of its kind in Australia today. My good friends Sue James and Chris Bennett were the superb organizers of this great event, along with other great people. I and the other attendees enjoyed the tranquil surroundings of The Abbotsford Convent in Richmond, Melbourne. The sun shone brilliantly for a marvelous Spring day, until the heavens opened up later that afternoon.

In listening to people and sharing our ideas, I was drawn to the parallels between the philosophy behind Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman's book, First, Break All the Rules. They, and their organization, Gallup Inc, make a lot about building on people's strengths. In contrast, most organizations employee development process is designed to "fix" people by trying to eliminate or mitigate their weaknesses. There is much to be said for this positive approach.

One very welcome outcome of today's forum was the formation of a working party whose mission it is to set up the first Appreciative Inquiry network in Australia. If you have resources or expertise you would like to offer, or simply would love to be a part of this network, contact Business Performance P/L at www.businessperform.com/contact with your interest.