How does Appreciative Inquiry deal with problems, Part 2?
Many problems are problems because of the way the situation is perceived or defined. The word crisis in the Chinese language can have two meanings: danger or opportunity. If we look at situations as dangerous then we are likely to respond in fear, which in turn will limit our options and creativity. If we look at situations as opportunities to learn something new about the abundance of God, then we will respond with curiosity, and openness which in turn will lead to creative responses to the situation. One way of viewing problems is to see them as an association between limited resources and the demands of a given situation. Solutions occur when we associate appropriate and effective resources with the demands of a situation. If however we focus our attention on the lack of resources we will quickly become entrenched in our deficit thinking and become despondent. On the contrary if we begin to inquire into the organization’s resources, by exploring past best experiences of resourcefuln
