The Power of Appreciative Inquiry describes a wildly popular approach to organizational change that dramatically improves performance by encouraging people to study, discuss, learn from and build on what's working, rather than simply trying to fix what's not. Whitney and Trosten-Bloom use examples from many different types of organizations to illustrate Appreciative Inquiry (AI) in action. A how-to book but not a manual, The Power of Appreciative Inquiry describes the newest ideas and practices in the field of Appreciative Inquiry since its inception in 1985.

In updating the second edition, the authors conducted an appreciative inquiry with first edition readers, focusing especially on users in markets and universities. At the urging of these readers, the authors have included a new chapter on “sustaining positive change,” as well as a host of new examples and other enhancements.