Appreciative Inquiry

As a major in the United States Army, with fifteen years of experience, I can report that appreciative inquiry, as described in the COntemporary Project Management TExt, will not work in an engineer battalion. There are two primary reasons why appreciative inquiry would not work. First, the Army's culture makes dreaming and discovery problematic. Second, projects are typically too short notice to devote the time required for the different phases. Because of these reasons, appreciative inquiry is not a useful concept in an engineer battalion. The Army's culture is incompatible with the different phases of appreciative inquiry. It is relatively rigid and disciplined. The culture is necessary in order to accomplish difficult missions that have
These variables include the time allotted, the troops available, the enemy resistance expected, the terrain and weather anticipated, and the equipment available to accomplish the mission. Most missions are nested with higher headquarters. If unit A does not accomplish their mission, then higher headquarters is more likely to fail their mission. The commander can mitigate many variables through deft application of resources. However, time is at a premium. During the mission planning stages, the chain of command is more likely than not to lack the time to conduct the design and dream phases of appreciative inquiry. Specifically, in the design phase, the stakeholders are supposed to imagine the project in it's perfect state. In a real mission, the presence of the enemy seemingly negates this step. If a commander has to devote resources against that threat, it makes it practically difficult and time consuming to go through design. Mission variables, in a practical context, limits appreciative inquiry's utility in an Army engineer battalion. Appreciative inquiry does not work in an Army engineer battalion. The ARmy's culture requires discipline from subordinates and expects leaders to already understand the strengths and weaknesses of their subordinates. Furthermore, appreciative inquiry implies additional time requirements to go through the four steps in order to define project success. Military missions do not have the luxury of utilizing valuable time to go through these steps. Time is better used prepping for the mission's execution. Therefore I don't think appreciative inquiry works in an Army