Wow! Landing in Orlando in the middle of a storm Saturday night, September 15 should have been the first indicator that this was going to be an explosive week! Staying at a DisneyWorld Hotel should have been the second indicator that this was an “otherworldly” experience. All of the big names of Appreciative Inquiry, Positive Psychology, and Strength Based leadership were at this conference. I was so happy to see the luminaries joining hands and brains to describe the interface among and between all of the positive processes .

Sunday Jackie Binkert and I presented a day-long workshop on Appreciative Coaching, a really experiential day for coaches and people who work with coaches. We laid out the theory behind our process (Appreciative Inquiry) and then had participants work in pairs on a real topic through the four D cycle (Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny). We got great evaluations and had a grand time with our 31 participants.

The following days were filled with new learnings and new relationships. I watched and listened to my former mentor Frank Barrett describe Destiny through jazz and his magical jazz piano. Marcus Buckingham described his new book and new Strengths team assessment. Marty Seligman waxed lyrical about the work of Barbara Frederickson and positive emotions. Peter Coughlan of IDEO took us through a brainstorming session about finding new designs to address global warming. Dr. Frederickson herself provided the final keynote with two Indian yogis. She talked about the lasting positive effects of loving kindness meditation on individual happiness.

In between the keynotes, we mortals shared information, connected over drinks and goodies, and learned from each other. I particularly enjoyed my new Brazilian friends, Maria, Eduardo and Renato and hope to see them in their home city of Sao Paulo soon.

I will be doing a similar workshop with over 100 coaches for General Motors in a week or so. If you’d like to know more about the workshop for your company or group, respond to me here and I’ll contact you.