Why and How it was Developed

Enquire Within^® is based on a psychological theory devised by George Kelly, an American engineer who later became a respected clinical psychologist. Kelly developed theories and methodologies, including what became known as the Repertory Grid interview, which combined extraordinary precision in analysis and prediction with complete openness to the uniqueness of each individual. (See also Background and Theory. )

Unfortunately, Kelly's work was years ahead of its time; if he had had available the analytical power of today's personal computer, the world would be a very different place. Apart from a few dedicated adherents, Kelly's work has been sadly neglected.

In 1992, John Mayes and Valerie Stewart began to collaborate on a program that would place Kelly's Repertory Grid onto an interactive computer platform. John, a professional engineer and qualified counsellor, was responsible for the program design; Valerie, a practising industrial psychologist who was already known as the author of the book Business Applications of Repertory Grid, was responsible for the architecture, examples, and tutorial material making it available to the thinking lay person.

The name Enquire Within was inspired by our frustration that while in today's world people have access to more and more information, the real work of becoming a mature person - mature in our relationships, in how we process information and make decisions, in how we grow in self-knowledge - is not done by acquiring a library of CD-ROMs and spending hours surfing the Net. The mind thinks with ideas, not information; Enquire Within was named because it enables you to know and question how you know what you know. In a world which is increasingly becoming polarised into the unskilled workers and the knowledge workers, it is the desktop tool you need to be a better knowledge worker - not by adding to your store of information, but by developing the means to understand how you and those around you learn from your experience.

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