Everyone can recite the mission statement flawlessly; nobody still knows why it matters.
Recognize this situation? Below are the Liberating Structures that change it — a concrete example, and the reason this one fits here. New to Liberating Structures? Here's what it is.
Purpose-to-Practice then lets the group rebuild the shared goal itself.
For example: At the annual kick-off, everyone dutifully repeats the organization's mission. Ask someone why, over coffee, and the silence sets in — nobody still has a personal answer for why the work actually matters.
Liberating Structures for this situation:
9 Whys
9 Whys doesn't start from the official mission, but from what people personally do within the collective work. In pairs, one interviews the other: "why does that activity matter to you?" — then, after each answer, "why does that matter?" again, up to nine times.
That repeated why-question digs past the recited answer to the personal justification underneath. Only then does it become visible whether there's still a living answer, or just a memorized line.
Purpose-to-Practice (P2P)
Purpose-to-Practice then rebuilds the shared goal itself, instead of just repeating it: the group works through five elements via 1-2-4-All — purpose, principles, who needs to be involved, structure, practices.
Because everyone helps define what the goal means in practice, it becomes something people again have an answer for — not just a line they can recite.
No certification, no lengthy prep — read the steps and try it at your next meeting.
Keep exploring
Browse the full list of 43 structures, or get support if this situation is too complex to facilitate yourself.