{"id":1544,"date":"2013-08-22T04:28:13","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T08:28:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/facilitativeleadership.wordpress.com\/?p=1544"},"modified":"2026-04-21T13:59:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T17:59:28","slug":"why-what-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/why-what-how\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Help a Group Decide the WHY WHAT HOW \u2014 Purpose, Criteria, and Options"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>To facilitate consensus around simple <a href=\" https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/evidence-based\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">decision-making<\/a>, consider the following scenario and do not forget to help the group articulate the purpose of the project your meeting supports.<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Let us say for example that four of us are taking a trip from <a class=\"zem_slink\" title=\"Minneapolis\" href=\"http:\/\/www.minneapolismn.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"homepage noopener noreferrer\">Minneapolis<\/a> to <a class=\"zem_slink\" title=\"New Orleans\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nola.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"homepage noopener noreferrer\">New Orleans<\/a>. Therefore, consider why we are going, the options, and how we might get there. Moreover, take into account the WHY WHAT HOW of any decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>\u00a0<i>Options (HOW)<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<div id=\"attachment_1545\" style=\"width: 262px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/why-are-we-doing-this.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1545\" class=\"wp-image-1545 size-medium\" title=\"WHY WHAT HOW\" src=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/why-are-we-doing-this-252x300.png\" alt=\"WHY Are We Doing This?\" width=\"252\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/why-are-we-doing-this-252x300.png 252w, https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/why-are-we-doing-this.png 476w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 252px) 100vw, 252px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1545\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">WHY WHAT HOW<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Airplane<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Automobile (motorized 4-wheel vehicle)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Bicycle<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Boat (or, canoe)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Bus<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Hitchhike<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Horseback<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Limousine rental<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Taxi cab<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Walk<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Consequently, to decide among the competing options we would consider the constraints and requirements. Therefore, let us call those considerations, the decision criteria. Because they provide an understanding of <em>WHAT<\/em> we must consider in our decision. Additionally, consider some of the decision criteria, as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>\u00a0<i>Criteria (WHAT)<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Accessibility<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Comfort<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Cost<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Ecological impact<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Expected arrival date (if any)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Fears or phobias<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Length of trip<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Quality of participants (e.g., physical vitality)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Quantity of participants<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Time of year<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>\u00a0<i>Purpose (WHY)<\/i><\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">To effectively build <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/consensus-does-not-mean-that-participants-are-going-to-be-happy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">consensus<\/a> around which option to select, the <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/smart-measures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">criteria<\/a> are essential. However, we are missing a primary component; i.e., <em>WHY<\/em> are we taking the trip? Frequently, groups fail to understand or build the necessary purpose statement that underlies effective <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/decision-quality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">decision-making<\/a>. As facilitators and participants, since the purpose may be clear in our own minds, we assume that everyone else\u2019s purpose is the same as ours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Prove it. Make certain you facilitate and codify a purpose statement, whether using the <em>MGR<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">USH<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/purpose-tool\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Purpose Tool<\/a><\/em> or some other method; the purpose of the trip is essential to deciding <span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>HOW<\/em><\/span> we are going to get to our destination.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>______<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Don\u2019t ruin your career by hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/blog\/bad-meetings\/\">bad meetings<\/a>. Sign up for a <a href=\"https:\/\/mgrush.com\/public-facilitation-training\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">workshop<\/a> or send this to someone who should. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260106090117\/https:\/\/mgrush.com\/\">MGR<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">USH<\/span><\/a><\/em> workshops focus on meeting design and practice. Each person practices tools, methods, and activities every day during the week. Therefore, while some call this immersion, we call it the road to building high-value facilitation skills.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To facilitate consensus around simple decision-making, consider the following scenario and do not forget to help the group articulate the purpose of the project your meeting supports. Let us say for example that four of us are taking a trip from Minneapolis to New Orleans. Therefore, consider why we are going, the options, and how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0","restrict_content":"0"},"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11161],"tags":[67837,453190939,453192128,453190820,453190819],"class_list":["post-1544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-meeting-structure","tag-decision-making","tag-group-decisions","tag-meetings-that-get-results","tag-purpose-criteria-and-options","tag-why-what-and-how"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>THE WHY WHAT HOW \u2014 Purpose, Criteria, and Options<\/title>\n<meta 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