Thank you for participating in the Purpose Prototyping Workshop (PPW). We hope that you have found some useful ideas to further both your organisation and its impact.
We also hope that you will want to build on the time that you spent in the workshop and pursue the other ideas within it. If so, the purpose of this webpage is to provide you with additional guidance to get the best from your new whiteboard
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Exploring further options to make a positive difference
Due to time constraints, the PPW is necessarily limited to a subset of the most important areas where you might want to explore new ways in which you can make a positive impact on the planet and its people. However the Purpose Prototyping board has an extensive range of options available for subsequent consideration.
Click here to Read MoreDepending on your appetite, your potential, and the need around you, there a 15 groups of example activities, and loads of potential for proposing further ideas triggered by the initial examples.

Sometimes however, the initial examples may have been depleted by the PPW. Although the instruction is to copy the stick notes you need, experience tells us that this is often forgotten, and the potential for the missing sticky notes to trigger new ideas is therefore lost.
If you would like to recreate all of the initial examples, simply right-click the ‘+’ symbol, and click ‘duplicate’ then drag the recreated sticky notes into position, right click again, and ‘ungroup’ them.
This will return all the original sticky notes for you to make new choices or, better still, use the full range of choices to inspire new ideas from your team.
Aligning with established sustainability/ESG schemes (3)
Some organisations find it helpful to align their efforts with a recognised programme of purpose driven change, wherein they can be formally recognised and benchmarked.
Click here to Read MoreThe three most significant, internationally, which are in line with Purpose Driven thinking are:
(F) Future-Fit: is a framework for guiding businesses toward social and environmental goals that contribute to a sustainable future. It includes specific metrics and benchmarks to help companies ensure their operations are holistically positive for society and the planet.
(B) B-Corp: is a certification for businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. B-Corps commit to balancing profit with purpose, aiming to drive positive change in their communities and industries.
(P) Blueprint for Better Business: is an initiative encouraging companies to operate with a purpose beyond profit. It provides principles and guidance for businesses to pursue ethical, sustainable practices, fostering a positive impact on society and building long-term trust.
And of course there is also
(S) PAS 808:2022 Purpose Driven Organizations which outlines a practical framework, and will hopefully soon evolve into an international standard: ISO 37011. It was also the initial inspiration behind the PPW.
Each of these four schemes have requirements which are distinct from the ideas in the ideas warehouse panel in the PPW. However, whichever of these four models you might be interested in pursuing can easily be included as additional sticky notes for consideration by means of the following.
Simply click on the corresponding dot (F), (B), (P) or (S) below the Ideas Warehouse panel, and drag the dot upwards to cover the corresponding circle in the top right of the panel. Then, while it is still selected, right-click it and select ‘Ungroup’ from the context menu. This will release all of the additional sticky notes into their correct positions within the hexagons. You can then include them as part of your consideration for your current priorities.
Aligning with business goals and ways of working (2 & 4)
Whatever your intended focus, or your next prototype, for seeking to make a positive difference in the World, it will inevitably work best, and prove most sustainable, if it is integrated and aligned with your current goals and aspirations. The
Strategy Engagement Matrix helps you to do this.
Click here to Read More
In the particular matrix utilised within the PPW the rows are different areas of positive impact on people and planet, and the columns are ways of exploring the relationship these have with different aspects of your organisation. Those aspects may be processes, or disciplines, or departments, or goals, or any logical means of deconstructing or analysing your organisation in ways which bring clarity to those relationships, and potential insight and ideas for what you might do.
In the PPW, you may have picked one particular logical model, which enabled you to see one aspect of those relationships. Picking a different logical model will enable you to see new perspectives and different relationships, all of which feed creativity and insight. In other words, revisiting the PPW allows you to look afresh at the relationship between sustainability ideas and the way your organisation works. Or if you feel the current column labels still has value to add, then by all means utilise them for a bit longer.
You can also reprioritise the Purpose Drivers that you selected in the PPW. This may be because you have made progress on the earlier priorities, and want to extend into new ones. Or it may be for different reasons. Either way, you can clear the original voting and then revote. But please remember that the voting is a means to shared discussion and insight from listening to each other. It is not an end in itself. It is not the numbers that count, but the understanding.

Once the rows and columns are as you want them, the cells can be repopulated with new ideas to progress. These may be drawn directly from the Ideas Warehouse, but it is better to use the ideas therein to stimulate and spark new ideas that may be more appropriate and tailored to your organisation and its context. Furthermore, the grid itself holds a tension between your ecological and social aspirations and your current modus operandi, and so is a source for stimulating ideas in its own right.
If you have someone in your organisation who is a whiz with the particular whiteboard technicalities, they will discover that the matrix is expandable – formed of overlapping sheets. Should you need it, this will enable you to precisely adjust the rows and columns as suits you. However, we advise against making it too big – there is value in focus. It is far too easy to make an industry out of the mechanics, but when the picture grows so involved that you have begun to stifle the insights, then it is reasonably fair to assume that you may have overdone it.
Identifying and integrating new priorities (5)
Priorities can be drawn from the interactions in the matrix. The criteria for prioritising should be discussed before any voting is conducted, and it may include any combination of impact and ease, such as: customer appeal, staff satisfaction, sustainability, brand impact, cost, difficulty, effort, synergy, etc.
Click here to Read More
We propose that you leave the voting up to individuals weighing up their own sense of the criteria. However, the voting is only a means to discussion and shared insight. There should always be time for people to make a case for why those things with low scores should have a higher score, and it is key that they are heard in this, and seen to be heard. Each person will only tend to accept (emotionally) a final vote where they believe their colleagues voted on the same information that they have. And that acceptance is key to commitment and progress. In any event, do not take on more priorities than you have the capacity to fulfil.
Always make time to refresh the green box above the priorities box. Ask people to be totally honest. The content of this box (as long as everyone contributes) should give you a good and practical sense of the level of ownership for the priorities in the room. If it is not enough, pause and have a serious frank conversation that enables people to speak the truth, and thereby adjust things until people feel it really can work and make a difference.
This is where independent facilitation skills are really helpful. If you do not have trained facilitators in another part of your organisation, you should seriously think about enlisting outside professional help. We would suggest that a good port of call would be the IAF (International Association of Facilitators)
https://iaf-world.orgStrategies to fully engage the wider organisation (6)
Purpose Driven Organizations (PDOs) engage their whole staff, in making a positive difference. It is something they own together. In fact the best PDOs engage beyond that into their larger ecosystem of partners and other stakeholders.
Click here to Read MoreThe deconstructive nature of the Strategy Engagement Matrix makes building ownership and engagement in different areas of the organization a very practical proposition. It breaks down corporate level strategy into locally recognisable activity, and encourages people at all levels of the organisation to see where their own dreams can fit within what is going on. However, this deployment of activity within a structure of meaning (Engagement Frameworks) is insufficient on its own to harness the real engagement of your people and beyond.

The
maturity model in section 6 – ‘Sustainablity through Effective Engagement’ takes six different perpectives on the maturity of the organisation in establishing truly effective engagement in pursuing its aims. Beyond engagement frameworks, which we have covered above, these are: Partner ecosystem; wisdom curation; facilitative leadership; agile collaboration; and cohesive culture, and are represented by the coloured rows in the model.
The columns then represent different stages of maturity (as per the description in each cell) in respect of each of those different perspectives – progressing from left to right. The descriptions are there to help people objectively consider where the bulk of the organisation is at the present, and also where it might need to be if the desired level of engagement is to be both achieved and productive.
The descriptions are on sticky notes to enable people to vote for those that reflect the best description of the organisation as they perceive it. This voting displays a spread of the perspectives that are present and stimulates and exchange of views as a basis for reaching consensus on where we are at present and where we want to be at a particular point in the future. When consensus has been reached on the current position, the red rectangles, off to the right, can be used to mark it on the model. Then the voting can be cleared, and new voting and consensus reaching used to identify the desired future positions – blue rectangles.
Defining what voting for a description means can help ensure the debate is productive and does not lose time due to misunderstandings. Over the years we have tried different definitions, but our preferred definition (the one that has proved most efficient for us) is that it is the right-most square that is true in its entirety.
Once the current and desired positions are marked on each row, the activities required to close the gap become fairly obvious. These can then be defined, prioritised, and added to the Priorities box (5). Whilst bearing n mind the need to not overload people.
There are in fact seven description columns in this particular model, but in order to keep it simple and avoid premature anxiety and fruitless debate on the higher levels of maturity, only 5 are displayed. These 5 are more than enough for most organisations to establish good maturity across the board. However, if at some time in the future you feel you organisation is ready to progress further, you can reveal the two extra columns by unlocking the panel with the orange arrow and the ‘Pinciples’, shifting it to the right, and then locking it again.
For more information on the principles behind each of the perspectives, each row label on the left contains a hyperlink that can be used to read more about each of them, and to share case studies on them.
Ensuring effective motivation (7)
The organisation, its initiatives, and its logic can both appear, and FEEL, dramatically different depending on where you are sat within the organisation. As a result it is far from uncommon for strategies to falter, and for the senior leadership to be totally confused about the lack of motivation in their people. This issue was addressed many years ago by Kurt Lewin using a tool called
Force Field Analysis.
Click here to Read More
You can read more about Force field Analysis by clicking the link above. To use it within the PPW whiteboard (Item 7) simply invite people to think first about those things they see as encouragement, enablers, intrinsic motivations, rewards that actively drive or support people to progress the priorities that they have come up with.
Then repeat the exercise for the negative forces, the discouragements, frustrations, obstacles, criticisms, penalties, struggles, confusion, skill gaps that actively deter people from attempting to progress the priorities.
If, at this stage, the people responsible for progressing the priorities are all on the whiteboard, then simply ask them ‘is this complete’ in terms of the positives. If however, progress depends on people outside the room, perhaps even the whole organisation, then it would be good to get their perspective on what might be missing from the diagram, and what are the most influential factors in practice for them.
Once you feel that you have a complete and accurate picture, it is time to work out what to do about it. The philosophy of the ForceField Analysis is that things rest in equilibrium. Action takes place to the extent that it leads to a balance of the forces, positive and negative. Beyond this point, positive forces are balanced by negative forces and further increases in action stalls.
The upshot of this interpretation is that if you want a greater rate of action, you don’t need to fix all the negatives or enhance all of the positives, you just need to adjust enough of them to gain forward movement. Therefore, we need to identify those factors that are easiest to change and/or would have the greatest impact if they were changed, and use them to shift the equilibrium.
To do this, explain the theory, and have people vote on the factors with the biggest impact, and least effort/difficulty. Then discuss them to make sure there is complete shared understanding, then revote and add any resulting actions to the Priorities box (5).
Fixing hidden problems up-front (8)
Often times our subconscious has a better handle on anticipating the future and recognising potential issues than our conscious rational minds. The fact is that all of the possible combinations and permutations are too complex to work out completely logically. But how do we access our subconscious in this way? Turns out we can do it by means of a
simple bet.
Click here to Read More
Just below the Force Field Analysis panel there is a chance for people to reflect whether they would feel comfortable betting £500 of their own money on the selected priorities being realised in the planned timescale. The idea is that if the would feel comfortable, they put there avatar (or a sticky note with their name on it) in the YES circle, and if they wouldn’t, they put it in the no circle.
It is important here to recognise that putting their mark in the NO circle is not a sign of disloyalty, or dissent; it is simply a sign of discomfort; an indicator that when they think of £500 of their own hard-earned money resting on the outcomes of all of this, their subconscious is not entirely comfortable with this. And this is vitally important information. It isn’t that they want the project to stop, it is that somewhere at the back of their mind is some information, or experience, or insight that says if the project does proceed there is something we haven’t discussed which could trip us up.
So the next challenge is identifying what that is. And that can be done simply by asking them, okay, so what would need to be different at this point in time for you to feel comfortable in making that bet. And then together finding ways to adjust the plans do that whatever risk it is that they are concerned about is covered.
Establishing an effective cycle of review and growth (9)
The PPW whiteboard is effectively an
Insight Landscape which contains all of the information and decisions that not just fed the start of this journey, but also, over time, fed the subsequent steps and cycles. But that of course depends on you and your team revisiting it, and re-using it, on a regular basis.
Click here to Read MoreThe whiteboard is part of the offer made by Culturistics in supporting you to rethink how your efforts on making a positive difference can be made more strategically. It is intended as a living resource to:
- Enable you to build on and further develop your thinking and intentions going forward
- Equip you to build and test further purpose prototypes into the future
- Engage your people and further interested parties in becoming part of this process
- Provide a pictorial of the journey(s) you have taken so far
- Re-connect people with some of the emotions and feeling that went alongside the pure logic of what you have done
- Learn from each cycle of work on the board

This last element is about using the panel of the two triangles in the bottom right corner of the board: What went well? and Room for Improvement? However you use this board going forward, the fact is your use of it can always be improved, and that has all sorts of benefits for the future of people and planet – albeit small ones, but sometimes some really big ones. The process is simply to get people to add their thoughts at the end (always at least two WWWs per person first, then two RFIs). Then, at the start of the next cycle, begin there and work out how you will do the next cycle differently.
But before that, the first step in this is taking ownership of the board at the end of the PPW. By default our PPWs are developed on Mural, and I will run though the process below. If, for some reason, you PPW is on a different Whiteboard, please
get in touch, and we will work out a transfer.
Transferring Murals from one organisation to another is not difficult, but it is more involved than you might initially imagine. To transfer your Mural into your ownership, you will need to follow these steps:
- Set up a Mural account if you have not already done so
- Ensure there is space in your account for a new Mural (Free Mural accounts are limited to a maximum of three ‘active’ boards)
- Request us to template your board and to sent you a ‘public’ link to that template (e.g. one that can be used outside of our organisation)
- Log into your Mural account, and look in the left-hand margin to ensure that you are in your own workspace in your account (not in Culturistics)
- Ensure that you have created a room in your account in which you wish to place the mural: go to ‘rooms’ in the left-hand menu and click ‘New Room’ in top right hand corner
- Paste the template link we sent you into the address bar and hit return.
- On the page (template) that opens, click the new Mural from Template button at the top of the screen
- Select the room on the dialogue panel that appears and click ‘Create Mural’
- Test that it all works, and that you are able to use the ‘Share’ button in the top right corner to invite your colleagues to access it
- Inform us, by email, as to whether you wish us to destroy the template and our copy of your board, or whether you would like us to store your original board on our account as a back-up until further notice