The four questions stated in the Pyramid of Purpose must be answered in order. When creating the pyramid, it is important to consider your audience. That will help to determine the information that is put into the pyramid.
Level 1: Why? The answer to this question lies in the mission statement of the organization. Said differently, the strategies that are created should all be created in service of fulfilling the mission of the company. The language that is used in this step should be abstract.
Level 2: What? This stage concretely defines what steps need to be done in order to carry out the mission of the organization. In other words, the organization should list out the goals that will further its progress towards making its mission into a reality. The goals that are created should be practical enough that they can be attained with a reasonable amount of effort, and progress toward attaining that goal should be able to be monitored. When a goal is reached, it should be noticed and celebrated.
Level 3: How? This stage lists the exact steps that need to be taken in order to achieve the goals identified in the “what?” stage. This process involves determining what specific actions will be taken and when, as well as the resources that are needed. The language used in this stage must be very detailed so that every employee knows exactly what they need to do to contribute to the organization’s mission.
Level 4: Who? Finally, in order to answer this question, the organization must identify who will be responsible for completing each task. If those people are not yet in the company, a plan must be developed to bring them into the organization, which involves determining where they will be recruited from and what kind of experience is needed to complete these tasks successfully.