1-2-4-All

The 1-2-4-All is designed to engage everyone in a group (no matter how large) in generating ideas and solutions quickly and inclusively.

Key points:

Inclusive Participation: Everyone contributes, ensuring all voices are heard.
Idea Generation: It helps generate more and better ideas, faster.
Distributed Insight: It taps into knowledge and creativity that might otherwise remain hidden.
Rapid Refinement: Ideas are shared and refined through structured conversation.
Ownership & Action: Because participants co-create the ideas, they’re more likely to support and implement them (no extra buy-in needed).

It’s simple and highly effective for energizing group discussions and surfacing actionable insights.

If you are not sure which structure to try first - this is your candidate. It helps to create lots of ideas and focus only on those that matter.

Time needed
12 minutes

Preparation

Offline Format	Online Format
Prepare pieces of paper for participants	Prepare virtual whiteboard template to collect ideas (for example Miro Board Template)
Arrange chairs for people to sit in pairs/foursomes	Prepare split into smaller groups (first in pairs and then foursomes)

Set the stage
1. Start with a clearly defined question (challenge or meeting topic) that participants will first respond to individually and in silence. Question should be open-ended, for example:
  - "What opportunities do you see for making progress on this challenge?"
  - "How would you handle this situation?"
  - "What ideas or actions do you recommend?"
2. Ensure the question is understood consistently by everyone to avoid misinterpretation.
3. Explain the Process. Briefly explain the 1-2-4-All steps so everyone understands what to expect. Emphasize the importance of each stage
Step-by-step and timing
1. Individual Reflection (1 min):
  Ask participants to silently reflect on the topic and note down their ideas.
  - As a facilitator: Firmly enforce the silence. This is crucial for individual thought. You can use a timer and a gentle signal (like a bell) to mark the end of this step
2. Pair Sharing (2 min):
  Ask to participants to form pairs (offline format) or split them into pairs (online format). They share their ideas and agree on 2–3 key insights or suggestions.
  - As a facilitator: Announce the transition clearly. Keep an eye on the time
3. Group Discussion (4 min):
  Have pairs join another pair to form groups of four. They further develop and narrow down their ideas.
  - As a facilitator: Again, manage the transition and the time
4. Full Group Sharing (5 min):
  Bring everyone together. Each group shares one top idea with the entire group.
  - As a facilitator ask, "What is one idea that stood out in your conversation?". Encourage groups not to repeat ideas that have already been shared. Record the shared ideas on a flip chart or virtual whiteboard
Hints
1. Don’t skip the individual reflection step. It’s essential for giving everyone space to think independently before group influence sets in.
2. Stick to the timing - even if some don’t finish. You can always run another round if needed, but keeping the pace helps maintain energy and focus.
3. If the group is too large to share all ideas in the “All” step, collect contributions in another way (e.g., sticky notes, digital boards, or a shared doc).
4. For very large groups, consider adding an extra step (groups of 8) before moving to full-group sharing.
5. Use clear signals for announcing transitions between steps.
6. Make ideas visible. Recording the shared ideas helps the group see the collective output.
Examples of use
1. Brainstorming New Ideas or Solutions
- Scenario: A marketing team needs to come up with new campaign ideas for a product launch. A traditional brainstorming session might be dominated by a few extroverted team members.
- Outcome: A much wider range of ideas is generated, and the best ideas have already been vetted and refined by a small group before being presented to the whole. The quality of the ideas is often higher, and everyone feels a sense of ownership.
2. Identifying Challenges and Opportunities
- Scenario: A project team is conducting a retrospective to reflect on a recently completed phase. They need to identify what went well and what could be improved.
- Outcome: The team quickly and efficiently identifies the most important themes without getting bogged down in individual stories. It surfaces common patterns and helps the team focus on a few key areas for improvement.
3. Gaining Alignment on Strategic Direction
- Scenario: A leadership team needs to agree on a set of core values or strategic priorities.
- Outcome: This process builds consensus from the ground up, ensuring that the final decision is not just dictated by one or two people but has been genuinely considered and co-created by everyone. It leads to greater buy-in and commitment to the final direction.
Link with other Liberating Structures
Link the ideas that emerge to:
Link to Liberating Structures page
1-2-4-All
Link to virtual whiteboard template (Miro)
1-2-4-All template

1-2-4-All

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