Puzzle eMindset

November 27, 2016 – The below post was created on April 3, 2010. Formatting broke when I migrated from a self-hosted WordPress site to a WordPress.com site circa August 2013. Fortunately, this PDF version survived the years.

ORIGINAL POST

How to solve a puzzle efficiently. 1.17.10

Team up with another to solve a puzzle faster than by myself
Choices

Visualize finished puzzle Who already put together chunks of this puzzle?
Communicate to another: finished puzzle What are the risks of working with another?
Clarify another is working on the same puzzle Why am I motivated to solve the puzzle?
Work with another who already has pieces solved. Why is another motivated to solve the puzzle?
Ask another questions to clarify their vision & understanding of the puzzle Why would another want to work with me?
Completed:
Find your puzzle How do I communicate finished vision? A: sketch and describe to another
What are the advantages of working with another? A: it’s faster with right partner
Why faster? A: leverage the pieces attached before working together
Putting Together Pieces

Put all the pieces on the table Where can the smallest connection make the biggest impact?
Work piece by piece Where might this fit?
Ask for pieces I need Are there pieces that are not on the table?
Tell another where my pieces fit This piece = part of the puzzle?
Ask another to suggest where a piece might fit
Clarify: “tell me more about that piece”
Clarify: how that piece connects to the others
Understand: Easy to get lost in the pieces, forget big pic.
Stop often. Remember the big picture.
Completed:
Define rules and meanings to avoid miscommunication. (X=5) How do I incorporate another’s big piece? A: connect its edges to mine
How do I know if another has a missing piece? A: ask about the shape or design, describe/draw what the piece might look like
What if another’s big piece doesn’t fit? A: I need to get the pieces to connect it
Applied

What is your puzzle?
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