It's the rainy season here, what they call "winter". Of course, for us northern folks, it's not even close to that. I really wasn't sure what to expect during the rainy season and obviously we're not through it yet, but we did come prepared with things to occupy the evenings. Things like model cars and jig saw puzzles.
Some of my best childhood memories are those of long winter evenings in Maine spent sitting around the dining room table working a jig saw puzzle with my own father or building model trucks. We worked, mostly in quiet, enjoying each other's company. We became pretty good at puzzle solving too. One of the most difficult ones we ever did was a puzzle that we had bought at a yard sale and which came in a plastic bag. No picture, no piece count, no clues, just a true challenge.
I don't know if problem solving or establishing a vision for the future is a learned trait or a an individual character trait, but both of these processes have amazing similarities to working a jig saw puzzle. I've always been pretty good at all three. My ability to see the pieces and the end result made me an not only an excellent LTL dispatcher, but long range visionary as well. I sometimes wonder if this ability was developed during the hours I spent working puzzles. Let's compare some of the similarities between the two.
With a puzzle you start with a picture on the box. The picture is usually a beautiful scene somewhere. It looks like somewhere you'd like to go and see and it catches your attention. The first first step is to spread out all the pieces, turning them right side up so you can see the colors, the detail. Then you separate the "edge" pieces and put them together to lay out the framework. When this is done you begin to sort pieces and work the larger more defined areas of the puzzle. You constantly refer back to the box top to see the big picture. Slowly, the inside begins to fill in, the lesser detailed areas becoming clearer as there are fewer and fewer choices. It takes patience and persistence, attention to detail. Sometimes other people would join us. I'll always remember how often people would try to force a piece that was an obvious misfit into place. Most people didn't have enough patience either and would walk away after a few minutes. Finally, you're down to the last piece or two. A lot of times there would be one missing. Down on our hands and knees we'd go scouring the floor under the table hoping to find it. Usually we'd accuse each other of hiding it so we could be the one to have the honor of placing the final piece. Sometimes those accusations were correct. But usually, there it would be hidden behind a table leg or under the edge of the carpet.
A lot of people talk a lot about the need for "vision" in an organization, business or a church. And I agree, it's very important. If you don't know where you want to go, chances are you'll never get there. If you're the type of leader who has a problem with developing vision for your organization, why don't you pull out a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle, something with a nice, peaceful country scene and see what lessons puzzle making has to offer.
To develop a vision you need to start with the big picture, an idea of where you would like to go, what you want to see the end result look like. It needs to be something that makes you say, "Yes, this is where I want to be". Don't be afraid to think outside the box, to be different, to be creative. Make sure your plan is clear, detailed and easily referenceable. Go back as often as needed to the big picture so you don't get side tracked and forget where it is you want to end up. Lay out all the pieces, all the parts of your plan, in detail. Then set the framework. This is the basic structure of what you want to accomplish and sets the boundaries for you to work in and is vitally important. These boundaries need to be very clearly delineated. Then you can start filling in the details, working through them as the puzzle develops. All this requires patience. Don't try to force something to fit. It either does or it doesn't. When you get down to the last few details, they should fall into place...unless some one's messing with you! If you're missing a few details, don't give up. Keep looking, they're usually there somewhere, it just may take ingenuity to find them, a little thinking outside the box or in places you'd never expect to find them.
Most importantly, have fun. Enjoy the process. Keep in mind the beauty of what you're creating. Bringing others into the process, if they have the patience and the vision to work with you, will be a huge benefit to you. Having some one else's viewpoint on the problems or issues you face is hugely beneficial, to say nothing of the companionship, encouragement and mutual creativity that another person will bring to the table. There's nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a plan start from nothing more than an idea and begin to come together little by little. A clear cut vision for the future is a thing of beauty...so is a completed jig saw puzzle.
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| We're going to have to find a bigger table as this puzzle is 3 feet long! |
I don't know if problem solving or establishing a vision for the future is a learned trait or a an individual character trait, but both of these processes have amazing similarities to working a jig saw puzzle. I've always been pretty good at all three. My ability to see the pieces and the end result made me an not only an excellent LTL dispatcher, but long range visionary as well. I sometimes wonder if this ability was developed during the hours I spent working puzzles. Let's compare some of the similarities between the two.
With a puzzle you start with a picture on the box. The picture is usually a beautiful scene somewhere. It looks like somewhere you'd like to go and see and it catches your attention. The first first step is to spread out all the pieces, turning them right side up so you can see the colors, the detail. Then you separate the "edge" pieces and put them together to lay out the framework. When this is done you begin to sort pieces and work the larger more defined areas of the puzzle. You constantly refer back to the box top to see the big picture. Slowly, the inside begins to fill in, the lesser detailed areas becoming clearer as there are fewer and fewer choices. It takes patience and persistence, attention to detail. Sometimes other people would join us. I'll always remember how often people would try to force a piece that was an obvious misfit into place. Most people didn't have enough patience either and would walk away after a few minutes. Finally, you're down to the last piece or two. A lot of times there would be one missing. Down on our hands and knees we'd go scouring the floor under the table hoping to find it. Usually we'd accuse each other of hiding it so we could be the one to have the honor of placing the final piece. Sometimes those accusations were correct. But usually, there it would be hidden behind a table leg or under the edge of the carpet.
A lot of people talk a lot about the need for "vision" in an organization, business or a church. And I agree, it's very important. If you don't know where you want to go, chances are you'll never get there. If you're the type of leader who has a problem with developing vision for your organization, why don't you pull out a 1000 piece jig saw puzzle, something with a nice, peaceful country scene and see what lessons puzzle making has to offer.
To develop a vision you need to start with the big picture, an idea of where you would like to go, what you want to see the end result look like. It needs to be something that makes you say, "Yes, this is where I want to be". Don't be afraid to think outside the box, to be different, to be creative. Make sure your plan is clear, detailed and easily referenceable. Go back as often as needed to the big picture so you don't get side tracked and forget where it is you want to end up. Lay out all the pieces, all the parts of your plan, in detail. Then set the framework. This is the basic structure of what you want to accomplish and sets the boundaries for you to work in and is vitally important. These boundaries need to be very clearly delineated. Then you can start filling in the details, working through them as the puzzle develops. All this requires patience. Don't try to force something to fit. It either does or it doesn't. When you get down to the last few details, they should fall into place...unless some one's messing with you! If you're missing a few details, don't give up. Keep looking, they're usually there somewhere, it just may take ingenuity to find them, a little thinking outside the box or in places you'd never expect to find them.
Most importantly, have fun. Enjoy the process. Keep in mind the beauty of what you're creating. Bringing others into the process, if they have the patience and the vision to work with you, will be a huge benefit to you. Having some one else's viewpoint on the problems or issues you face is hugely beneficial, to say nothing of the companionship, encouragement and mutual creativity that another person will bring to the table. There's nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a plan start from nothing more than an idea and begin to come together little by little. A clear cut vision for the future is a thing of beauty...so is a completed jig saw puzzle.
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