How Complicated Puzzle Can Be a Simple Solution

About six months ago, someone decided to bring a jigsaw puzzle to work and place it ‘unsolved’ on a counter height table next to two copy machines in a high traffic area.

At first, the same people would take a few minutes out of their day to work on the puzzle. But slowly over time, all sorts of people have begun to congregate at the table and work on the puzzle for 10 – 15 minutes at a time. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to solve the puzzle and once it is solved, another one appears. I really don’t know who is responsible for the supply of puzzles. But, I have come to the conclusion that the prop – the community puzzle - is the most brilliant yet simple idea to foster a culture of collaboration, fun, teamwork, networking and friendly competition.

The puzzle is the focal point. It is there to be solved yet there is no deadline or sense of urgency. The puzzle does not discriminate. Anyone can contribute to solving it. People, who would otherwise never interact, work together to find the next couple of pieces. Different groups of people congregate during the course of the day in twos or threes to work on the masterpiece. Some go it alone. 

The puzzle has a neutralizing effect. It is almost as if it is a no fly zone. People working on the puzzle have light-hearted humorous conversations while they search for that one special piece. Who can find it first? Let the best man win, etc.

But the puzzle does more than just bring people together in a spirit of collaboration. It helps them work better.

Jigsaw puzzles require you to use both sides of your brain – your left-brain and your right-brain. When you are working on a jigsaw puzzle, your brain is firing from both cylinders so to speak. The interaction between the two sides of your brain exercises your mind. If you are feeling that mid afternoon fog, all you have to do is spend 10 minutes with the puzzle and you sharpen your mental pencil. You are ready to tackle the rest of the afternoon with a new sense of alacrity and creativity.

So, this puzzle place, this point of puzzle is a routine in our workplace. And it is part of our culture now. It wasn’t forced. It evolved organically.

Can your Company put the ‘pieces in place’ to cultivate such an engaging yet simple idea? Maybe you could get your own puzzle fairy.