Reach Partners
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Case Studies
  • How We Do It
  • Who We Are
  • Blog

A Puzzling Undertaking

4/19/2021

4 Comments

 
Puzzled, Rachel Asleson, 2021 Watercolor on paper, 9x12
I hate puzzles.

Maybe it’s because I’ve always been frustrated by them.

I remember once, as a child, trying to finish the puzzle of a hot air balloon. It was beautiful: a brilliant blue sky and the balloon was distinguished with bright colors of the rainbow. But it took forever to complete. The puzzle sat on the dining room table and I heard my mom tell more than one guest that they needed to place a piece before they left.

I might have passed on my dislike of puzzles to my kids. One Christmas, I had a photo of the two of them turned into a puzzle. The pieces sat in a box for nearly two years before I made myself put it together. The puzzle wasn’t complicated; it was 25 pieces. But it wasn’t easy and certainly not fun. I threw it away.

During the pandemic, I watched friends on Facebook safely exchange puzzles as their families used time together to puzzle (is puzzle even a verb?!). Yuck. Not me. Not my family.
​
And yet, I solve puzzles at work all the time. Every time I piece together details of an event or a project, it’s a puzzle. Only recently did I figure out the difference.
A puzzle solved on the dining room table only has one way it will work. You can’t exchange pieces, and you can’t force a piece to fit no matter how hard you try.

While a project at work can also be a puzzle, there’s usually more than one solution. When an event has a budgeted line item for food, we work with a client to determine a menu that fits that budget. If the client must have candied bacon, we order fewer deviled eggs. If the dessert costs more than initially estimated, we can choose a different dessert or alter the main entrée or negotiate a lower price. We could even choose a different vendor. In our world, there are so many options to solve the puzzle.

Solving these puzzles aren’t easy, but there is a process.

Ask questions until you reach a point of understanding and establish the goal of the project. Then identify possible pieces. Find a piece. Find another piece. Evaluate each additional detail against the project’s purpose and goals.

Recently, I needed to schedule a pre-recorded session for a virtual event. The panel included three members who lived in different time zones. The moderator, client representative, AV company and I also needed to join the session.

Talk about a scheduling puzzle!

I started by establishing the AV company’s availability and then asked the client to identify dates and times that worked for them.

After that, I identified scheduling blocks that fell within the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. range for all of the panelists, regardless of which time zone they lived in. I also took into consideration of whether they were needed for additional pre-recorded sessions.

Finally, I considered my own schedule.

Still, one small piece of the puzzle shifted how everything else fit together. As you can imagine, it took multiple emails, follow-up emails, and phone calls to align calendars. Eventually, we landed on a time and date that everyone could make work and a calendar invite was sent.

The more I think about it, solving problems is a lot like solving a puzzle. I still have more fun solving project management puzzles at work than I do piecing things together on a dining room table.

​– Anita
4 Comments
Barbara Christenson link
4/20/2021 03:01:27 pm

Hi Anita,
I happen to love jigsaw puzzles. We always did them at Christmastime when I was growing up. However, I love your analogy. It makes perfect sense and you make a valuable point. You are definitely a puzzle solver!

Reply
mom
4/20/2021 10:00:11 pm

I do a puzzle on the computer almost every day. Guess the puzz;e genes didn't get passed down the line....

Reply
Arleen Hollenhorst
4/30/2021 07:05:54 pm

Love this! I'm going to forward this to your cousin who works to solve website accessibility issues. I wonder what similarities he will see. Great writing!

Reply
Kathryn
5/27/2021 09:22:45 am

Wow! What wisdom you possess! Rather than just tossing out the fact you don’t like puzzles, you examine the why and puzzle out your own solutions! (Yes, it is a verb.)

You eloquently explain and resolve uncomfortable feelings.
Thank you for sharing.

Keep up the good work, Anita!
Love always....

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Reach Partners

    Your partners in leadership.

    Categories

    All
    Anita
    Beauty
    Communication
    Connection
    Empathy
    Events
    Facilitation
    Gratitude
    Integrity
    Meeting
    Partner Stories
    Possibility
    Project Management
    Rachel
    Resources
    Strategy
    Team

Join our newsletter
CONTACT US
Reach Partners, Inc
3330 Fiechtner Dr. Suite 100
​Fargo, ND 58103-2321
701-271-8170
Copyright (C) 2025  Reach Partners Inc.
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Case Studies
  • How We Do It
  • Who We Are
  • Blog