The following puzzle is adapted from the work of Michael Michalko, a leading expert in the field of creative thinking skills and strategies.

Count up the number of Os in the following diagram:

XOOOOO
XXOOOO
OOOOOX
OOOOXO
OOXXOO
OOOOOO

How did you solve this puzzle? Were you like most people and you actually counted all the Os? Or did you take the novel approach and figure out the total number of Xs and Os then subtract the Xs to determine the answer?

• What would happen if you looked at your own problem a little differently and came up with a new solution?