Purpose: To stress creativity and get participants to “think outside the box.”
Time Required: 10 to 15 minutes.
Size of Group: 10 to 15.
Materials Required: 12 pennies per participant.
The Exercise in Action: Cindy Forbes, assistant vice president of MBNA America in Newark, DE, gives each training participant 12 pennies and asks them to form a square with five pennies on each side. After giving participants an appropriate amount of time to solve the puzzler, she explains the solution (see below).
When the solution is explained, Forbes says it helps participants realize that their thinking was unnecessarily restrictive. She then begins a discussion on the benefit of finding creative solutions to problems.
Pennies Puzzler Solution
Here's the solution: Stack two pennies on top of each other for each of the four corners, then place onepenny between each corner to form a square.