A distinguishing characteristic of highly-skilled systems thinkers is their ability to quickly get to the heart of an issue, problem, or process. Perhaps you've seen it in action, or perhaps you've experienced it yourself. Skilled users of the thinking skills, language and toolset typically are very good at focusing problems, at posing good questions, at untangling complexities, and at generating high-leverage insights.

Just as you can get stronger by exercising, you can improve your ability to do systems thinking by practicing. This feature is a practice field for developing that capability. Each month, we'll present you with a puzzle-a real-world case that can benefit from the application of systems thinking. We'll ask you to spend a couple of hours (maximum) to work through the case, capturing the essence of the issue. In the next month's issue, we'll provide you with one approach to the solution of the puzzle. So each puzzle gives you two chances to learn-first, as you work the puzzle, and again as you compare your approach to ours.