Building a Better Business Using the Lego Serious Play Method

1. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY: A revolutionary method for unlocking creativity and problem-solving in business

"LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is a thinking, communication, and problem solving technique for groups."

Origins and purpose. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY was developed in the late 1990s as a way to bring more imagination into strategy development at the LEGO Company. It has since evolved into a powerful method for addressing complex challenges in various organizational contexts. The core idea is to use LEGO bricks as a medium for building three-dimensional models that represent abstract concepts, ideas, and strategies.

Key components:

• LEGO bricks as a universal language
• Facilitated workshops with specific rules and techniques
• Focus on unlocking knowledge, breaking habitual thinking, and fostering engagement
• Application of constructionist learning principles

Benefits:

• Encourages 100% participation from all team members
• Allows for the expression of complex ideas in a tangible form
• Promotes deeper understanding and memory retention
• Facilitates creative problem-solving and innovation

2. The power of constructionism: Building knowledge through hands-on experiences

"When you build in the world, you build in your mind."

Learning by doing. Constructionism, developed by Seymour Papert, builds upon Jean Piaget's constructivism theory. It posits that people learn most effectively when they are actively engaged in creating tangible objects in the real world. This process of creation reinforces and expands their mental models and knowledge structures.

LEGO SERIOUS PLAY application:

• Participants build physical models representing abstract concepts
• The act of building helps clarify thoughts and generate new ideas
• Sharing and explaining models deepens understanding
• Collaborative building fosters shared knowledge creation

Key principles:

• Hands-on learning is more effective than passive instruction
• Concrete thinking complements abstract thinking
• The process of creation is as important as the final product

3. Flow state: Achieving optimal learning and performance through challenge-skill balance

"We have most fun, learn the most and are most creative when what we are doing is sufficiently difficult, because our entire being understands how to achieve its goals [when we're in] this situation."

Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory. Flow is a mental state of full immersion and energized focus in an activity. It occurs when there is a balance between the challenge of the task and the skill level of the person performing it. In this state, people are most productive, creative, and satisfied.

LEGO SERIOUS PLAY and flow:

• Workshops are designed to create an optimal challenge level
• Skills-building exercises help participants reach the right competency
• The process naturally adjusts difficulty as participants progress
• Flow state leads to deeper engagement and more meaningful outcomes

Benefits of flow in learning and problem-solving:

• Increased concentration and focus
• Enhanced creativity and innovation
• Greater enjoyment and intrinsic motivation
• Improved performance and productivity

4. Harnessing imagination: Descriptive, creative, and challenging approaches to innovation

"Imagination is our mental capacity to conceive of what is not—an ability that's central to the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method."

Three types of imagination. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY harnesses three distinct forms of imagination to drive innovation and problem-solving:

1. Descriptive imagination: Making sense of complex situations by identifying patterns and creating meaningful representations.
2. Creative imagination: Generating entirely new possibilities and ideas by combining or transforming existing concepts.
3. Challenging imagination: Questioning assumptions, breaking down existing structures, and starting from scratch.

Strategic imagination in action:

• Participants use all three types of imagination throughout the workshop
• The interplay between these forms of imagination leads to breakthrough insights
• Physical models serve as a canvas for expressing and exploring imaginative ideas

Benefits:

• Encourages thinking beyond conventional boundaries
• Facilitates the exploration of multiple perspectives
• Helps identify innovative solutions to complex problems

5. Breaking the 20/80 meeting syndrome: Fostering 100% participation and engagement

"The goal with LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is instead to create what we refer to as a 100/100 meeting—one where everyone present feels compelled to bring their insights to the table, and can maximize their confidence and commitment to their fullest potential."

Overcoming traditional meeting limitations. Many meetings suffer from the 20/80 syndrome, where 20% of participants dominate 80% of the conversation. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is designed to break this pattern and ensure full participation from all attendees.

Key principles for 100/100 meetings:

• Everyone builds and shares their own models
• Equal time and attention given to each participant's ideas
• Focus on the models rather than the individuals
• Structured process that encourages participation from all

Benefits of full engagement:

• Diverse perspectives lead to more comprehensive solutions
• Increased buy-in and commitment from all team members
• Better utilization of collective intelligence and expertise
• Improved team dynamics and collaboration

6. The science behind LEGO SERIOUS PLAY: Neuroscience, attention, and memory formation

"Emotions drive attention, which drives learning, which drives memory."

Neurological foundations. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is supported by recent findings in neuroscience, particularly regarding attention, memory formation, and learning processes.

Key neurological principles at work:

• Attention density: Increased focus through multisensory engagement
• Deep processing: Strengthening memory through active creation and reflection
• Emotional engagement: Enhancing retention through positive experiences
• Generation effect: Improved recall through self-generated content

Memory formation and retention:

• Encoding: Building models helps create strong initial memories
• Consolidation: Sharing and discussing models reinforces neural connections
• Retrieval: Physical models serve as powerful memory cues

Benefits:

• Enhanced learning and retention of key concepts
• Improved problem-solving capabilities
• Increased creativity and innovation potential

7. Versatility across industries: Applying LEGO SERIOUS PLAY in diverse business contexts

"LEGO SERIOUS PLAY works equally well in Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East, across cultures and in any language."

Wide-ranging applications. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY has been successfully implemented in various industries and organizational contexts, demonstrating its versatility as a problem-solving and strategic planning tool.

Examples of industry applications:

• Pharmaceutical companies: Developing new manufacturing strategies
• Architectural firms: Facilitating ownership transitions and cultural shifts
• Government departments: Creating future scenarios and adaptive strategies
• Multinational corporations: Aligning global teams and developing value propositions
• Start-ups: Refining business models and product concepts

Key success factors:

• Customizable process adaptable to specific organizational needs
• Universal language of LEGO bricks transcends cultural and linguistic barriers
• Ability to address complex, multifaceted challenges
• Effective for both large corporations and small businesses

8. Beyond business: LEGO SERIOUS PLAY in education, research, and personal development

"LEGO SERIOUS PLAY should allow people to discover new realities and possibilities—in psychologist John Dewey's words, 'to look at things as if they could be otherwise.'"

Expanding horizons. While developed for business applications, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY has found success in various other fields, including education, research, and personal development.

Educational applications:

• Elementary to high school: Literature analysis, emotional intelligence development
• Higher education: MBA programs, action learning, research methodologies
• Executive education: Leadership development, strategic thinking

Research applications:

• Qualitative research tool for data collection
• Focus group facilitation
• Exploring complex social phenomena

Personal development:

• Career planning and development
• Life coaching and goal setting
• Family therapy and conflict resolution

Key benefits in non-business contexts:

• Encourages self-reflection and deep learning
• Facilitates expression of complex ideas and emotions
• Promotes creative problem-solving in various life domains

9. Customization is key: Tailoring LEGO SERIOUS PLAY workshops for specific needs

"All workshops are customized."

Adapting to unique challenges. One of the strengths of LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is its flexibility and adaptability to different organizational needs and contexts. Facilitators design workshops to address specific challenges and objectives.

Customization process:

1. Identify the core challenge or objective
2. Select appropriate Application Techniques
3. Design a workshop flow using the Core Process
4. Develop specific questions and prompts
5. Tailor the physical setup and materials

Key considerations:

• Organizational culture and readiness for the method
• Complexity of the challenge being addressed
• Time constraints and logistical factors
• Participant backgrounds and experiences

Benefits of customization:

• Ensures relevance and effectiveness for the specific context
• Maximizes impact and return on investment
• Allows for addressing unique organizational challenges

10. Pushing boundaries: LEGO SERIOUS PLAY as a tool for addressing future challenges

"LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is able to push some of the important boundaries that businesses and society in general will need to push in the coming decade."

Future-ready methodology. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is well-positioned to help organizations address emerging challenges and push past traditional boundaries in problem-solving and innovation.

Key areas where LEGO SERIOUS PLAY can push boundaries:

• Navigating dynamic complexity in rapidly changing environments
• Moving beyond data overload to meaningful insights
• Fostering adaptability in leadership and organizational structures
• Balancing high-tech solutions with high-touch human interactions
• Promoting collective intelligence over individual heroics
• Encouraging intrinsic motivation and engagement

Benefits for future-focused organizations:

• Develops capacity for learning from emerging futures
• Enhances adaptability and resilience in complex systems
• Fosters innovative thinking and creative problem-solving
• Promotes collaborative approaches to addressing global challenges

Last updated: March 21, 2025