Building a Better Business Using the Lego Serious Play Method

Chapter 11LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® at Work in Business

Back in the Introduction to the book we the used a car metaphor for the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method: LEGO SERIOUS PLAY can be a small car, an all-wheel-drive car, a limousine, or any other type. Now we want to share examples of the companies, teams, and individuals who have decided to “travel” using LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, where they wanted to go with the method, and why they chose to use this process to arrive at their destination.

This chapter is devoted to giving you actual case stories from a variety of industries and nonprofit organizations as well as government. We will share with you the insights we have accumulated over a 12-year period. We begin by giving you four bird's-eye lenses of how organizations have applied the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method to develop their business, teams, and people. We will then present a number of actual cases and finish with some comments about the misconceptions regarding the application of LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, which we hope to dispel with this book.

Bird's-Eye Lens 1: The Market Uses LEGO SERIOUS PLAY to Get People to Lean Forward

The overarching goal for all applications is to build better businesses, better teams, and more competent individuals. In Part I, we described the need for going beyond 20/80, unlocking new knowledge, and breaking habitual thinking—a process shown in the diagram in Figure 11.1.

Figure 11.1 Three Good Reasons for Using LEGO SERIOUS PLAY

As mentioned, these may not be new ...