Few toy companies win the kind of admiration that is enjoyed by Lego. Universally respected, and loved by generations of children – and many adults – since its first appearance in the mid 1950s, the Lego brick has always been associated with quality, creativity, and learning through play. With the company’s current high profile, courtesy of Lego’s move into film making, there seems to be no stopping them. But this has not always been the case, as I discovered when researching my series of lectures on Leadership, Teambuilding and Managerial Creativity.
In the early years of the new millennium, Lego began to lose its way. Theme parks mushroomed, and the range was extended to include clothes, books and dolls. Lego packs were filled out with pre-formed plastic pieces that had nothing to do with fixing bricks together, and profits plummeted. Enter a new CEO, the first non-family member in Lego’s history, and the company was turned around. How did he do it? By going right back to the brick – the thing that makes Lego unique. And they have been building on that success ever since.
Dig deeper –
How does it work in practice?
Managing the unmanageable
Creativity at the top