Building a Better Business Using the Lego Serious Play Method

THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF PLAY Building a Better Business Using the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY Method offers a creative approach to innovation and enhanced business performance by putting the focus on unleashing play in order to unlock the human potential within organizations. Based on years of research and written by Per Kristiansen and Robert Rasmussenthe two original Master Trainers for LEGO SERIOUS PLAYthe book clearly shows how the method can develop teams, people, relationships, and ultimately improve business. By merging play with organizational development, systems thinking and strategy development, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY has shown to improve the quality of meetings, accelerate the innovation processes, promote team growth, and enhance better communication. Filled with illustrative examples, the book shows how building with LEGO bricks unleashes the imagination and potential that is normally untapped by the logical mind. As the authors explain, this is an innovative hands–on, minds–on approach. Throughout the book, they explore the theory as well as the practical implementation of LEGO SERIOUS PLAY that can dramatically improve organizational performance. The method has proven to be successful in organizations, of all types, all over the world. It has been used by local governments, global service companies, big banks, start–ups, internationals, and manufacturing companies, and has the potential to maximize synergy among teams within any organization.

Preface v Introduction—The Journey! 1 PART I The LEGO SERIOUS PLAY Territory 1 The Need for Building Better Businesses 13 2 The LEGO® Brick 25 3 Defining Serious Play 37 4 The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method 47 5 Contemplating the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Territory 65 PART II LEGO SERIOUS PLAY: The Science Platform 6 Building Knowledge—Giving Your Mind a Hand 77 7 Neuroscience—Understanding the Builder’s Mind 95 8 Flow—The Joy of Effective Learning 109 9 Imagination—Seeing What Is Not 117 10 Play Is about Process 129 PART III LEGO SERIOUS PLAY at Work 11 LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® at Work in Business 145 12 LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® at Work in the LEGO Company 185 13 LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® at Work outside Business 195 14 Contemplating LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® at Work 205 15 Pushing the Boundaries with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® 211 Notes 221 About the Authors 225 Index 227

Per Kristiansen is owner and partner at Trivium. Previously, Per was the global head for the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY business unit in LEGO. He is a master trainer of the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY methodology, and also serves on the board of Bonding, a global training company. Robert Rasmussen is co–principal for Rasmussen Consulting in the United States and in Denmark and is on the advisory board for Rasmussen Consulting in Japan and Singapore. Robert is the main architect and a master trainer of the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY methodology.