LEGO! Build better future

Known for unlocking creativity and imaginative plays… LEGO is more than just a child’s toy. How did this one-time family-run business out-compete the competition and profit from the core?

For close on 90 years, LEGO has been entertaining children and adults alike! Known for unlocking creativity, versatility and building imaginations… for some of us LEGO is more than just a child’s toy. How did this one-time family-run business achieve the epic legacy that it claims today?

Around 20 years ago, LEGO was struggling to survive. Competing with the digital era, losing touch with what their customers wanted, and innovating in the wrong areas had caused LEGO to neglect their core business – leading them to a dreaded decline.

In the world of high performance, we view inclusive diversity as a fundamental lever for building a full-throttle performance and innovation culture.

A blueprint for business turnaround, growth, and profit from the core

The business would claw back to incredible success, reinventing itself, launching new products and expanding through unique and surprising partnerships. Further bold moves included shifting the leadership of the business out of family hands, to a non-family chief executive, Jørgen Knudstorp, who introduced greater discipline and simplified the complex global business.

LEGO attributed much of their growth and success in the first 50 years to the three principles that had guided them: resilience, innovation and quality. Knudstorp soon realised though, that these three principles weren’t enough to create the turnaround LEGO needed. His turnaround approach would focus on returning the business back to the purpose, focusing on the core, growing and out-competing the competition.

Knudstorp was clear about The Main Thing in business – and reminds us that high-performance habits are founded on action, not on talk and intent… and that success is achieved by engaged (and happy) people… who are performing!

In this case study, you will see how the RSP (Repeatable, Sustainable, Profitable system) is crucial to business success, and explore the red flags any mature business should be watching out for: complacence, too much innovation, losing touch with your customers.

Ignite team and leadership conversations

Are we clear about why we exist?

High-performance habits:

What high-performance habits should we stack to ensure a culture where diverse and creative talent thrives and helps push the organisation forward?

Clarity if focus:

How might we ensure clarity of focus – to help us be the best in the world at what we do?

Team alignment:

What might be holding us back from getting our strategy right and our team aligned for execution?

Focused:

Are we innovating a measured way, listening to our clients, and keeping our focus on the main thing?

Format and Approach

Engage your teams in a multimedia, facilitator-led conversation on Zoom, supported with interactive moderated conversations in breakout rooms (hosted by our team of Pod Coaches).

Duration

This case study is available in a 90-minute or 180-minute online (Zoom) format.

How does it work?

Contact us to let us know that you want LRMG to share this case study with your team
We will work with you to design or customise key conversation and reflection questions
Participants will get a link to a pre-case study primer to complete prior to the presentation and conversation
Your team will receive our Six Levers for a Better Future! Toolkit as a take-away to ignite further learning and reflection

“Innovation flourishes when the space available for it is limited. Less is more.” – Jørgen Knudstorp