LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

For example, at an energy firm, many groups were focusing on building comprehensive energy networks while a group only decided to build a resource mine where coal and oil shale for electricity generation were mined from. This kind of diverging view about the present created an in depth discussion about how various managers in this firm see the company present and the future.

Participating in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® session puts your group members in a state of flow. They are engaged, happy and productive. External facilitator is trained and skilled in observing all the participants in your meeting. The facilitator makes sure that none of the participants at your session would be left behind and that all would dedicate throughout the session.

Regular discussions rely on verbal intelligence, which means that only a part of brain is active. According to popular description, in case of rational discussions, factual issues the left hemisphere takes the prevalent role. In case of creative or holistic tasks, right hemisphere takes the lead. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® also activates visual-spatial and kinesthetic learning based intelligence. As the hands link to the limbic functions of the brain as well as 90 per cent of the cortex of the brain. As a result, the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® activity is a whole-brain task. People start using more actively their subconscious and as a result, the hands start operating as if the search engines of the brain that connect the elements of the brain and create novel combinations to initiate innovative ideas or creative solutions to existing problems.

While at usual strategy discussions the strategy tools determine the direction of the discussion, e.g. SWOT analysis, 5F analysis, Balanced Scorecard, Business Model Canvas or Boston Consulting Group matrix serve as useful frameworks to guide thinking during strategy sessions, they still serve as thought frames and limit thinking of the participants. However, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® creative toolkit allows to unleash radically new aspects for understanding the present situation of the company and coming up with unconventional solutions for your existing problems. Compared to regular verbal brainstorming techniques, the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® leads to many more ideas.

During building with LEGO bricks, the important part of the task is creation of metaphors and listening to the stories of the other group members. Descriptive and illustrative language helps to remember the details much more easily than bureaucratic formulation of objectives. Theory of constructionism explains that learning occurs through building external objects. While we build the models, we also create the models in our minds.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® equalizes discussion. While introverts normally stay in background and extroverts tend to dominate, the tactile exploration tends to be more equal. An experienced facilitator is able to share discussion between participants more equally to make sure that most people get an equal chance to participate and nobody's opinion suffers.

Strategy discussions frequently entail allocation of limited resources or clashes between strong personalities or their ideas. This could result in destructive tensions between the participatns of the discussions. Playful co-creation helps to lower the degree of those conflicts.

Furthermore, strategy discussions need to be public and honest. To address sometimes serious problems within the organization, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® simplifies addressing emotionally charged topics by dressing them in playful context. This is less frightening for the participants and helps to open them up more easily.