Start Here | Michael Fearne - LEGO Serious Play

LEGO® Serious Play® is a methodology to harness an organisation’s collective intelligence to solve problems and improve decision-making. It actively engages every participant and embraces a “leaning forward” approach where everybody contributes. The bricks are used as a medium to express complex ideas through building, storytelling and metaphors. The conversation, issue, problem, system, idea is literally right there on the table. To talk about, to play with, to change, to test, to improve, to decide on together. It unleashes creative energies, modes of thought and ways of seeing that most adults have forgotten they even possessed! In a LEGO Serious Play workshop:

WHAT CHALLENGES CAN IT HELP WITH?

Anytime you need to change the normal business dynamic and have a more powerful conversation, LEGO Serious Play can help. Over the last decade the method has been used for a diverse range of topics including:

WHY DOES IT WORK?

SCIENCE

There is a lot of great science underpinning the use of LEGO in engaging people, changing the conversation and solving complex problems. The way building something with your hands unlocks knowledge you didn’t know you had. The joy and productivity of getting into a flow experience. The safety in talking about issues through a model rather than the usual business/power dynamic. LEGO Serious Play works because it is based on sound scientific principles.

EXPERIENCE

But just as important is the experience from thousands of professionals using this method for over a decade in the world’s biggest companies. Organisations as diverse as NASA, Google, EY, Shell, Coca-Cola Amatil, SAP and LEGO have used this method to change the conversation, solve challenging problems and discover new ideas.

WHAT DOES A WORKSHOP LOOK LIKE?

At the end of a half day workshop, this happy group had built a shared model of their future team culture.
What role do you play in the new project? Connecting ideas, simplying and visualising, slaying the proverbial elephant in the room.
The deathly march of project issues coming to get you!
The long walk. Challenging the Lion. LSP is rich with powerful metaphors.
A company's vision. Moving from the right side with sharks and nets weighing them down. To the left side, the promised garden. Transparent bridges. Central model is the team in an elevated position scanning for opportunities.
A small company's starting vision to have everyone on board, driving in the same direction. Motion and alignment.
Diving in! A group using LSP to have an in depth conversation about where the company is headed.
A career journey. From left to right, starting off white with few skills. Progressively gaining colour, motion, height and fancy clothes. Until finally the gold at the top.