It isn’t easy staying ahead of the curve.  It’s even harder to engage employees in creative problem solving. They may have innovative ideas but are so busy with their day to day activities, they don’t have time to ponder “What could make this better, faster, cheaper or unnecessary?”

Enter LEGO.  LEGO has developed a program they call LEGO Serious Play (LSP). LSP taps into wisdom people are unaware they possess,
LSP connects knowledge and experience. Just as LEGOs can be used to build a representation of virtually anything, the LSP method can be applied to any company objective, whether it’s solving a media crisis or brainstorming ways to transform a current business model.

Large companies like Google, NASA, Coca-Cola, Toyota and Unilever have used LEGO Serious Play to their advantage.

Using the LSP process, a person’s hands function like a Google search engine, drawing information out of the subconscious.  LEGO Serious Play is about bringing those valuable subconscious thoughts to the surface and unlocking knowledge from the people who are the most qualified to offer solutions.

This image is from cartoonist Hugh MacLeon.  The image demonstrates that knowledge is not useful unless we can

make connections with what we know.  We connect the dots of knowledge to come up with new ideas.

The next time you encounter a thorny problem, dump a box of LEGOs on the conference room table and challenge your employees to play their way to a solution.

Check out how MIT is using LEGO blocks to solve real life challenges.