My Introduction to the CEO of LEGO

Allow me to introduce the business card of the CEO of LEGO Corp.

So there I was, the evening after the LEGO Idea Conference and my two Junkyard Sports Tabletop Olympics workshops, at a private dinner for LEGO management, where I meet the actual CEO of the vast entity of LEGO itself. And I am at least beside myself with delight. Me, standing beside myself, neither of me having ever met a CEO of such a large company who was as visionary, as dedicated, as genuine, as unassuming, as deep thinking - who, by the way, has led the company to its most successful year, in the very same year that most toy companies and homeowners have had their least.

Sure, sure, I'm biased. I'm doing some consulting for LEGO, and, yes, I got to be part of a truly inspiring event where presenter after presenter, including the CEO, delivered genuinely visionary insights into children and play and art and music and innovation and creativity and, well, fun. Like, for example, the concept of Systematic Creativity - a philosophy that embraces LEGO products, purpose and management (see the sidebar on this page for a more detailed explanation), and artist Olafur Eliasson's exploration of the connections between art and science - both of which are characteristics of LEGO toys.

So, yes, you could say I was dazzled. And stayed dazzled all the way through dinner, and then, afer dinner, in the few minutes I had to thank him for letting me be part of all this, he gives me his business card - a LEGO "minifig" (that link, by the way, will take you to a site that allows you to construct your own virtual minifig). And, I have to tell you, if there had been a hole in the floor, I would have joyfully fallen through it.

Sure, sure, I want to have business cards just like his. But, see, the crucial piece here is what it means for there to be a toy company where playfulness comes from the very top. Let me tell you. I've worked with some of the biggest, and this dedication to playfulness is rare, very, very rare. And it's not just the CEO's business card that expresses the core value of playfulness. It's everywhere at LEGO. Not just LEGO corporate, but embedded in the product, the purpose, and all the people who work together to make it all work, together.


from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith