This post is about Lego and how it reinvigorated its growth.

As a child I loved Lego. But I had none. Back then it was prohibitively expensive.

So I watched the shiny bricks and structures through the shopwindow. I actually doubted kids played with them, i thought nobody can afford them.

Funny enough Lego indeed got in trouble – but it had nothing to do with my post-communist low-income motherland. Instead in the late 90s kids were no longer fascinated with their products – it was the time of video games and a new wave of electronic toys.

This meant that Lego had to reinvent itself. So the iconic toy company rolled its sleeves to define a unique formula for creating new products and services.

David Robertson put it altogether in his book “Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry”. He summarized the seven truths of Lego innovation as follows:

• “Hire diverse and creative people.”
• “Head for blue-ocean markets.”
• “Be customer driven.”
• “Practice disruptive innovation.”
• “Foster open innovation – heed the wisdom of the crowd.”
• “Explore the full spectrum of innovation.”
• “Build an innovation culture.”

Nothing more to say, just let it sink. And for those who want to read the book, here is the full story.