Play and LEGO® Serious Play® method
I have three points to make about my approach to event design:
Play is one way to solve problems and figure things out
LEGO® Serious Play® is a method using specific materials (LEGO® bricks) that enables the expression of playful learning and problem solving
We combine LSP® materials and methodology with social science research to design our events
First, Play is the Way. Play happens outside our normal routine and rules. It’s voluntary, with a timeless quality—people are caught up in the activity, the “flow” of psychological engagement described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi—and related to that, people are less conscious of themselves during the activity: it’s a short-cut to connecting with others. Play has rules, whether written or unwritten, explicit or implicit, with the possibility of improvisation and risk-taking, and always a concern for fairness: it’s not fun if it’s not fair. It seems purposeless, but it serves an important purpose: freeing our minds and connecting us to others. Moreover, play—this kind of play—allows for autonomy, connection, and competency, the 3 basic needs identified by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan for self-determination.
Second, the LEGO® Serious Play® method is a special kind of play. The LSP® method uses play, the hand-brain connection, the power of metaphor, and object-mediated communication to bring to light insights people didn’t know they had, allowing sharing and working together on projects. It also has protocols about building and sharing, and these ensure autonomy, agency, and psychological safety/privacy. It’s a flexible method—at one end of the spectrum, it can be used to solve a specific problem with a specific group of people in a specified amount of time, and at the other end, it can be a come-and-go building event with whoever shows up. I have some already-designed events, listed on my landing page, and I can design an event just for you and your group.
Third, I combine the LSP® method with social science research to design events. The 2-in-1 Animal event, for example, is based on psychological and anthropological research on curiosity, ambiguity, and meaning -making (see the Plays Well With Others page for more info). My Adulting for All workshops on career and retirement, What’s Next?, draws on concept of Possible Selves, for example. There’s tons of decision literature guiding the Tune-ups for Team workshops. I believe research-based design is more likely to yield results you can rely on.
DISCLAIMER: The LSP® materials and methodology were developed by some business professors in Europe, in conjunction with LEGO® (see below for more sources on its foundation and how it can be used). LEGO® controls who can call themselves a facilitator: you have to be certified by a LEGO®-approved Master Trainer. I was certified by such a trainer and have taken additional courses with other such trainers.I DON’T work for LEGO® NOR does LEGO® endorse, sponsor, or pay me. I DO show my respect for LEGO® and its many lawyers with all those registered trademark signs. ALSO I am NOT a play therapist, or any kind of therapist, and this is not play therapy or any kind of therapy. BUT I do have a boatload of LEGO® bricks I use in my workshops.
If you want to know more about play, check out:
Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul, by Stuart Brown
Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world, by Jane McGonigal
If you want to know more about LEGO® Serious Play®, check out:
Thinking from within, by Johan Roos (explains the intellectual foundations of LSP®)
These are books by certified LSP® trainers:
Strategic play: The creative facilitator’s guide, Volume #1, Jacqueline Lloyd Smith and Denise Meyerson
Strategic play: The creative facilitator’s guide, Volume #2, Jacqueline Lloyd Smith, Denise Meyerson, and Stephen J. Walling
Building a better business using the LEGO® Serious Play® method, by Per Kristiansen and Robert Rasmussen
Serious Work: How to facilitate LEGO® Serious Play® meetings and workshops, by Sean Blair, Marko Rillo, and partners