Play and LEGO® Serious Play® method

We have three points to make about our 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.

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. Powered by Play does come-and-go community builds, and two-hour workshops for small groups focused on Adulting for All (college, career, retirement, money management).

The LSP® materials and methodlogy was 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. We were certified by such a trainer and have taken additional courses with other such trainers. We DON’T work for LEGO® NOR does LEGO® endorse or sponsor us. We DO show our respect for LEGO® with all those registered trademark signs. NOR are we play therapists and this is not play therapy. BUT we have a boatload of LEGO® bricks we use in our workshops.

Third, we combine the LSP® method with social science research to design our events. The 2-in-1 Animal event, for example, is based on psychological and anthropological research on curiosity, ambiguity, and meaning -making. Our main focus is What does it take for humans to get along and form a community, and how can they practice it with play?

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 (This 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