Lessons in Leadership from LEGO

Ron Hunter Jr. and Michael Waddell, authors of a new book called Toy Box Leadership, say that people can learn lessons in leadership from the toys they loved when they were younger.

In an inspiring article by the folks over at the South Florida Sun-Sentinal, Hunter explains his theory that LEGO building is about "connecting people or organizations together." He explains "When you put together the right Lego structure, you don't see the bricks. You see the finished product."

Of course, the people over at LEGO already had the hunch that LEGO is a valuable addition to the work place. LEGO Serious Play, which is an innovative, experiential process designed to enhance ovation and business performance, has already helped some of the most well known businesses become who they are today.

Learn more about LEGO Serious Play

Call me a LEGO Fan!

Along with the fully functional LEGO PC, LEGO Air Conditioner, and LEGO furniture, I'm adding this working LEGO Telephone to my list of dream items for my office. Of course, I'd custom order mine to be cordless with an integrated speaker phone. (Really, is that asking too much?)

OMG, a peek at that LEGO room at Google!

From the bowels of the Google New York office, a sneak peek at that rumored LEGO play lab in the Manhattan office of the Internet giant, as reported on a Google Watchblog.

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No, I don't have a Google fetish, they just keep talking about LEGO!

Here's a sneak peek behing the scenes at the East Coast satellite Googleplex in Manhattan, which now is home away from home to 700 employees.

It appears culture and fun are top priorities, from global cafe menus to the game room. And you'll never guess what else is a big time activity...umm...you got it: LEGO building. They have a whole LEGO room.

Building on Ice?

OK, so just because I'm the Office Manager, it doesn't mean I always have to be reporting from the cubes...today I'm on the rocks...well, thin ice that is, hockey style.

The Philadelphia Flyers apparently had a LEGO building day at their training camp in Canada with the goal of building a stronger team by representing the kind of players they want to be through building. Check out yet another innovative use of LEGO bricks to score a winning team at work.

Google's at it Again

Those folks at Google just can't seem to shake their LEGO obsession. Check out this story, reporting on the latest LEGO-scheme in Google's bag of tricks to be creative business leaders.

Hey Detroit, Where's Your LEGO Car Test?

Imagine translating your childhood obsession with building LEGO cars into the real-world. It's reported that the state of Arkansas is now using a LEGO car building exercise developed by a local university in its recruiting process for autoparts workers. Maybe they're taking a page out of Google's book about looking at a person's ability to work with the brick as a testament of their candidacy.

While we're on the subject of LEGO building and car assembly, check out this wild YouTube video of a LEGO MINDSTORMS powered car assembly line that actually assembles a LEGO car piece by piece.

LEGO Play is Serious Work

Who says the 9 to 5 has to be boring? And who says playing with LEGO bricks is only for kids? A growing number of companies are seeing the value that LEGO play can bring to their teams across all kinds of factors, like teamwork, communication, innovative ideation and more fun. Check out this story that talks about LEGO Serious Play -- a way to harness creative LEGO play for the benefit of offices around the world.

Learn more about Serious Play here.

Listen Up, Nation

What office professional doesn't love Mr. Stephen Colbert? This Office Manager was backstage earlier this week for the debut of everyone's favorite lawyer cum LEGO artist, Nathan Sawaya, in the hot seat across from Stephen. Things got a little sticky as Stephen questioned the value of LEGO art, until he saw himself in life-sized 3D LEGO glory, at which point he declared he was "starting to see the value of the work now." Check it out here!

Vestas "Bricking" Wind

Among the many companies who use LEGO play to illustrate and educate, Vestas, the world's leading manufacturer of wind power systems, has teamed up with the LEGO Group to creare "micro shows" that, in various ways, depict the effect of wind turbines in various scenes to promote sustainable energy in a fun and educational way. Check it out here.

Job Hopper Gets a Big YAHOO!

We're covered him before, but the buzz continues to grow as Yahoo! Videos presents a new look at Nathan Sawaya, the corporate lawyer cum LEGO builder who left his lucrative legal work for the more creative and soul-feeding LEGO work. Check it out!

Ultimate Executive Toy

Check out Gizmodo's report on this life-size desk made entirely out of LEGO bricks. Just imagine the corner office with the best view, crowned with this jewel, though not sure you'd want to put your feet up on its bumpy top. Think of how creative you'd be if your desk was like this one! Office Manager says "wicked cool!"

Building an Empire Starts With Creativity

In the July 30 issue of TIME magazine, while responding to reader questions, the father of video games, Shigeru Miyamoto, supports the importance of being creative as a child.

When asked "What advice do you have for aspiring video game designers?" he says: "The most important thing is to create--when I was young, I made comics and puppets. Then take those creations and show them to people so you get feedback. Whether it is positive feedback or even if they make fun of it, repeating that process is a good thing for being prepared to make games."

Wonder if Miyamoto ever built with LEGO bricks?

LEGO Play at Work (and yes, another Google story!)

The Economist offers a brief snapshot of the role play has in the workplace...and, you guessed, it, they highlight LEGO play. Who do you think holds Olympic style building sessions to recruit new employees? YES, Google does. But so does consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"LEGO workshops are effective because child-like play is a form of instinctive behaviour not regulated by conscious thought," says Lucio Margulis of Juego Serio, a consultancy in Buenos Aires. "This produces “Eureka” moments: a perfectionist who realises the absurdity of frustration over an imperfect Lego construction; the owner of a firm with dismal customer relations who models headquarters as a fort under siege; or an overbearing boss who depicts his staff as soldiers headed into battle."

Oh Those Googles!

Seems the folks at Google just can't get over their LEGO obsession! NOW, the New York office of the Web giant has commissioned a LEGO playroom for its employees to spur creativity and fun. LEGO builder Sean Kenney, based in Manhattan, built the Google logo out of LEGO bricks and will be holding monthly play sessions with the Googlians. What will Google "LEGO" next?

The Need for Play

Mark Greiner, senior vice president and leader of Steelcase's WorkSpace Futures team, understands the value of bringing more opportunities for play to the workplace. He says, "I suggest the magic occurs because play moves people to an emotional level of involvement with others, a much deeper bond than an intellectual understanding gets you. And the result is a group commitment, that every individual takes personally." He cites the LEGO Serious Play program -- a teambuilding exercise available to corporations to add depth and cretivity to their work and employee development program -- as a great example of how play at work can deliver great results. Read more here.

Inspiring the Builders of Tomorrow

Some companies work to make it fun for their employees to be at work. Others are creating programs for students that helps them see the fun side of their future career choices. IBM is hoping to activate girls’ interest in fields like science and technology when they’re younger, more open to new ideas and bringing a creative, fun attitude to the game. Check out this this story about how they created a camp for girls to spark their interest in technology, and they’re using…you guessed it, LEGO robots as part of the camp program. Quoting an IBM corporate community relations employee and camp coordinator: "[The girls] are just so excited and are like, 'I can do anything. I can be an engineer. I can work in pharmaceuticals. I can do anything in math and science. It's not boring. It's fun.’ That, to me, is extremely important."

Lawyer to LEGO

Some people know the key to corporate happiness isn’t always in the paycheck. One corporate lawyer in Manhattan left his day job to follow his inner creator…building with LEGO bricks for a living. He now has a traveling LEGO art exhibit and goes to corporate campuses to do building events to inspire fun and creativity among employees. Check out his website here and check out a recent glimpse into his “office” from CNN.

Googlians at work…or play?

Check out this peek into Googletopia. Consummate LEGO fans who use it all over their campuses to spur creativity, Google corners the market on fresh, different and FUN corporate culture. Given their success, they must know the way to an employee’s heart – and creative spirit – is through appealing to their inner children.

Please Complete the Application and Build Something

Imagine the next time you go for a job interview, someone doesn’t ask you what your biggest weakness is, but rather, plugs you into a LEGO building challenge that reveals your biggest weakness is being out of touch with creativity, fun and lightheartedness. Apparently the HR folks at Google have been hosting job fairs in which part of the recruitment is an introduction to Google culture – fun, creative exercises – like a LEGO building contest – that help them separate the wheat from the chaff. Check it out here.