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Brick by Brick

By: David Robertson, Bill Breen
Narrated by: Thomas Vincent Kelly
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Summary

Brick by Brick takes you inside the LEGO you've never seen. By following the teams that are inventing some of the world's best-loved toys, it spotlights the company's disciplined approach to harnessing creativity and recounts one of the most remarkable business transformations in recent memory.

Brick by Brick reveals how LEGO failed to keep pace with the revolutionary changes in kids' lives and began sliding into irrelevance. When the company's leaders implemented some of the business world's most widely espoused prescriptions for boosting innovation, they ironically pushed the iconic toymaker to the brink of bankruptcy. The company's near-collapse shows that what works in theory can fail spectacularly in the brutally competitive global economy.

It took a new LEGO management team - faced with the growing rage for electronic toys, few barriers to entry, and ultra-demanding consumers (10-year old boys) - to reinvent the innovation rule book and transform LEGO into one of the world's most profitable, fastest-growing companies.

Along the way, Brick by Brick reveals how LEGO:

  • Became truly customer-driven by co-creating with kids as well as its passionate adult fans
  • Looked beyond products and learned to leverage a full-spectrum approach to innovation
  • Opened its innovation process by using both the "wisdom of crowds" and the expertise of elite cliques
  • Discovered uncontested, "blue ocean" markets, even as it thrived in brutally competitive red oceansGave its world-class design teams enough space to create and direction to deliver built a culture where profitable innovation flourishes

Sometimes radical yet always applicable, Brick by Brick abounds with real-world lessons for unleashing breakthrough innovation in your organization, just like LEGO. Whether you're a senior executive looking to make your company grow, an entrepreneur building a startup from scratch, or a fan who wants to instill some of that LEGO magic in your career, you'll learn how to build your own innovation advantage, brick by brick.

©2013 David Robertson and Bill Breen (P)2013 Random House Audio
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Critic reviews

“A valuable read for any business leader or student, but will also delight those familiar with the beloved toy.” Publishers Weekly starred review

"A fascinating book. The story of how Lego came perilously close to disaster but then transformed itself into one of the most successful and innovative companies in the world serves both as an inspiration and an object lesson." -Chris Anderson, bestselling author of The Long Tail and Makers

" Brick by Brick is a fascinating study of an iconic toy company that figured out how to stay relevant in a rapidly changing market by returning to its core values and the guiding principles that made it a success in the first place. A must-read for any executive struggling with change." – Bryce G. Hoffman, journalist and author of American Icon: Alan Mulally and the Fight to Save Ford Motor Company

"In an era filled with so many disheartening stories of corporate failure its refreshing to witness the turn-a-round success of one we have all grown up with during our childhood and that will continue for generations to come." –Adam Reed Tucker, LEGO Architectural Artist

“David Robertson and Bill Breen have done a wonderful job explaining brick by brick why Lego is loved around the world and what it took to keep this product at the center of toy industry for so long. Like Disney, Lego’s success can be attributed to their drive for innovation, creativity and persistence. While the bricks are loved by children, Brick by Brick is for any business person wanting to understand what it takes to be great.” –Lee Cockerell, executive vice president (retired and inspired), Walt Disney World Resort, author, Creating Magic and The Customer Rules


From the Hardcover edition.

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Fascinating story of innovation & reinvention

I found this book by coincidence when I did a lot research on YouTube how Lego economy works. I realised there is now a thriving market for Lego for all age groups. Lego is nowadays a whole ecosystem and you can see videos on YouTube people that built literally millions of Lego bricks creations. It’s great to learn in this book how it got started and how successful corporate reinvention made this company from childhood play to cultural phenomenon.

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Missed opportunity

What should have been a book with clear analysis and learning turns out to be a sprawling mess. I still gave it 3 stars because if you sift through the book there are some great insights.

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this must be ai?

I think they must have gone a bit overboard surely with their ai approach

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