I was clearing out some old LEGO from of my parents’ house, and it got me thinking. Who invented LEGO, what was the spark of inspiration for it, and how did they build such a strong culture?

I went on an AI powered search and discovery for answers.

HERE’S WHAT I FOUND

The innovation was inspired by a man named Ole Kirk Kristiansen. He was a Danish carpenter who initially sold household products – predominantly wooden ladders, stools, ironing boards and a few wooden toys.

He had apparently developed a fascination for wood whittling around the age of 6 when living on farmland. He came from quite a poor family with 12 siblings!

In 1905, when he was 14, he started working with one of older brothers as an apprentice carpenter.

After completing his apprenticeship, serving in the military, and travelling abroad for a few years he returned to Denmark in 1916 and bought a small carpentry shop. And in the same year got married to the daughter of a local cheese maker. They would go on to build a family with 4 children.

However, in 1924 one of their sons, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, accidentally set fire to the carpentry factory at the ripe young age of 4.

And to make matters worse his wife then tragically passed away in 1932 after the birth of their 4th child leaving Ole to fend for himself and his kids.

As a result of the tragedy, and the financial impact of the Great Depression, Ole apparently focussed on making wooden toys for children in and around his local community – dolls, blocks, rocking horses, airplanes, and marionettes amongst others. Often in exchange for food.

Ole also started noticing that some of the small prototypes of household products that he had been making could be used as fun toys to play with too.

So after his wife’s death, he started his company called LEGO.

The word LEGO had come from combining the words from the Danish phrase “leg godt” (“play well”) to make the word LEGO.

He wanted to reflect his focus on children’s creativity and imaginative play.

RESILIENCE AND EXPERIMENTATION

Ole’s son, Godtfred (who had originally accidentally burnt down the factory), joined the company too, and from the age of 17 started designing toys with his father.

Ole decided to switch to making toys out of plastic to try and find other ways of supporting his family. And in 1947, he bought an injection moulding machine to make plastic bricks.

After much experimentation, in 1949, they created stackable building blocks that could interlock, which he called Automatic Binding Bricks. But they were hollow on the inside and relatively unstable.

Godtfred, on his 30th birthday in 1950, had been appointed junior managing director and seven years later, in 1957, he became managing director of the company.

He was keen to improve the ‘clutch power’ and stability.

And at the start of 1958, Godtfred and the LEGO team came up with the idea to insert hollow tubes into the underneath of the brick for better interlocking into the studs on top of the bricks.

5 days later on January 28, 1958 (at 1:58 pm to be precise), he submitted a patent application for “a toy building element”. Officially granted in 1961.

The LEGO® brick as we know it today was born, and over the next few decades sales exploded.

Sadly Ole Kirk Kristiansen died of a heart attack on 11 March 1958.

Godtfred drove the company forward and subsequently it has been passed from generation to generation and is to this day still owned by the Kirk Kristiansen family.

DIFFERENTIATION AND DRIVE

Lego differentiated itself by focusing on its core values of creativity, quality, and versatility.

The LEGO Group’s motto is det bedste er ikke for godt which means “the best is never too good.”

And it’s well known that LEGO is a gateway to imagination and creativity – the possibilities are endless. It’s a toy that can grow with children (as they age). And then of course spark creativity again as a parent.

While other toy brands have evolved to emphasise flashy features and electronics, LEGO has remained steadfast in its dedication to hands-on building experiences.

LEGO regards its brand as a responsibility. To make a positive difference in the world.

And LEGO’s marketing strategy takes into account psychographics – focusing on values such as creativity, learning, and family bonding.

By positioning its products as tools for creative development and family interaction, LEGO effectively targets parents who value educational play

In summary, LEGO believes in inspiring the builders of tomorrow, providing them with a platform to express themselves and explore limitless possibilities.

EVOLUTION AND INNOVATION FROM CUSTOMER-CENTRICITY

At the beginning of the digital era in the 1990s, interest in LEGO was starting to decline.

And by the early 2000s LEGO was on the brink of bankruptcy,

The company gambled on one major move which ended up saving them.

The creation of Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and many other cult favourite franchise sets.

They also explored collaborations with communities of fans for feedback and product innovation ideas which paid off handsomely.

In 2005, they formalised the customer crowdsourcing process with the launch of the LEGO Ambassador Program, which allowed fans to engage with the company around its kits.

This continuous feedback loop gave LEGO tons of new ideas and partnerships, while making fans key decision-makers in the process.

The rest as they say is history.

Now with theme parks, Hollywood films, documentaries, a massive digital presence, online communities, fan media, recognised user groups, and much much more.

LEGO truly has become a culture and fantastic case study of innovation success.