Project Number: 2012-1-PL1-LEO05-27421

Leonardo da Vinci Transfer of Innovation

December 2012

Facilitators’ Handbook
Work Package: No. 3
Deliverable Facilitators’ Handbook – Result 7
Authors: Sean McCusker, Lynn Newton
University of Durham (UDUR), United Kingdom

Contributors: University of Information Technology and

Management in Rzeszów (UITM), Poland
Foundation for Research and Technology-
Hellas/Institute of Applied and Computational
Mathematics (FORTH/IACM), Greece
Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI) Switzerland
IHK-Projektgesellschaft mbH (IHK), Germany
Wirtualis Sp. z o. o. (WIRT), Poland
Status, Version No. Final, Version: 27/02/2015
Submission date:
Start Date of Project: January 1, 2013
Duration: 24 Months
Dissemination Level: Public
Financing: With the support of the Lifelong Learning Programme
of the European Union
Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................5
History of LSP......................................................................................................................................5
Theoretical Basis .................................................................................................................................6
Play: Learning through exploration and storytelling ........................................................................6
Constructionism: Building knowledge by building things .................................................................6
Hand-mind connection....................................................................................................................7
Imagination: Tapping into out creativity ..........................................................................................7
S-PLAY Lego Serious Play Learning for SMEs .......................................................................................8
Identifying Training Needs in SMEs .....................................................................................................9
Consultation Process .......................................................................................................................9
Overview.....................................................................................................................................9
Process .......................................................................................................................................9
Training Needs Analysis Tool ......................................................................................................... 11
The checklist ............................................................................................................................. 11
Workshop Preparation ...................................................................................................................... 18
Before the workshop ................................................................................................................. 18
Workshop Materials .................................................................................................................. 18
People....................................................................................................................................... 18
Running a Workshop......................................................................................................................... 19
Core Process ................................................................................................................................. 19
LSP Basic Values ............................................................................................................................ 19
Four Essential Steps ...................................................................................................................... 19
Warm-up Bonding / Building tasks .................................................................................................... 21
Build A Tower................................................................................................................................ 21
Summary and Guidelines .............................................................................................................. 21
Building Symbols............................................................................................................................... 21
Ideal Boss...................................................................................................................................... 21
Build a Model of Yourself .............................................................................................................. 21
Summary and Guidelines .............................................................................................................. 22
Building Metaphors .......................................................................................................................... 22
Issues at Work .............................................................................................................................. 22
Summary and Guidelines .............................................................................................................. 23
S-PLAY SME Workshop Models ......................................................................................................... 23

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 Workshop 1- Identifying Training Needs........................................................................................ 24
Workshop 2 – Designing Training Provision ................................................................................... 27
Workshop 3 – Developing a Marketing Strategy ............................................................................ 29
Workshop 4 – Nurturing Innovation .............................................................................................. 32
Generic Workshop Guidelines ........................................................................................................... 34
Evaluation Framework ...................................................................................................................... 34
Workshop reporting.......................................................................................................................... 41
References........................................................................................................................................ 42

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Introduction
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) is a facilitated workshop where participants respond to tasks by building
symbolic and metaphorical models with LEGO bricks and present them to the other participants.

LSP was invented at the end of the 1990s upon request of the LEGO Company itself, which wanted to
find new ways of developing its own strategy. Thanks to the contributions of Johann Roos, Bart Victor
and later, Robert Rasmussen, LSP was officially launched in 2002. Initially LSP consisted of two
standard applications: Real Time Identity and Real Time Strategy.

In 2010 the basic principles and philosophy of LSP were made open source, and new applications
were created, such as URL – User Requirements with LEGO.

LSP builds on a set of basic values, summarized as follows:

- The answer is in the system.

- Everyone has to express his/her reflections.
- There is no ONE right answer.

The LSP Core Process is based on four essential steps:

- The facilitator poses the question

- Participants build their answers using LEGO bricks.
- Participants share their answers with the other participants.
- Participants reflect on what they have seen and heard.

The LSP concept is founded on some key theories: the importance of play as a way to learn through
exploration and storytelling; constructionism; the hand-mind connection as a new path for creative
and expressive thinking; and the role of the different kinds of imagination.

History of LSP
The history of LSP starts in the mid-1990s, when the LEGO Company was facing the great challenge of
new toys entering the market, such as videogames. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, owner and CEO of the
LEGO Company at that time, was dissatisfied with the results of the strategy-development sessions
with his staff: the business of LEGO was about imagination, but the results of these sessions were all
but imaginative (Rasmussen, 2006; Kristiansen, Hansen & Nielsen, 2009).

Around the same time, Johann Roos and Bart Victor, two professors at the International Institute for
Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne (Switzerland), were investigating new techniques for
strategy development: “when Kristiansen, Roos, and Victor connected, they noted their similar
dilemmas, as well as the values they shared – which saw people as the key to company success, and
strategy as something you live rather than something stored away in a document” (Rasmussen, 2006,
p. 57).

LEGO decided to fund research on this problem, and created a separate subsidiary: Executive
Discovery. In 1999, Robert Rasmussen, who was director of research and development for the
educational division of LEGO company, joined Executive Discovery, moving the work of the team into
the development phase: “over the course of several years and after more than 20 iterations, our
team made LEGO Serious Play the reproducible and robust methodology it is today” (Rasmussen,
2006, p. 57).

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Executive Discovery brought the methodology to market, and in 2002, the LSP process was officially
launched. In the following years many companies, nonprofit / NGO groups, and governmental bodies
used it as a consulting method.

In 2004, LEGO decided to merge Executive Discovery into LEGO. In 2010, LEGO launched a
community-based business model for LSP.

Theoretical Basis
The LSP concept is founded on some key theories:

1) Play
2) Constructionism
3) Hand-mind connection
4) Imagination

Play: Learning through exploration and storytelling

Play is a voluntary activity, “limited in time and space, structured by rules, conventions or
agreements among the players, un-coerced by authority figures, and drawing on elements of fantasy
and creative imagination” (Rasmussen Consulting, 2012, p. 1).

In organizations, play can be seen as an intentional gathering of participants who want to use their
imagination, agree that they are not directly producing a product or service, and agree to follow a
special set of rules.

Adult play is often undertaken with an explicit purpose in mind. Four purposes of adult play have
been recognized as relevant for LSP: social bonding, emotional expression, cognitive development,
and constructive competition.

Two key components in Serious Play are storytelling and metaphors. “In organizations, stories
contribute to the production, reproduction, transformation, and deconstruction of organizational
values and beliefs” (Rasmussen Consulting, 2012, p.3). According to Boje (1991), through stories
members have the power of challenging their organizations. In this perspective, metaphors are an
important means for storytelling, which can generate radically new ways of understanding things,
thus playing an active, constructive and creative role in human cognition (Schon, 1971).

Constructionism: Building knowledge by building things

Moving from Piaget’s theory of constructivism, Seymour Papert, who was a colleague of Piaget,
extended his theory to the fields of learning theory and education, stating that “learning happens
especially well when people are engaged in constructing a product, something external to
themselves” (LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, 2002, p. 9). According to Papert, constructing things and
constructing knowledge go on simultaneously, reinforcing each other: “when people construct things
out in the world, they simultaneously construct theories and knowledge in their minds” (Rasmussen
Consulting, 2012, p. 5).

Constructionism is not only about children’s learning, it is more widely about making formal and
abstract ideas more concrete and tangible, therefore easier to understand. Concrete thinking, i.e.,
thinking with and through objects, is a mode of thinking that is complementary to abstract and
formal thought. At the core of both constructionism and LSP is the idea that “when we ‘think with

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objects’ or ‘think through our fingers’ we unleash creative energies, modes of thought, and ways of
seeing that most adults have forgotten they even possessed” (LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, 2002, p. 12).

The level of engagement that students often reach when they are in a ‘hands on’ process is what
Csikszentmihalyi calls ‘flow’, i.e., “a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at
hand and the situation. (…) The flow state is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the
person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing” (Kristiansen, Hansen & Nielsen, 2009). In
addition, this concept of flow is central in LSP workshops.

Hand-mind connection
“The essence of LSP is building on the complex interplay between the hands and the brain”
(Kristiansen, Hansen & Nielsen, 2009, p.3). The idea behind LSP is that using the hands to build 3D-
models of pieces of knowledge, ideas and feelings “opens up a new path for free, creative and
expressive thinking” (Gauntlett, 2007, p. 130). More than 50 years ago, neuroscientists found that a
surprisingly large part of the human brain is dedicated to control the hands (Penfield & Rasmussen,
1950). This profound interconnection between the brain and the hands means “that the hands are
not simply a valuable place to get information ‘from’, or to manipulate objects ‘with’, but also that
thinking with the hands can have meaning in itself” (Gauntlett, 2007, p. 130).

Imagination: Tapping into out creativity

The ability to ‘image’ or ‘imagine’ something is typical of human beings. The term ‘imagination’ has
three basic meanings: to describe something (descriptive imagination), to create something (creative
imagination), to challenge something (challenging imagination). The interplay of these three kinds of
imagination makes up so-called strategic imagination, which is the source of original strategies in
companies.

Descriptive imagination is the kind of imagination we use to “evoke images that describe a complex
and confusing world “out there””; it also enables us to make sense of it and to see new possibilities
and opportunities (LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, 2002, p. 14).

While descriptive imagination allows us to see what is there in a new way, creative imagination is the
kind of imagination that allows us to see what is NOT there, i.e., to create something really new. It is
the essential feature of visioning, brainstorming, thinking “out of the box”.

While creative imagination adds new elements to what is already there, “challenging imagination
starts from scratch and assumes nothing”. Making often use of deconstruction and sarcasm, through
challenging imagination “we negate, contradict, and even destroy the sense of progress that comes
from descriptions and creativity” (LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, 2002, p. 16).

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S-PLAY Lego Serious Play Learning for SMEs
The S-PLAY Project seeks to adapt an innovative learning process for the needs of SMEs. The
Project’s objectives are:

- To adapt the LSP method to the needs of SMEs

- To raise awareness and popularize LSP among VET organizations and trainers, business
support organizations, associations of enterprises, etc.
- To raise awareness of SMEs for the need to increase competencies of owners and staff by
innovative and attractive approaches to learning (LSP)

The Project’s Beneficiaries are:

- SMEs (owners, staff)

- Business support organizations
- VET training centers and trainers
- LSP Communities of Practice
- Project Partners

We have spoken to practitioners, trainers, business support organizations, and SMEs to determine
their training needs which might be addressed with Serious Play. Based on this research, we have
designed workshop content and instructor guidelines for SME-specific modules of Serious Play.

The following materials are for use by business facilitators and trainers in SME environments. They
provide outlines for the use of the material as well as exemplars. These materials should provide a
framework which allows facilitators to start running LSP workshops. As facilitators gain experience,
the key principles underlying workshop design are provided so that they can start to design their own
LSP workshops within the framework provided.

It should be stressed that the materials provided here represent only a small sample of the full range
of capabilities of the full LSP programme. These materials have been designed for use by experienced
business consultants, who have had little or no experience with the LSP method. The materials have
been designed specifically with SMEs in mind.

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Identifying Training Needs in SMEs
This section provides resources to help identify areas of business function within SMEs that might be
supported by use of the LSP method. The first of these is the results of a stakeholder consultation
across 5 European countries. More specific needs might be addressed by the use of the Needs
Analysis questionnaire. Additionally, LSP approaches to identifying training needs and designing
training programmes, using the LLED methodology have been included to provide a basis for the use
of further LSP workshops.

Consultation Process
Overview
This overview outlines the process involved in the selection of business areas for which to develop
LSP workshops for inclusion as exemplars in the S-Play LSP Facilitators Handbook and for pilot testing
with the 5 national workshops.

Process
There was some discussion as to the possible sources of data to identify the business needs of SMEs
in each of the partner countries. As might be expected the data available varied greatly from country
to country. Sources identified included: large scale national data from recent surveys; current data
from Chambers of Commerce and interview and survey data to be collected from SMEs and SME
advisory organisations. It was agreed that the variety of data sources across partners served to enrich
the data collection process rather than raise issues of homogeneity.

As such, each partner was tasked with collecting data from the most appropriate sources, to identify
the ten most pertinent business areas for development in SMEs. For example, partners such as IHK a
hub Vocational employment office called on their resources, records and expertise with VET
practitioners to identify the most important areas in the German context. UDUR in the UK carried out
discussions with SME managers and business advisory organisations to identify needs in the UK
context and USI and UITM were able to call on published research material within their own
countries to identify the relevant business areas in the Swiss and Polish contexts, respectively.

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 Fig 1 Shows a Word Cloud of the suggestions, after minor modifications for conformity of
terminology.

Figure 1 – Word Cloud of collated Areas for training and development across all partner countries

The suggestions from each country were collated and reviewed. General themes were identified and
broad categorisations of; Finance, Process, Product, Market and Personnel were generated. The
suggestions were then assigned to each of these categories. The most popular areas in each of these
categories were identified, thus producing a shortlist of business areas to be addressed in the
development of the pilot workshops. These were further filtered by their suitability to the LSP
method. Table 1 shows the emergent themes for consideration for the pilot workshops, following
the selection process outlined above.

Finance Process Product Market Personnel

Raising Growth Innovation

Finance Strategy Capability New Markets Communication

Concept to Marketing
Quality / QA Manufacture Collateral Team Building

Change Culture / Values

Management Technology / Identity

Branding / Project
Corporate Leadership /
Exit Strategy Identity Management

Self-regulation

Table 1 – Themes to be considered for LSP Workshops

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Training Needs Analysis Tool
The following tool has been adapted from the benchmarking tool developed by IHK-
Projektgesellschaft mbH in Germany. It comprises a questionnaire along with a self evaluation
section to identify areas where training and development might be useful.

The checklist
Please answer the following questions critically and honestly. It should take around 10 minutes.
Customer and market
Do you know the market for your products or services?

1. Yes, purchase and sales department inform us about it daily.

2. Yes, we will inform us if customers` signals give rise to.
3. Yes, we try to use different information to attain knowledge about the market.
4. Yes, we do market research on a regular and systematic basis
Do you actively adapt your work to the market conditions?
1. Yes, decisions are taken daily.
2. Yes, if customers signalize there is a need for decision.
3. Yes, decisions are checked periodically with market observations .
4. Yes, there is a marketing concept in place which is implemented and checked regularly with
the help of action plans.
Where do you sell your products and services?

1. Regional
2. National
3. Europe
4. Worldwide
Do you compare your products and services with the current requirements of the market?

1. No
2. I investigate online, at fairs and exhibitions.
3. I present myself on fairs and exhibitions.
4. I use all possibilities of product comparison.
Do you know the expectations of your customers?

1. Yes, we have daily contact with them.

2. Yes, customer wishes get recorded and dealt with.
3. Yes, we research the development of the consumer behaviour and included it in our work.
4. Yes, our customers are getting actively involved in the product or service design (e.g. with
interviews).
How does your enterprise appear in public?

1. We don't do public relations since our customers know us.

2. From time to time we publish our enterprise and product information and receive customer’s
feedback now and then.
3. We publish information and are present with an own web-site.
4. We do systematic public relations and our customers are actively and continuously included
in product and service design.

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Cooperation
How do you imagine cooperation for your enterprise?

1. As an exchange of experience
2. As cooperation in sections
3. As a work or tender community
4. Foundation of a common subsidiary for the execution of the cooperation
What significance does cooperation have for your enterprise?

1. We are not involved in any cooperation.

2. I am interested in cooperative relations.
3. Yes, I cooperate with regional enterprises.
4. Yes, I cooperate with enterprises nationwide and Europe wide.
Are foreign languages needed in your enterprise?

1. No, foreign languages are not required.

2. Maybe in the long term.
3. Yes, they are present, but would have to be improved.
4. Yes, absolutely necessary, the required competences are present.

Corporate management
Are there ideas of the development of the enterprise in the future?

1. No, long-term considerations are senseless.

2. The operative daily problems hardly make long-term considerations possible.
3. There are long-term considerations yes, however, they are not laid down in writing.
4. Yes, there are long-term considerations, also laid down in writing.
Is there a system of entrepreneurial planning?

1. No, there is no such a system.

2. No, such a system shall/should be developed, however.
3. Yes, it is planned, but not continuously.
4. Yes, all important economic indicators are planned and their fulfillment is checked regularly.
Do you check the effectiveness of corporate actions?

1. No, our order situation is good.

2. Yes, a check is carried out based on economic indicators.
3. Yes, we check our actions on the basis of the economic indicators and customer response.
4. Yes, we check our actions on the basis of economic indicators, customer response and
observations, how successful competitors act. We attempt to surpass them.
What is auditing for you?

1. That is a job for others.

2. A system of control.
3. Control instrument/Management tool.
4. Component of my corporate management.

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Which instruments of audit do you mainly use?

1. None.
2. We use only spreadsheet analysis.
3. We have an accounting department.
4. As control and planning support.
How do you exchange information within the enterprise?

1. The managing director has all information.

2. The managing director passes relevant information on to his employees.
3. An internal information exchange is carried out as circumstances require.
4. We use the knowledge of all employees and organize a regular exchange.
How do you guarantee constant quality in your enterprise?

1. We do not have any quality problems.

2. We have a final check.
3. We have fixed processes.
4. We are certified according to a quality management system.

Products and services

Do you know and use the competitive advantage of your products/services?
1. No, our products or services sell well.
2. No, the topic would be important, however.
3. Yes, we know why our products/services sell well. However our competitive advantage is not
maintained systematically.
4. Yes, it was determined systematically. With concrete methods of market processing we work
on maintaining and improving our competitive advantage.
Do you regularly change your products and services?

1. My product does not require any change.

2. This is rarely the case.
3. We adapt our products and services to the market requirements regularly.
4. We adapt our products and services to the market requirements systematically and conduct
active product development.
Are you looking for new ideas?

1. My business is going on well.

2. If I discover them by chance, I pick them up.
3. I always look, what there is something new.
4. I am looking for new ideas regularly and systematically.

Employees
Are employees asked to think and told about the company future?

1. No, that is for the management.

2. Yes, the employees are informed regularly.
3. Yes, in selected areas employees are included in the development of aims and procedures.
4. Yes, aims and procedures are developed together with the employees.

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What do you think about the working atmosphere?

1. The atmosphere among employees is not really good.

2. It is ok, the employees meet each other on a neutral and rational level.
3. Basically the cooperation is good but sometimes stress situations have a negative effect on
the working atmosphere.
4. The atmosphere at work is good, the employees like to work together. Points at issue are
discussed on a rational level, some employees are friends with each other and also spent
their leisure time together.
Are staff appraisals regularly held?

1. No
2. Only in the problematic cases.
3. We try, however, they take place irregularly.
4. Staff appraisals are held regularly.
Do you enable staff to work independently?

1. With us everybody knows what he has to do. We do not need regulations therefore.
2. We have clearly formulated work orders for the employees. Generally the tasks are
completed reliably.
3. We have clear aims and a clear distribution of responsibilities.
4. We have an enterprise model which is arranged around teamwork, centre or island concepts
which enables members of staff to work independently and outcome-oriented.
How do you assess the commitment and motivation of your employees?

1. The economic situation has a negative effect on motivation and commitment.

2. People do their job, which is enough.
3. Motivation and commitment are good, however, they still could be improved.
4. The employees feel well, they are highly motivated and do an excellent job.
Do regularl team meetings take place?

1. No, it is not necessary, this is regulated by shorter methods.

2. Only in the problematic cases.
3. We try it, at present they are taking place irregularly.
4. Meetings regularly take place at set dates.

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Operational organisation
Do you have enough time to deal with the strategic development of your enterprise?

1. Not really, we have too much work in our daily routine.

2. We try, however, operational issues are more in focus.
3. We reserve time for a strategic orientation, but would like to deal with those issues more
intensively.
4. Management and responsible employees take their time for this.
What is the role of computer technology in your enterprise?

1. No role. The enterprise also works without this technology.

2. I have not thought about it yet in detail. A failure has not happened yet.
3. Partial. There are areas which are unable to work without computer technology.
4. It plays a very large role. Many work processes in the enterprise are carried out with IT.
Which means of communication are used in your company?

1. Telephone, fax.
2. Telephone, fax, e-mail.
3. Telephone, fax, e-mail, internet.
4. Telephone, fax, e-mail, internet, own website.

Sum

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The evaluation
The answer options correlate with the following scores:
1) = 1 point 2) = 2 points 3) = 3 points 4) = 4 points

Fill in your points per question in the box on the right side of the question. Add up your
points per set of questions. Then use the following table to see what the traffic lights show
in the respective field.

Where do I stand?

Customer and market to 8 to 16 to 24

Cooperation to 4 to 8 to 12
Corporate management to 9 to 18 to 28
Products and service to 4 to 8 to 12
Employee to 8 to 16 to 24
Operational organisation to 4 to 8 to 12
Complete to 37 to 74 to 112

What does red mean? - You must act!

In the areas where the traffic light is set on red there is a high need for improvement. The situation could
become critical, does not have to necessarily, however. This depends on the specific characteristics of your
enterprise. For clarification of these questions we can support you.

What does yellow mean? - You should act!

Areas in which the traffic light is set on yellow could work more optimally. This means there are possibilities of
improvement and potentials which can be worth money. Have a look at these areas more in detail and
compare what works out better in other enterprises. Be specific!

What does green mean? You can act!

Areas in which the traffic light is set on green basically run optimally. There should be no acute need for action.
Nevertheless you should watch out and react to changes early enough, better act then react.

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Workshop Start-up

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Workshop Preparation
Below is a Checklist to ensure you are well prepared to run your S-Play Workshop

Before the workshop

❏ define the goals
❏ find a date which suits everyone
❏ find the room and reserve it
❏ plan 3-4 hours for the session
❏ room set-up: tables and chairs
Workshop Materials
❏ Lego Kit (connections, flags, mini-figures)
❏ Video Recorder
❏ Audio Recorder (check the battery!)
❏ Camera (check the battery!)
❏ Laptop with music player or hi-fi system
❏ bloc-notes and pen
❏ watch or timer
❏ adhesive
❏ name badges for participants if necessary
❏ flipchart with sheets and pens
People
❏ 1 facilitator
❏ 1 camera operator
❏ Participants; 5-10 stakeholders

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Running a Workshop

The LSP methodology is based on the Core Process with a set of 3 Basic Values and 4 Essential Steps:

Core Process
LEGO SERIOUS PLAY “is a facilitated workshop, where participants are asked different questions in
relation to an ongoing project, task or strategy. The participants answer these questions by building
symbolic and metaphorical models of their insights in LEGO bricks and present these to each other”
(Kristiansen, Hansen & Nielsen, 2009).

LSP “offers a sophisticated means for a group to share ideas, assumptions and understandings; to
engage in rich dialogue and discussion; and to work out meaningful solutions to real problems”
(LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, 2010, p. 10).

LSP Basic Values

LSP builds on a set of basic values that can be summarized in the following (quotations from LEGO
SERIOUS PLAY, 2010, p. 17):

1. The answer is in the system.

No one in the group has the answer to the challenge (neither the facilitator nor the group’s leader);
therefore, LSP “is all about participants expressing themselves and listening to each other”.

2. The multitude of contributions to the dialogue is the important part.

In LSP workshops, everyone has a voice and has to express his/her reflections and thoughts – never
to produce ‘correct’ answers.
3. There is no ONE right answer.
Different views and different perspectives are a good thing, and must “come out in the open without
anybody saying which is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’”.

Four Essential Steps

1. Posing the question
The facilitator presents the challenge to the participants. The challenge must have no obvious or
correct solution.

2. Construction
Participants build their answer to the challenge using LEGO bricks. While building their models,
participants assign a meaning to them and develop a story covering the meaning. In doing so, they
construct new knowledge.
3. Sharing
Participants share their stories and the meanings assigned to their models with each other, and listen
to the stories of other participants.

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 4. Reflection

An LSP workshop typically takes from half a day to a couple of days. It always starts with a skills
building program, i.e., a set of exercises that aim at introducing participants to the method and
making them acquainted with it. Then, the ‘real’ workshop starts with the first exercise, which is
always an individual building exercise. After that, other exercises will follow: they may be individual
or collective.

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Warm-up Bonding / Building tasks
The first task in these LSP workshops is always to allow participants to familiarise or re-familiarise
themselves with LEGO and playing with LEGO.

Build A Tower
Build a Tower (2 Minutes)

 It must be free standing

 Make it as tall as you can
Summary and Guidelines
This is a quick task to get people familiar with building with LEGO. Try to introduce some light-
hearted competition. e.g. “Let’s see who can build the tallest model”. Occasionally remind them that
it must be free standing.

Make sure the task is exactly 2 minutes long, give warnings at 1 minute remaining, 30 seconds and
countdown the last 10 seconds.

On completion, look at each of the towers and congratulate the builders individually. Make a
judgement on which is the tallest.

Make the point that each of the towers is built in a different way and that each person uses LEGO in
a different way and each of these is equally valid.

If this is not the first time that participants have executed this exercise, you might add a ‘sting in the
tail’ by asking them to stand a mini-figure on the top of their model.

On completion, ask the participants to demolish the model. Explain that this is a very important part
of the process as it encourages them to recognise the attachment they have to the models they have
built.

Building Symbols
Ideal Boss
Build a model that represents your ideal boss (5mins)

Sharing

o Explain to the group how this model

represents an ideal boss
 Write 3 words on a ’Post-It’ note which characterise
your model.
Build a Model of Yourself
Build a Model of Yourself (4 minutes)

• The model should represent you in some way

• Be ready to explain how
• Explain to the group how the model represents one
aspect of you.

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Summary and Guidelines
These tasks allow the participants to become familiar with building models which are slightly
abstracted. The models are more representational and less literal then many will be used to. This is a
development task which will lead participants towards building more metaphorical models later in
the process.

The facilitator might ask questions to clarify the meanings of different parts of the models. This may
be especially useful if there are aspects of the model which are unexplained. It is reasonable to
prompt for answers. ”What does that piece represent?” or ”Tell me more about the sticking out bit”.
Avoid leading questions, or value-laden questions e.g. ”Why is that bit so big?”; ”Do the wheels
represent mobility?”

On completion, ask the participants to demolish the model.

A useful process is to encourage participants to assign meaning to models or aspects of models ‘ad
lib’. This might involve choosing a particular piece which may not have any initial particular
significance and asking “What if you had to give it some meaning? What could it possibly represent?”

A useful strategy is to allow participants to interpret each other’s model within their own context. In
either of the tasks above, ask the participants to get up and have a look at each other’s models. At an
appropriate moment, ask them to sit down at the model in front of them, ensuring it is not their own
and then explain it to the other participants in the normal way.

Make the point that this is the main theme of LSP. Participants have dealt with the unexpected and
they have been able to assign meaning to models. All participants have accepted the meanings which
have been presented. The point is made that the models have the meaning which has been assigned
to them.

Building Metaphors
Issues at Work
Build a model of an issue you are having at work (5 minutes)

• Explain to the group how the model represents this

issue.

Build a model which represents your Monday morning (5

minutes)

• Explain to the group how the model represents this

issue.

22 | Page
Summary and Guidelines
These last two tasks represent the highest level of abstraction. In these tasks participants are
encouraged to build models of concepts rather than physical models.

As in the previous exercise, you might like to encourage participants to describe each other’s models.
However, try to keep this switching to just one task in each warm up session.

The tasks above comprise the warm up activities. They are examples of activities which are important
in developing building and storytelling skills in the participants. In general, just one task from each
section will suffice. When you are familiar with these tasks, you might wish to create your own
versions which develop the same skills and familiarity.

S-PLAY SME Workshop Models

The following material represents the substance of this training package. It follows a logical
progression which has at its centre, the LLED methodology adapted for use in SMEs.

The order in which these are presented are merely a suggestion and in practice it may be more useful
to use these workshops as required in a specific context.

The logical sequence of these workshops is

Workshop 1:Training Needs - is for use with the target group of employees, to identify the attitudes
of current staff, their professional aspirations and the means by which they feel these can be
accomplished.

Workshop 2: Training Programme Design – is for use with senior managers and those within the SME
with responsibility for the provision of training within the organisation. This Workshop is modelled
on LLED developed by the team at USI. It allows managers to design a specific training programme to
meet the needs identified perhaps in Workshop 1, or in the Training Needs questionnaire or by other
means.

Workshops 3 and 4: Marketing and Innovation – are practical examples of LSP workshops which can
be implemented to meet training needs or strategic development in those areas. The design of these
workshops is based on the LSP Real Time Strategy framework. They provide a template by which
other workshops can be designed.

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Workshop 1- Identifying Training Needs

S-PLAY Training Programme WORKSHOP

Identifying an agenda for VET training in an SME

This workshop is designed to help a small or medium enterprise focus their strategy on identifying
the training needs of their employees. Participants are assumed to be the staff within the
organization who are not involved in senior management. Ideally all participants will be of a similar
grade within the organisation, shopfloor, supervisors, middle management, etc. All participants will
contribute their ideas to maximise the collective intelligence through making and sharing. The result
is a shared development and understanding of the ways in which employees feel the need to be
developed to become more valuable contributors to the organisation. This method applies
predominantly to the training needs of the individual, rather than the organisation as a whole.

Step Challenge Time

Skills building 45 min

1.
Staff 5-10 min +
2.
sharing time

Build a model which represents how you see yourself in your role.

What is your greatest strength? Mark this with a red brick.

– Write three words / short phrases which characterise your model

Modifying the model 3 mins +

3.
sharing time
Modify your model to add a skill or competence you would like to acquire to help
you advance your career.

– Write on word or short phrases which characterises your modification

Desired outcome 8 min +

4.
sharing time
Build a model which represents the (next) role you would like to have within the
organisation

Place a red brick on the most important characteristic of that model

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 Place this model on the opposite side to the first model

Agents to meet training needs 1 10 minutes +

5.
sharing time
Build a model of some training the organisation could facilitate to help your
change from your first model to your second model. Place this between your two
models of yourself

Landscaping 15-20 min +

6.
sharing time

Place all the models of current roles to one side of the Landscape table. Arrange
them in a way which shows how they are related to each other

Place all the models of future roles to the other side of the Landscape table.
Arrange them in a way which shows how they are related to each other

Building a shared Model As long as it

7.
takes
Between these two sets of models, arrange and modify the individual models
from Exercise 3 to create a single model of the training strategy which the
organisation could provide to help staff achieve their goals.

External Agents 8 mins +

8.
sharing time
Build a model of an external agent which obstructs or facilitates the training
strategies.

Connections 15-20 min +

9.
sharing time
Link the models showing the most important connections.

Add one connection from the models of Current Roles to the shared model of
Training strategy.

Add one connection from the shared model of Training strategy to the shared
models of Future Role

Refine roles / the landscape/connections 15-20 min

10.
Identify and build, or modify existing models which are necessary to complete
your landscape. Modify the landscape and connections if required

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 Completeness check 15-20 min
11.
Joint narrative 15 min
12.
Create a joint narrative which tells the story of your landscape which includes all
the components and connections you have created.

26 | Page
Workshop 2 – Designing Training Provision

S-PLAY Training Programme WORKSHOP

Identifying an agenda for VET training in an SME

This workshop is designed to help a small or medium enterprise focus their strategy on designing a
training programme to meet the needs of their employees. Participants are assumed to be those
within the organisation responsible for training, strategy and management – 5-8 people such as the
general manager, human resources or training specialists. All participants will contribute their ideas
of the opportunities and essential elements. The result is a shared development and understanding
of the programme to be developed. This method should be applied only after training needs have
been identified (see earlier material) and should apply to specific training areas (e.g. marketing,
customer service, technology), rather than for training in general.

Step Challenge Time

1. Skills building 45 min
2. Staff in need of training 5 min +
Build a model that represents a characteristic of participants who sharing time
would benefit from the training programme. It could be a personal,
professional or demographical characteristic, a driver or motivation, a
wish or a gap they want to fill following the training programme, etc.
For example, a participant could build a model of:
 A very busy person
 A person with no „technological” skills
 A person who is forced to follow the course by his/her
employer
Place these models at one end of the LandscapeTable
3. Learning goal 5min + sharing
Build a model that represents a learning goal of the training time
programme. It can answer the questions: at the end of the course,
what will the participants know / be able to do / be?
For example, a participant could build a model of:
 Know the basics of Project Management
 How to operate a new machine
 Be able to effectively communicate with clients
 Know how to design a website
Place these models on the opposite end of the Landscape Table
4. Contents of the training programme 5min + sharing
Build a model that represents a piece of content or a specific activity of time
the training programme, in other words: what needs to be taught
during the training programme?
For example, a participant could build a model of…
 Role-play about communication with clients
 A specific theoretical model
 Google Analytics

27 | Page
 Add these models to the middle of the Modeling Table, between staff
models and the shared model.
5. Methods and organizational aspects 5 min +
Build a model which represents a teaching strategy or an important sharing time
organizational aspect to take into account while designing the training
programme. It could be in terms of time, space, tools, teachers, etc.
For example, a participant could build a model of…
 The tables’ disposition within the classroom
 External speakers and invited teachers for specific subjects
 Online web conferences with international experts
6. Landscaping 30 minutes
Arrange the content/method models so that you have a coherent
representation of how they relate to each other which shows how staff
will grow within the programme
7. External Agents 15 min +
Build a model of an external agent which obstructs or facilitates your sharing time
training programme
For example, a participant could build a model of
 A training organization
 An EU founded programme
 Lack of time
8. Connections 15-20 min +
Link the models showing the most important connections. sharing time
Add up to two connections between any two models which represent
the most important relationships
9. Refine roles / the landscape/connections. 15-20 min
Identify and build, or modify existing models which are necessary to
complete your landscape. Modify the landscape and connections if
required
10. Completeness check 15-20 min
11. Joint narrative 15 min
Create a joint narrative which tells the story of your landscape which
includes all the components and connections you have created

28 | Page
Workshop 3 – Developing a Marketing Strategy

S-PLAY MARKETING WORKSHOP

Reaching New Markets

This workshop is designed to help a small or medium enterprise focus their strategy on reaching new
markets. Participants are assumed to be those within the organisation responsible for strategy and
management – 5-8 people such as the general manager, and the marketing, sales, customer service,
and product managers or specialists. All participants will contribute their ideas of the opportunities
and essential elements. The result is a shared development and understanding of the strategy to be
taken.

Step Challenge Time

Warm Up Tasks 45 min

1.
Your Contribution 8 min +
2.
sharing time
Build a model which represents your individual contribution within the
development of the marketing strategy, as it is now.

For example a participant could build a model of…

 Work with media, advertising campaign, new slogan

 Creating a budget
 Carrying out market research (size, growth, social trends and
demographics)
Place these models at one end of the Landscape Table

Markets 10 min +
3.
sharing time
Build a model representing a new or additional market to reach

For example a participant could build a model of…

 Young People. Increase their awareness through online social

media presence
Place these models on the opposite end of the Landscape Table

Landscaping 1 15-20 minutes

4.
Arrange the individual models of your role to create a shared view of
the team

Arrange the individual models of the target market(s) to create a shared

view of the target market(s)

29 | Page
 Tools / Affordance 1 10 min +
5.
sharing time
Build a model representing one thing (a tool or affordance) that your
marketing strategy needs to have.

For example a participant could build a model of…

 Affordance: Flexibility—a mechanism for changing and updating

the plan.
 Affordance: Communications – Promotion options (print and
broadcast advertising, digital media, direct mail, in-store
promotions)
 Affordance: Specificity—expected results and milestones are
clearly defined, along with the specific actions for
implementation.
 Affordance: Detailed Financial Information (determine at what
price you should sell your product or service)
 Affordance: The element of surprise (eg unexpected gifts, free
overnight shipping of products)
 Affordance: A monitoring/ evaluation mechanism of the
effectiveness of the marketing strategy.
 Affordance: An obvious innovation
Add these models to the middle of the Modeling Table, between your
roles and the target market.

Tools / Affordance 2 10 min +

6.
sharing time
If your previous model represented a tool, now build a model
representing an affordance or vice versa.

For example a participant could build a model of…

 Tool: A website
 Tool: A structured planning method (like SWOT analysis)
 Tool: A survey on Marketing needs
 Tool: Graphics design software
 Tool: Office Software
(the preceeding sharing of models will clarify the difference)

Add these models to the middle of the Landscape, alongside those from
the previous task

Landscaping 2 15-20 minutes

7.
Arrange the tool/affordance models so that you have a coherent
representation of how they relate to each other.

30 | Page
 Connections 15-20 min +
8.
sharing time
Link the models showing the most important connections.

Add one connection between one of the Roles and some

tool/affordance models

Add one connection between one aspect of the Target Market and
some tool/affordance models

For example, a participant could link:

 the “Survey” with “Innovation”

 the “website” with “communications”
 “Office software” with “Financial”
Refine roles / the landscape/connections. 15-20 min
9.
Identify and build, or modify existing, models of team roles which are
necessary to complete your landscape. Modify the landscape and
connections if required

Completeness check 15-20 min

10.
Joint narrative 15 min
11.
Create a joint narrative which tells the story of your landscape which
includes all the components and connections you have created

31 | Page
Workshop 4 – Nurturing Innovation

S-PLAY INNOVATION CAPABILITY WORKSHOP

This workshop is designed to help a small or medium enterprise focus their strategy on creating an
environment to support innovation and increase innovation capability. Participants are assumed to
be those within the organisation responsible for strategy and management – 5-8 people such as the
general manager, human resources, sales and marketing, customer service, and product managers or
specialists. All participants will contribute their ideas of the opportunities and essential elements.
The result is a shared development and understanding of the strategy to be taken.

Step Challenge Time

Skills building 45 min
1.
Organisation Identity 15 min +
2.
Build a model which represents your view of the organisation with sharing time
regard to innovation, as it is now.
For example, a participant could build a model of …
 Range of products.
 Range of services.
 Quality of products (technological advance, construction,
materials used, shape, design)
 Quality of services (reliability, responsiveness, competence,
access, courtesy, communication, credibility, security)
 Ability of managers or employees to pose / develop new ideas
 Work environment
Place these models at one end of the Landscape Table.

32 | Page
 Desired outcome 15-20 min +
3.
Build a model representing innovation or an outcome of innovation. sharing time
For example, a participant could build a model of …
 Product Innovation: Improved goods, in terms of quality,
range, shape and size.
 Product Innovation: Improved services, in terms of quality
and range.
 Process Innovation: improved production flexibility.
 Process Innovation: increased production capacity.
 Outcome of Innovation: Increment in total sales.
 Outcome of Innovation: Internationalization (increased
involvement of SME in international markets)
 Outcome of Innovation: Market leadership
 Outcome of Innovation: Enhanced working environment
 Outcome of Innovation: Reduced cost of products / services
Place these models on the opposite end of the Landscape Table.
Desired outcome shared model 15-20 min
4.
Arrange and modify the individual models from Exercise 2 (Desired
outcome) to create a single model of an environment with innovation
capability.
Tools and affordances for innovation 1 15-20 min +
5.
Build a model which represents an agent of an innovation strategy, sharing time
this may be an essential tool or affordance of an environment with
innovation capability
For example, a participant could build a model of….
 Tool: Innovative and inspiring workspace
 Tool: Market research / assessment
 Tool: Core technologies and competencies
 Tool: Financial Analysis
 Tool: Production / Setup Plan
 Affordance: Industry foresight (Understanding emerging
trends)
 Affordance: Idea / Concept generation
 Affordance: Flexibility
 Affordance: Creativity
 Affordance: Organizational Readiness
Add these models to the middle of the Modeling Table, between the
organisation identities and the shared model.
6. Tools and affordances for innovation 2 15-20 min +
Repeat this process, this time building a tool if you previously built sharing time
and affordance and vice versa.
Landscaping 15 minutes
7.
Arrange the tools and affordance models so that you have a coherent
representation of how they relate to each other.

33 | Page
 Connections 15-20 min +
8.
Link the models showing the most important connections. sharing time
Add one connection between one of the identity models and one of
the tool/affordance models.
For example, a participant could link….
 The ”range of services” with the “Market research /
assessment”
Add one connection between one aspect of the Shared model of an
environment with innovation capability and one of the
tool/affordance models.
For example, a participant could link….
 A “Product innovation…” with the “Industry foresight”

Refine roles / the landscape/connections 15 min

9.
Identify and build, or modify existing, models of tools and
affordances, which are necessary to complete your landscape. Modify
the landscape and connections if required
Completeness check 10 min
10.
Joint narrative 15 min
11.
Create a joint narrative which tells the story of your landscape which
includes all the components and connections you have created.

Generic Workshop Guidelines

Evaluation Framework
Purpose

“The underlying values of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® include the belief in the potential of people, and
also the belief that everyone within an organization can contribute to the discussion, solutions, and
outcomes.”

http://www.seriousplay.com

The purpose of this evaluation form, addressed to workshop participants, is to measure the success
of the workshops by tracking three key areas: the quality of the workshop sessions, the quality of the
facilitators themselves, and, most importantly, the effectiveness of the LSP methodology through the
outcomes achieved as a result of these sessions.

Success Criteria

By the end of a Lego Serious Play session, participants should come away with skills to communicate
more effectively, to engage their imaginations more readily, and to approach their work with
increased confidence, commitment and insight. Therefore success criteria for the effectiveness of LSP
were identified. The following table maps the LSP success criteria to specific questions on the
evaluation form.

34 | Page
LSP Success Criteria Measure

Individual

C1, C5, C6,

 Individual team members’ confidence in
their ability to improvise and be creative C11, D

C1, C3, C8, D

 Level of overall participation and
contribution that each team member
outwardly demonstrates.
C1, C2, C9, D
 Ability to communicate clearly and
honestly to each other
C4, C5, C6, D
 Ability to identify organizational needs,
clearer objectives, visions, and goals
C1, C7, C8, D
 Individual team members’ feeling of
responsibility and accountability for the
team achievements

LSP Team

C1, C2, C3, D

 Level of communication and
collaboration between team members
C10, C11, D
 Gain full engagement from all
participants
C4, C5, C6, D
 Ability to identify trends and emerging
opportunities
C1, C2, C3, D
 Unleash team member creativity to
encourage more team based creative
problem solving.
C5, C6, D
 Strategic thinking
C1, C2, C3, C5,
 Ability to connect insights to ideas
D

C10, C11, C12,

 Ability to produce concrete ideas and
results D

35 | Page
Evaluation form
A. Overall Evaluation
Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree

1. The workshop was

well organized
2. The workshop as
presented was
congruent with
the workshop
description
3. The workshop
achieved it’s
objectives
4. The knowledge
and information
gained from
participation in
this event will be
useful / applicable
in my work

36 | Page
B. The Facilitator

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

1. Was
knowledgeable
about the subject
matter.
2. Was well
prepared and
organized
3. Explained the LSP
methodology /
process clearly.
4. Stimulated
interest in the
subject matter

37 | Page
C . The LEGO Serious Play Method

Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly

Disagree Agree

1. My insight,
knowledge and
ideas were
brought fully to
the table.
2. I received insights
and
acknowledgement
s from team
members on own
strengths
3. I fully
comprehended
other participant’s
insight,
knowledge and
ideas (including
team roles,
relationships and
culture)
4. I experienced new
knowledge
5. I developed
clearer
perceptions and
greater awareness
of organizational
needs and the
variety of
possibilities
6. Create an
individual and
common
understanding of
goals
7. I felt a stronger
commitment to
take action in
accordance with
what was shared

38 | Page
 Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree

8. I created a social
bond and
increased the
shared sense of
responsibility.
9. All participants
expressed
themselves
openly, honestly,
and directly.
10. My participation
contributed to the
outcomes
achieved with my
insights
knowledge and
ideas.
11. All participants
contributed to the
outcomes
achieved with
their insights
knowledge and
ideas
12. Overall, I’m
satisfied by the
outcomes of this
workshop

39 | Page
D. Discussion / Suggestions

1. Did the workshop meet your expectations?

Yes ___ No ___

If “No”, please explain.

2. What did you like best about this workshop?

3. What did you like least about this workshop?

4. What would improve this workshop?

40 | Page
Workshop reporting

After the workshop, the LSP facilitator might produce a report which summarises

the results. Including; context, goals, participants, models (keywords, descriptions, images),

landscapes & explanations. Conclusions and outcomes should be made clear.

A reporting framework is presented below.

Executive summary

Table of content

Context
Description of the company and of the project

Workshop short description

Goals
Of the project

Of the session

Participants
Complete list with names and functions, if possible a group picture

Your role
Models: keyword, description, picture, author, general comments

Users
Models: keyword, description, picture, author, general comments

Content and/or functionalities

Models: keyword, description, picture, author, general comments

Landscape
Narrative, general comments

Connection landscape
Narrative, general comments

Conclusions
Main results

Identification of critical points or challenging design issues

41 | Page
References
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supply Firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 36, 106-126.

Gauntlett, D. (2007). Creative Explorations: New Approaches to Identities and Audiences. London –
New York: Routledge.

Kristiansen, P., Rasmussen, R. (2014). Building a better business using the Lego Serious Play Method.
Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Kristiansen, P., Hansen, P.H.K., & Nielsen, L.M. (2009). Articulation of tacit and complex knowledge.
In P. Schönsleben, M. Vodicka, R. Smeds, & J. Ove Riis (eds.), 13th International Workshop of the IFIP
WG 5.7 SIG. Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Laboratorium für Lebensmittel-
Verfahrenstechnik, 77-86. Retrieved online at:
https://wiki.aalto.fi/download/attachments/77110855/L2_Kristiansen_Hansen_Nielsen_2009.pdf
(last access: December 14, 2013).

LEGO SERIOUS PLAY (2010). Open Source Introduction to LEGO SERIOUS PLAY. Retrieved online at:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5032997/LEGO%20Serious%20Play%20OS/LEGO%C2%AE_SER
IOUS_PLAY_OpenSource.pdf (last access: February 27, 2015).

Rasmussen (2006). When you build in the world, you build in your mind. Design Management
Review, 17(3), 56-63.

Rasmussen Consulting (2012). The Science Behind the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method. Retrieved online
at:
http://seriousplayground.squarespace.com/storage/The%20Science%20Behind%20the%20LEGO%20
SERIOUS%20PLAY%20Method.pdf (last access: February 27, 2015).

Schon, D. (1971). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York, NY: Basic
Books.

License: This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-

NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of
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42 | Page