Last week, for my latest assignment with Toastmasters, I was to prepare a speech on a topic I wasn’t familiar with. After watching the Lego movie, I decided on this company.
In 1932, Ole Kirk Christensen, a Danish carpenter, started making wooden toys. He was looking for a name for this company and found Lego whilst playing with the words “Leg Godt” meaning play well.
In 1947, he bought a moulding machine and was given a small plastic brick. At first, he made small figures, yet inspired by the sample, in 1949, produced “Automatic Binding Bricks”.
His son, Gottfriedt recognized the need for a system, for the bricks to be easily connected and dismantled. The bricks had a few technical problems, so it took another few years before the brick as we know it was patented in 1958. The brick is 60 years old and we are still playing with it.
You may see how far the company has come with the themed sets, Legoland, movies, Robotics, Lego Serious Play but behind the scenes, the company has gone through a lot; factory fires, lawsuits, redundancies, game console competition and more, yet it redefines itself again and again.
The story of Lego is worth reading. It’s a story of quality, resilience, and creativity.
Footnotes