LEGO® Serious Play®: everyone builds, everyone contributes
The complete guide to the method: what it is, when it works, how a facilitated session runs — and what you are left with once the bricks are cleared away.
- 100% participation — including the quiet experts
- Complex topics become concrete within the hour
- Decisions with ownership, not just agreement
- Everything captured: models, quotes and next steps
What the method actually is
LEGO® Serious Play® is a facilitated process in which each participant builds an answer to a precise question and then explains the model. The model is not decoration — it is thinking made visible and shareable.
It was developed by the LEGO Group with researchers from IMD to solve a familiar problem: in strategy meetings the same 20% of people talk all the time, while the rest of the room's knowledge never enters the conversation. When everyone builds, everyone speaks — and difficult points get made through the model rather than across the table.
Three principles carry it: hand knowledge, flow and the etiquette that the model owns the story — you explain your own model, never someone else's.
The four steps of a build
1. The question
One sharp challenge — e.g. 'build the biggest risk in our strategy for the coming year'.
2. The build
Everyone builds simultaneously for 3–7 minutes. No discussion. The hand finds the answer first.
3. The story
Each participant explains their model. No interruptions, no interpreting other people's models.
4. The reflection
Shared patterns get named, and models turn into decisions, priorities and ownership.
Typical use cases
Strategy & direction
When strategy needs shaping — or exists but nobody can recount it. Built strategy is remembered.
Team alignment
When people are strong individually but pull in different directions. Unspoken expectations surface.
Leadership teams
When the group is polite but not honest. The model makes it possible to say the hard thing.
Kickoffs & offsites
When a new plan has to land with 60 people — not just appear on a slide.
Culture & values
When values need to mean something on a Tuesday, not just on a wall.
Innovation
When you need to get past the same five ideas and into scenarios nobody had articulated.
Frequently asked questions
What is LEGO® Serious Play®?+
LEGO® Serious Play® is a facilitated method where every participant builds an answer to a sharp question in LEGO bricks, then tells the story behind the model. Because the hand works before the mouth does, tacit knowledge, assumptions and concerns surface that rarely get said in an ordinary meeting. The method was developed by the LEGO Group with researchers from IMD.
When does it work — and when does it not?+
It works when the topic is complex, opinions differ, and you need everyone in the room to contribute: strategy, collaboration, culture, customer experience, mergers and prioritisation. It does not work when the answer is already decided, when the session is really one-way information, or when the task is pure numerical optimisation.
How many people can take part?+
From 4 to around 30 participants with one facilitator. Above roughly 16 we run parallel tables with a shared harvest. For larger audiences we use a cascade format where each table builds and the key models are lifted onto the main screen.
Do you need certification to facilitate?+
The method is released under an open source licence, so there is no legal requirement. Quality depends entirely on facilitation: question design, the sequence of building challenges, and holding the room. We facilitate to the certified method using original LEGO® Serious Play® kits.
What do we take away?+
Every model is photographed and filmed, participants' own explanations are recorded, and you receive a written harvest with themes, decisions and concrete next steps with an owner and a deadline. The models become a shared language you can still refer to months later.
Can you run sessions in English and remotely?+
Yes. We facilitate in English and Danish, and distributed teams can join remotely — each table streams live from a phone, so remote participants see the models being explained in real time.
Shall we build your next decision?
Tell us briefly about your situation and we'll come back with a concrete proposal for format, duration and price — no obligation.