LSST Birmingham students speak with LEGO Group about building a digital culture

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One of the world’s largest manufacturers of toys – and one of the world’s most respected brands – LEGO has given LSST Birmingham students a distinctive and unequalled opportunity to learn about its system-in-play-centric organisation.

Through creative play, the LEGO Group has inspired and developed the builders of tomorrow and nurtured skills such as creativity, problem solving, self-awareness and empathy – all necessary for children to build the better world of tomorrow.

The instantly recognisable LEGO brick is an important product that was – in its present form – launched in 1958 in Denmark. The family run company has come a long way from a small carpenter’s workshop to a respected modern global enterprise.

Instantly recognisable LEGO bricks. The name LEGO is an abbreviation of the two Danish words ‘leg godt’, meaning ‘play well’. Photo used with permission. ©2019 The LEGO Group.

LSST Birmingham Business Management students Sevda Ablez and Ionut Bosinvinau speak with LEGO Group’s Camilla Pedersen, Associate Manager, Corporate Communications, about its philosophy and building a digital future. The LEGO aficionados go on to reflect on their bespoke LEGO-experience:

1. What is the LEGO philosophy?

At the LEGO Group, it is our mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. We aim to do this through providing children with fun and creative play products and experiences of the highest quality and safety. All LEGO play experiences are based on the underlying philosophy of learning and development through play.

2. How is LEGO committed to caring for the environment and the society that children will inherit?

At the LEGO Group, we are committed to playing our part in helping to build a sustainable future, and through the power of play inspire the children of today to become the builders of tomorrow. We know that children learn when they play – and that play helps develop critical 21st century skills, such as creativity and collaboration.

We continue to work towards achieving zero impact operations through increasing waste and energy efficiency and balancing energy usage with renewables. And, we will continue to increase the use of sustainable materials in our products and packaging without compromising quality or safety.

3. 2018 was a disruptive year for the toy industry. How did LEGO do?

We have full comment on this question in our Annual Report. For more information, please see: https://www.lego.com/en-gb/aboutus/news/2019/february/the-lego-group-returns-to-growth-in-2018

Based on the world-famous LEGO® brick and the philosophy of Learning-through-Play, the LEGO Group provides unique play experiences for children of all ages. Photo used with permission. ©2019 The LEGO Group.

4. Digitalisation is changing nearly every aspect of our daily lives, so how is LEGO dealing with this?

Digitalisation is impacting all aspects of our business, and it is reshaping the retail landscape, and how children play. But it is also offering exciting opportunities and creating new ways for us to bring LEGO play to more children around the world.

Through our products we hope to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, and we know that in order to deliver on this agenda, we need to stay attuned with the latest trends and digital development. However, the LEGO brick will always remain the cornerstone of our core business, and we see digital play as an exciting opportunity to supplement and enhance the LEGO experience and make it more relevant to even more children.

5. Your landmark Play Well Report highlights that children see no distinction between physical and digital play – what about parents?

Unlike their children, digital technology was largely absent from their own childhoods, meaning that they do not experience the same form of fluid play where real-world, imaginary, and digital play experiences are united across time and space.

LEGO founder Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1943. The LEGO Group has passed from father to son and is now owned by the founder’s grandchild – Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen. Photo used with permission. ©2019 The LEGO Group.

6. What organisational values are fundamental and distinctive to the LEGO Group since its founding?

At the LEGO Group, we have six underlying values – Imagination, Creativity, Fun, Learning, Caring, and Quality. These values are extremely important to us. Not only because they define who we are as a company, but because they also define what we stand for and guide us in our work towards our ambitions and our mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow.

An aerial shot of the infamous LEGO House in Denmark. Photo used with permission. ©2019 The LEGO Group.

LEGO all the way: Ionut Bosinvinau, BA (Hons) Business Management, LSST Birmingham

“I am really grateful to Camilla Pedersen at The LEGO Group for answering my questions and also to LSST Marketing for inviting me to such an impressive opportunity. I thank Lynnette Douglas at LSST Birmingham for giving me the confidence to get my thoughts on LEGO together. For me, studying at LSST is a rewarding and enriching experience and this interview will stay with me forever and has made my family and friends very proud. I have learned so much and LEGO is, in my view, one of the best examples of a company that is committed to delivering on corporate responsibility and by doing the right thing! This is why so many people buy LEGO products. By listening to the LEGO responses to my questions I have learned that the company is constantly innovating and striving for the best. I would love to work for LEGO one day as it creates, invents and has fun whilst doing so. I will be happy to speak with any LSST student about my views on LEGO and LSST Marketing team has said it will support me in doing so.”

Ionut Bosinvinau, BA (Hons) Business Management, LSST Birmingham

Building a bright future: Sevda Ablez, BA (Hons) Business Management, LSST Birmingham

“I am really thrilled that LEGO Group seniors kindly took time out to answer my questions. I thank LSST’s Marketing team for setting this up and supporting me. I thank Lynnette – our Senior Student Support, Careers and Welfare Officer – for all her encouragement. I have found that while others in the toy industry are struggling – the LEGO Group is way ahead as it has focused on the popularity of digital toys and devices. I am personally aware that that play is key to a child’s development. Play helps children to learn problem-solving and to be creative. Further, children can gain these valuable life skills whilst they have fun. I believe that every student at LSST has a creative urge, the desire to design something. Who knows how many of us played with LEGO as children – and how much of our creativity is down to those bricks? In any case, I feel thankful that I did grow up playing LEGO as I feel it has helped me!”

Sevda Ablez, BA (Hons) Business Management, LSST Birmingham

Leave your comments below or email the author of this article kunal.mehta@lsst.ac for any LEGO Group questions or to find out more on participating in similar events and interviews in the near future.

Find out more about the LEGO Group here: www.lego.com/en-gb/aboutus/lego-group