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eiridium's review against another edition
5.0
This is a book intended for biz students. It’s a case study exploring two specific phases in the business life of the company we know and whose products we love. Would a Lego aficionado like this read? Possibly. Although there is some good company lore and some fascinating illustrations, this is clearly a book intended to explore the strategy, the personalities, and the outcomes of the near demise of the company in the early years of this millennium, the false recovery, and then the subsequent rapid learning and adaptation processes that were undertaken to save Lego and to evolve along with the changing market.
There are product and product application aspects missing from this book – toys for thinking for example, but even with the business strategy direction, there’s much here to enjoy to consider how and why Lego toys of an increasingly diverse offering appeal and create such loyalty in the marketplace. The author is a biz prof and I am left wondering whether he himself played with Lego. That's simply to say that this is more of a business case study and in this, any passion for the product is left on the cutting room floor.
Recommended as a superb business strategy read and also as a potentially intriguing read for those with Lego at heart.
There are product and product application aspects missing from this book – toys for thinking for example, but even with the business strategy direction, there’s much here to enjoy to consider how and why Lego toys of an increasingly diverse offering appeal and create such loyalty in the marketplace. The author is a biz prof and I am left wondering whether he himself played with Lego. That's simply to say that this is more of a business case study and in this, any passion for the product is left on the cutting room floor.
Recommended as a superb business strategy read and also as a potentially intriguing read for those with Lego at heart.
duparker's review against another edition
4.0
So not what I was expecting, but very much enjoyed. I thought that the concepts and management information was well worth the unexpected focus on management. The bits of historical information about the company were woven in at the right moments and were interesting.
emheld's review against another edition
4.0
Worth the read. Caveat Emptor: this is not narrative nonfiction on the story of LEGO and its colorful characters. It's a business book on innovation and management principles.
weiandherviola's review against another edition
2.0
i believe LEGO has a lot of great stories to have successfully become my favorite toy, this book isn't doing a great job telling them...
thespiceoflife's review against another edition
5.0
I found this incredibly interesting! The history of the company and how the 7 steps of innovation work and how they did and did not work for Lego. Very good read!
chrisxaustin's review against another edition
5.0
A surprisingly good read.
So many books seem to cherry pick their data, listing the success stories while ignoring the times a particular piece of advice led to ruin. This book covers the Lego company through each of its stages, exploring the business advice they tried to follow, then exploring why the first attempt at Blue Ocean/etc strategies almost destroyed the company. I plan on re-reading this and taking more notes.
I grew up playing with Legos and later had beer and lego nights with friends, so they have a special place in my heart. Now the company does too.
So many books seem to cherry pick their data, listing the success stories while ignoring the times a particular piece of advice led to ruin. This book covers the Lego company through each of its stages, exploring the business advice they tried to follow, then exploring why the first attempt at Blue Ocean/etc strategies almost destroyed the company. I plan on re-reading this and taking more notes.
I grew up playing with Legos and later had beer and lego nights with friends, so they have a special place in my heart. Now the company does too.
panthor's review against another edition
2.0
A lot of detail about Lego’s ups and downs, but not a very enthralling read. It would be better as a Blinkist summary or something similar.
todayisnot's review against another edition
2.0
The book was ok. The history of Lego innovations was interesting but the format was a bit redundant. As a marketing tool to get adults into Legos, I think the book is a success (the more I read the more I wanted to buy Legos and eventually spent $30 on a starter kit). However, the book left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth since it became very clear that Lego's focus is 90% on the male consumer and most case studies highlighted men at Lego. Both internally and externally it seems like Lego views women as a secondary "other" which was disappointing.