Transform content using the LSP method

Find out how changing the process can change the outcome of content conversations using the The LEGO® Serious Play® method (LSP).

Have you been in conversations about the future of content or addressing a business challenge where nothing useful happens? This is often because these conversations do not get the best from the people in the room. LSP fixes this.

In 1995, multinational toy manufacturer LEGO realised they had a big problem. The way they were developing their strategy was not working.

Owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen and business professors Johan Roos and Bart Victor set out to fix this. They developed LSP, a method which used LEGO itself to improve meetings. 

“You change the process, you change the outcome”, said Johan Roos. “If you change the way the meeting is run, you change the outcome you get from it.”

LEGO involves constructing physical objects that exist in the real world. LSP takes a different approach. It transforms abstract ideas into physical forms and models, and gives space for meaningful discussions about your thinking.

In 2010, LEGO made LSP open source. Since then, the LSP community has continued to grow, along with the success of the technique. Organisations around the world regularly use LSP to develop strategies and explore solutions to complex issues.

Why LSP works

LSP is different from traditional meetings. Michael Fern, author of The LSP Method sums it up best by saying meetings are:

• talk-fests,
• for extroverts,
• for analytical types,
• linear and sequential,
• for the powerful.

In conventional meetings one idea is discussed at a time, making it impossible to see the connections between them. The messiness of creativity gets pushed aside. 

Content creators are inherently creative people. They see problems, they see connections, they want to fix things. But often they do not have effective ways of communicating their thinking to others. 

LSP helps people to print their minds, creating time and space to explore these ideas and see connections. 

Transforming content using LSP

One of the things we regularly see in our work with organisations is that individuals and teams struggle to talk to each other. 

This is usually because they come from different disciplines, which means they do not share the same language or ways of thinking and doing. LSP takes a different approach. It transforms abstract ideas into physical forms and models, and gives space for meaningful discussions about your thinking.

In 2022, we began using LSP to help teams change how they work together. Transforming their content operations and how they develop strategy. 

When we use LSP, individuals talk about their ideas through the models they’ve made. This shifts the focus of conversation. It empowers everyone to be open and honest in a way that they might struggle to do so in an ordinary meeting. 

By democratising conversations, LSP allows everyone a turn to contribute and share their perspectives. This helps to build trust between people — creating a form of psychological safety within the group.

The result is that people are able to co-design solutions, and so the quality of the meeting is better. Because people share ownership of the outcome, they are more likely to support it.

How content strategists and designers can use LSP

You can use LSP in your work in many ways, including: 

• exploring how your people, practices, processes and technology fit together, 
• better understanding and solving content operations problems as a team,
• co-designing a strategy to transform your content,
• carrying out user research with people to better understand their experiences.

If you’re interested in using LSP, get in touch. I’m a Certified Facilitator of LEGO Serious Play method.

LEGO, SERIOUS PLAY, IMAGINOPEDIA, the Minifigure and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorise or endorse this website.