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How LEGO used Agile Principles to Accelerate Innovation
Agile methods — in which work is done in parallel by cross-functionally staffed teams — has been the subject of a lot of hype. How refreshing, then, to discover examples of firms making it work in real life. One of the protagonists of the Lego story, Lars Roost, will be partnering with me in person at the World Agility Forum September 23–24.
In traditional structures, things can only move as fast as the slowest party to the transaction. Instead, imagine creating teams that have all the needed capabilities and clear processes for getting help from outside the team — such as support from compliance, legal and HR. Now, instead of customer issues being splintered among different work groups, everybody can get focused on identifying, developing, and implementing the best solution.
Leaving bureaucracy behind at LEGO
The LEGO Group dug itself out of a near-death experience in 2003 by, among many other things, creating an Enterprise Platform which created a culture of continuous improvement in all its key management processes. Digitization was a huge part of this transformation, which took the better part of a decade and was widely credited with helping the company’s transformation. An example of how it used digital technologies in a clever way was its “Legos Ideas” initiative which…
