Written by Matthew J. De Reno Friday, 20 April 2012 02:44

The Pros and Cons of Serious Lego Play, Team Building, and How To Deal With Insufferable Cynics

Recently I participated in a "Strategic Lego Play" team building exercise at an engineering retreat. Strategic Lego Play (a/k/a, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY, the trademarked name of the activity by the LEGO company) is a team building activity whereby groups are given piles of Legos to build models that conceptualize certain ideal engineering and management principles. For example: with a given pile of Legos, we were tasked with building a model of what an efficient management process would look like to us. I suppose the challenge is you have finite resources, limited time, a team you must work with, and a goal to do something. I'll buy that.

Couldn't we simply do this exercise, however, with anything that happened to be in our immediate area? Couldn't we gather a pile of sticks and figure out how to make something? What about random items found in the nearest trash can? I am wondering now - and you are probably too - if I am simply too cynical to get value out of strategic Lego play? And, when did I become the insufferable cynic when it comes to these team building type of activities? How do you deal with people like me?

The good sport in me says "Oh, strategic Lego play is a different kind of team building exercise." The cynic in me says, "This is a game for Kindergarten age kids. "  

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