It started with DUPLO. I was just a little tyke, bumbling
around the house and talking in only semi-understandable words. I loved those
big plastic blocks. Then, when I was a few years older, I was able to graduate
to ‘big boy’ blocks: LEGO blocks! I remember going to the toy store with my dad
and being shown a couple of sets I could pick from. In the end it was between a
space set and a pirate set. Though I’m sure both of them would’ve occupied my
imagination for hours upon hours, it was the pirate set that won out. It’s the
first LEGO set I remember getting, and my collection only grew.
As a teenager I held on to my LEGO sets, but they got
temporarily pushed to the side, only occasionally being pulled out. Recently,
however, I’ve found myself being drawn back to LEGO. I’m sorting through my old sets and acquiring
new ones.
Despite my love of LEGO, I never really knew much about the
company. David C. Robertson’s Brick by
Brick changed that, opening my eyes to the fascinating story about LEGO.
Writing with Bill Breen, the story first looks at LEGO’s history and how it
came to make plastic blocks. The rest of the book looks at different periods in
LEGO’s recent history. The goal of the book is to show how LEGO faced huge
obstacles in its operation and how it overcame them, and how the lessons LEGO
learned could apply to other businesses. But don’t let the business side of it
scare you away, there’s more than enough here to tide over LEGO fans.
Robertson breaks down failed LEGO products, such as Galidor
or Jack Stone, to see why they didn’t perform well. As a child, I remember
seeing ads for many of these failed toys but had forgotten about them until
reading this book. I found it incredible how much these failed products hurt LEGO.
One of the most astounding things I found was that, because so many failed
products released at close to the same time, that they caused LEGO to fall on
verge of bankruptcy.
What went wrong? How could a company that is so loved by
consumers have fallen so far? I found
the story to be fascinating, and then the story of how they climbed out of the
hole and then rocketed to new heights made this even more incredible.
While occasionally repetitive, Robertson makes LEGO’s story
clear. He is unashamedly a fan of LEGO’s, but isn’t afraid to take a look at
bad choices the company made. A selection of color reference photos is in the
middle of the book, with black and white photos inserted into various chapters
as need. While I don’t care for having the color photos separated from their
corresponding chapters, and I wish more of the black and white photos were in
color, they still strongly support their respective sections.
Given the 2013 copyright date, there is no mentioned of The LEGO Movie. I can only hope that in
a few years this books is re-released and Robertson can show us what when on
behind the scenes at LEGO during the creation process.
While I enjoyed this book as a LEGO fan, the business
lessons that Robertson pulls out of LEGO’s history seem solid, and the examples
he pulls are strong.
4/5 Stars
I received this book free from Random House as part of their
Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The
opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with
the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255
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