Can you imagine facilitating without Post-it Notes?
Back in the 80s, barely anyone used them. This is probably because they were not readily available; not to mention, if you did find them they were super expensive. Yes, I was facilitating back then. Post-its were actually only invented in 1974. So fast forward to 2020. Can you imagine showing up to facilitate without Post-its, markers, or a flip chart? I know, crazy.
But this post is not about Post-its. It’s about LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP)!
When I first heard about LSP in the early 2000s, I contacted LEGO Systems Group to get more information. I read about LSP in, of all places, a finance article I was reading for my MBA. Everyone in my class read this article, and it only mentioned LSP once at the very bottom of the page. I had been trained as an art and play therapist in the 80s. When I read about LSP, a light went off in my mind. Could this be the tool I had been looking for to bring art and play into the boardroom?
I intuitively knew the LEGO® Systems Group was on to something.
I did everything I could to find out more. Eventually, I was the first person to bring LSP to Canada. The rest is history. Those early years when I started to use LSP in my work was a bit like trying to cut a trail through a thick forest, not impossible but really, really hard work. There were virtually zero case studies, no testimonials, and no photos or videos on the Internet. No one had even heard of LSP.
It’s now 2020 and more and more people are aware. Here in North America, people no longer check my temperature when I tell them I use LEGO® to develop strategy or create solutions to messy problems. In fact, most people just want to hear more.
If you are reading this post, we can assume you too have LEGO® bricks in your facilitator’s kit and you use them in a multitude of ways, just like you use Post-it Notes and flip charts. As you know, each tool has an application and each tool is required to get the job done. Soon it will be odd not to know how to use LEGO bricks efficiently. The Canadian Gov. have started to put out RFPs that require responders to hold certifications in LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methods. So not only do they want facilitators, they want trained and certified LSP facilitators.
Like most early adopters, you too are on the leading edge.
You are likely already looking for new ways to apply LSP. Well, remember that path I cut through the woods to get this started. With the help of an amazing training team, including an experienced higher education curriculum designer, that path is now a roadway.
We have many advanced classes.
We also have the next Unconference scheduled for November 17 & 18, 2020, in Malibu, California. This is where all the bright minds will be gathering to share applications and techniques.
Register now. November will be here in no time at all.
Let’s keep building the LSP road together.