Guestblog by Erwin Verweij, iFacilitate.eu

As a kid I used to play with Lego^tm. It wasn’t as diverse as it is today but I managed to build great things with a lot of imagination and the few bricks I had.  I grew up and became less interested in the stuff. Years later I had a son and he started playing with it. I got him new sets and I was amazed by how many different kinds of bricks there where. Everything changed and I fell in love again with the little bricks. I bought expensive models for myself and had a lot of fun. Then, one day, I stumbled upon something know as Lego Serious Play^tm. This brainstorm and meeting technique makes use of the same bricks but the play was different. It was used to open minds and talk. It brought grownups together and it endorses new connections. Not only social ones but even neurological connections. It jumpstarts the brain and that was so cool.

I plunged myself into a whole new world of Lego^tm and was amazed at how simple but effective the little bricks can be. Through a set of rules and with the method I help people to get answers on difficult questions like “How is my company or team performing?” or “Where do we go from here into the next couple of years?” and “Would it be wise to reorganize the structure of what we are and do?”

Pretty complex questions to which there is no quick and easy answer. Often people tent to start with meetings and they try to get everything in perspective. And even though al the questions are posed, the outcomes are not always what everyone was expecting to hear. People attending these meetings are not always heard and you can imagine that the outcome is one not carried by many.

And there’s where Lego Serious Play^tm comes to the rescue. It immediately involves everyone. It sets a environment where all input is used and it visualizes every aspect of the question. And it is fun. It binds and it stimulates by using communicating to an optimum. It is not easy to just explain everything on paper. This way of explaining even goes against the method. Lego Serious Play^tm is best explained with the bricks in your hands. And if you allow me a little of your time, I can make a difference for you. Come and join me, come and play, let’s make the world even more beautiful together!

When? 8 Maart 2013 Where? Ter Elst, Edegem (Antwerp, BE) How Much? 225€