TEI 160: How LEGO used a low-risk, high-value approach to product management

Global Product Management Talk is pleased to bring you the next
episode of... The Everyday Innovator with host Chad McAllister,
PhD. The podcast is all about helping people involved in innovation
and managing products become more successful, grow their careers,
and STANDOUT from their peers. About the Episode: Fundamentally,
product managers should be driving success for their organization.
We do that by providing customers value. The source of that value
may be, and perhaps should be, closer to our core capabilities than
is often thought. The toy company LEGO found this to be true, only
after being on the brink of bankruptcy. Other companies have also
discovered this principle, which is something my guest
calls innovating near the core. My guest this week, David
Robertson, explored this in a book-long case study of LEGO,
called Brick by Brick:  How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of
Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry. In his recent
book, The Power of Little Ideas: A Low-Risk, High-Reward
Approach to Innovation, he studies other companies who have won
their market using a similar approach. David is a Senior Lecturer
at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he teaches Innovation
and Product Design. He is also the host of the weekly radio show on
SiriusXM called “Innovation Navigation,” where he interviews
world-renowned thought leaders about the management of innovation.
In the discussion, you’ll learn: Why almost all of LEGO’s product
innovation efforts resulted in millions of dollars lost.What action
turned LEGO around and produced growth.How companies have innovated
close to their core to create market success.