ABSTRACT
The LEGO Group started out as a small carpentry shop with a proud tradition of craftsmanship in Billund, Denmark, where everyone, under the direction of the founder and owner Ole Kirk Kristiansen, did their utmost to keep up with production and sales. As we saw in the book’s Introduction, this business grew by leaps and bounds after the adoption of plastic injection molding in the early 1950s and the development of the LEGO System of Play based on the LEGO standard brick, plastic elements that could be fitted together in an infinite number of designs and shapes. While the business developed and expanded over the years, though, it was difficult to transition from a craftsmanship-based production system to a more global mass production system with standardized work procedures. You cannot simply transfer across borders and cultures all the learning and experience of many decades of in-house development of unique LEGO operational know-how. Understanding the complexity of finely tuned crafted machinery and the way one worker knows exactly how to approach an assignment and make it work is not something easily learned in a short time.
