Brick by Brick is a book about Lego and how despite adopting some theoretically good business practices the company got itself into a financial hole. Facing bankruptcy the company made some hard decisions and refocused their business practices and in a few short years got themselves back on track.
I’m liking
I found the book fascinating. A lack of financial accounting and a focus solely on quality got Lego into so much trouble and by making some really hard decisions they got back on track. It was especially interesting hearing how some of the newer product lines came into being, especially Lego architecture which came out of one man’s obsessions.
Things that made me go hmmmm
It’s not the book’s fault, but I found Lego’s focus on the demographic of 6-9 year old boys a bit sad. My girls love playing with Duplo and I anticipate they’ll love Lego when they get old enough to play with that also.
The conclusion
I loved reading this book, while at times it felt like a textbook, it was always interesting. At the conclusion of the book I realised how good it was that Lego overcame its financial woes because the world without Lego would be a poorer place.