LEGO ® Group: From Wooden Toys to Business Consultants

Only the best is good enough. 

-Ole Kirk Kristiansen, Founder

A wooden toy. A wooden brick. 

A plastic brick. A plastic figure. 

A billion plastic bricks. A million plastic figures. 

480 billion plastic bricks. 400 million plastic figures. 

Movie stars. Business Consultants. Astronauts. Educators. Theme Parks. 

A Universe. 

All rooted in a single value, that "only the best is good enough", LEGO Group operates in 130 countries, selling 7 LEGO sets every second. Has any other brand challenged the imagination of so many children? Disney? No way. There are 915 million ways to connect 6 eight-stud bricks. Nine hundred and fifteen million possibilities for a kid with 6 plastic bricks. They're universal, meaning the Star-Wars sets will connect to the Marvel sets, and Marvel to Hobbit, and Hobbit to Space, and Space to Minecraft, and so on. From the same brick that was created using ABS Polymer in 1959 LEGO has built educational opportunities for kids to advance in science in math, a business consulting strategy and a movie that's grossed over $100 million in its first 3 weeks. 

How is it possible?

Top-Notch Manufacturing Efficiency: Just 18 bricks out of every million fail the process. 

Good Friends: LEGO Group sold its Parks segment and is a popular licenser of its figures and brand name to game developers, film studios and other experienced designers of developing digital opportunities. 

No Identity Crisis Here: Since introducing the plastic brick LEGO has sold only 1 other product: plastic figures complementary to the plastic bricks. LEGO Group has worked to milk its successful lines rather than develop new products altogether. The strategy has resulted in a universality of creativity. 

Customer Relationships 

Community of Imagineers 

LEGO.com: Games, stories and experiences. Digital HQ.
LEGO Club: For the 6-12 Customer Segment. Share pictures of inventions.
LEGO Design byME: Build virtual LEGO Models.
LEGO Inside Tour: Twice a year exclusive visits to LEGO Group Headquarters.
Adult LEGO fans: Fan-created groups to share their LEGO hobby. 55,000 registered members.
LEGO Ambassadors: Improve relationship between LEGO Group and LEGO mega-fans.
LEGO Education: Learning tools for students of science and math.
First LEGO League: Kids 9-16 compete in a tournament to create robots that solve problems.

Reading the LEGO story was a jaw dropper for myself. The family knew what they wanted to do for kids. They knew quality had to be the best. They set values (no military figures because "war is not child's play") and never let them go. The result is a new language of creativity shared by kids in Japan and retirees in Cabo. Worldwide collaboration.

Read the Story
http://cache.lego.com/upload/contentTemplating/AboutUsFactsAndFiguresContent/otherfiles/download98E142631E71927FDD52304C1C0F1685.pdf

Social Media Truths

1. Users have different habits. 

2. Networks have unique environments. 

3. The true value of an organization is exposed on social media. 

For high value enterprises, defined here as those that have a daily involvement in activities instrumental in living a desired lifestyle shared by its customers, the key is to be a recourse. A beacon and participant in a recourse fueled by the input of concerned individuals and managed by a qualified enterprise. (SAP)

For low value enterprises, defined as dispensable parts of the customers' lives shaped mostly by our individual limitations (time & money), the key is to understand the small role you play in our lives and be damn proud of it. In short, loosen up. (Taco Bell)

A Teachers Guide to Millennial Learning Power

We don't need to leave our comfort zone to advance our learning experience. 

1) Google Drive: Invite students to share notes and outside recourses. Uploaded readings found free on the internet. A document for students to post questions, Professors answer right beneath the question for all to see. The Cloud, Drive, Box etc. needs to play some role in the classroom. It's just too incredible and too easy to use to ignore. 

2) Amazon Reading List: After the class, once the foundation is laid, a list of recommended readings. Where to next? You've read them all. What's a good start? Why? Fiction, non-fiction. Anything. 

3) Amazon Textbook List: How much money could you save your entire class if you e-mailed a list to all the required books listed on Amazon? The only advantage the bookstore has is convenience. Getting online and seeing 'Buy my Books' is an easy click. This list is that same level of convenience. Add to Cart. Add to Cart. Add to Cart. Delivered to your door. Buy and resell for a fair price. 

1) Enable us to collaborate. 2) Advance our learning. 3) Save us money. 

Tsiferblat (Clockhouse Cafe) : "Time is Money" Cafe Business Model

The pay-to-stay coffee shop model. 

More reading..
Are the rules of what is an office being rewritten by this Russian pay per minute coffee shop?
NPR : Rubles for minutes, not mochas at Russian cafe chain

Business Model Recourses

Business Modelling is not Process Modelling
Jaap Gordijn, Hans Akkermans, and Hans van Vliet
University of Amsterdam

Abstract.
 Innovative e-business projects start with a design of the e-business

model. We often encounter the view, in research as well as industry practice, that

an e-business model is similar to a business process model, and so can be specified

using UML activity diagrams or Petri nets. In this paper, we explain why this is a

misunderstanding. The root cause is that a business model is not about process but

about value exchanged between actors. Failure to make this separation of concerns

leads to poor business decision-making and inadequate business requirements.

The Business Model Ontology A Proposition In A Design Science Approach 

Alexander Osterwalder 

University of Lausanne (Switzerland) 

The research question of this dissertation is: 

How can business models be described and represented in order to build the foundation for 

subsequent concepts and tools, possibly computer based?

Business Model Template 

Google Docs 

Disney Business Model(s) Analysis

Mickey. Goofy. Donald. Mermaids. Wonderlands. Princesses. Deer. Pigs. Ogors. Ducks. With great content comes great distribution responsibility. Behind the mouse is a $45 Billion content production and distribution machine operating 5 separate business segments. Their Media Networks segment is home to the #1 channels for children 3-6, 6-11, and 8-14. The recent box office buster, Frozen, is battling the top annual spot with another Disney movie, Despicable Me 2. The company's ability to attract the talent to create the most compelling story lines and inviting characters is unparalleled. Below is a brief look at each segment's business model. Making Mickey is one ordeal, monetizing him is a whole other game. 

Costco Business Model Analysis

Keys from 10k...

We operate membership warehouses based on the concept that offering our members low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and select private-label products in a wide range of merchandise categories will produce high sales volumes and rapid inventory turnover. 

We do not obtain a significant portion of merchandise from any one supplier.

We have two primary types of members: Business and Gold Star (individual). (My note: Executive members also) 

Net sales increased 11.5% to $97,062, driven by a 7% increase in comparable sales

We plan to open 27 to 30 net new warehouses in 2013.

eBay Inc. Business Model Analysis

eBay Inc. has 3 business segments operating on 3 separate models. Their most recent acquisition, GSI commerce, introduced the Enterprise segment. Little fees on lots of transactions has worked for years, but can eBay keep its user base up against competitor's advancing technology?

Porters 5 Forces : Groupon Inc.

The daily deal and discount giant has market share, but how safe is the market?

Coca-Cola Business Model Analysis

Keys from 10k...

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company.

We own and market four of the world's top five nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands: Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. 

Finished beverage products bearing our trademarks are now sold in more than 200 countries. 

On October 2, 2010, we acquired the former North America business of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., one of our major bottlers, consisting of CCE's production, sales and distribution operations.

Marketing investments are designed to enhance consumer awareness of, and increase consumer preference for, our brands.

Consumers want more choices.