Godtfred Kirk
Strategic Concepts & Mechanics
Primary Evidence
"According to Helge Torpe, who joined LEGO in 1958 as an executive assistant, Godtfred Kirk was the first boss he had who did not give an order. At that time, it was such an unfamiliar approach to management that many new LEGO leaders had difficulty figuring out what to do, and many left LEGO again for the same reason."
"With Kjeld Kirk’s entry into the management, LEGO was effectively undergoing a new generational shift. But it did not proceed peacefully. Godtfred and Kjeld, as father and son, had many emotions involved in their discussions with each other. There were almost daily heated discussions or even outright arguments, so that Godtfred’s wife, Edith, often had to intervene between the two men. Kjeld Kirk experienced unreasonably much skeptical opposition to his ideas from his father, who kept “interfering” in the operations. Godtfred, who had invested his whole life and existence in the company, and who loved working with the products and the company, felt a loss of his identity by relinquishing influence and stepping back."