Jørgen Vig Knudstorp

"It is this idea that LEGO’s changing leaders have been able to rethink and renew from generation to generation. It is the idea that was almost lost when the company lost faith in itself – and it is the idea that Jørgen Vig Knudstorp and his management team have returned to, while also bringing it into the digital and interactive age."

"“LEGO is an idea-driven company. It can be difficult to hold onto an idea. But the idea becomes stronger when you concentrate. If you spread yourself too thin, you lose your identity. Companies usually don’t die from hunger but from indigestion. You need to grow and grow, and then you start to dilute the brand. LEGO found itself in an identity crisis. When you expand on as many fronts as LEGO did, there is a tendency to forget the core business. The values had been hollowed out at LEGO. Management had become a process-oriented culture with steering groups and the like, where everyone was involved and everyone had a say, but no one felt responsible. I said that now we have to make tough decisions and become clear on where the responsibility lies,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp."

"But the opposite happened. Poul Plougmann had had two chances to get LEGO back on track. Now a third, even more critical rescue attempt was at hand, where it was clear many would have to be dismissed. Trust was gone. Poul Plougmann was dismissed. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen stepped in and took over the leadership of LEGO and brought the 34-year-old Jørgen Vig Knudstorp close to him as an advisor, flanked by Jesper Ovesen."

"So Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, in close cooperation with Jesper Ovesen, began working on a new rescue plan. The two completely cut areas like film production and PC games, moved 80 percent of the brick production to cheaper countries like Mexico and Eastern Europe, reduced the number of bricks to 7,000, sold off buildings, sold the majority stake in the theme parks to Merlin Entertainments Group and the private equity fund Blackstone Partners for 2.8 billion kroner, and made the budgets financially transparent so it was visible exactly where money was being made and where it wasn’t."

"Jørgen Vig Knudstorp confided his concerns to Poul Plougmann and was asked to prepare a report. Jørgen Vig wrote the report – a critical description of LEGO’s condition and development – and sent it to the board with a copy to the management, instead of just to Plougmann himself."

"When Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen bet on Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, it wasn’t just because Jørgen Vig, as a leader, was a good analyst and strategist. Kjeld Kirk sensed that Jørgen Vig understood LEGO’s core idea – he had read up on it and talked for hours with Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen about the thoughts and attitudes behind it all."

"Today, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen has taken on the role of owner and has entirely left the management to a professional director. This does not mean that Kjeld Kirk and the family have relinquished influence over LEGO. Although Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is no longer visible to the public, he is Jørgen Vig Knudstorp’s closest advisor and sparring partner:"

"“LEGOs share of children’s playtime may decrease, but it won’t disappear. Children want to construct themselves. I believe there are some underlying stimuli that are eternal. Therefore, it is also important to constantly revitalize the core idea, so it matches the present we live in. The fundamental management task is to adapt the company to the reality that surrounds it. If you blame everything outside the company’s influence, you get a culture of complaint instead of robust leaders who take responsibility and act,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp."

"“Kjeld is the one who understands the brand better than anyone else. I have learned it through him – through many, many hours of conversations. Kjeld is the innovator who understands the product and creates the brand and the visions. He is involved in all strategic decisions, hiring top executives, management compensation systems, strategies, brand, culture, forecasts. Keep in mind that Kjeld professionalized LEGO and raised the revenue from millions to many billions. It was only when he became ill that things started to go badly. I told him that he probably should have changed the management 10 years before he handed it to me. He would have gotten much more out of it. It would still have been a difficult period to navigate through, and no one says that a new leader would have done the right thing. It may be that I, too, would have spread the LEGO brand too thin because that was what everyone said one should do back then. But it is very clear to me today that a strong brand has a clear focus,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp."

"“Some have the attitude that there are children in the market, so what can we make for them that can be sold? We have an attitude towards what good play is. We will only make a product that is truly good for play. We talk about this all the time and criticize ourselves if we have made something that is not good. We also discuss what good play is digitally. Pure physical LEGO play is good, but how do we make it good digitally? It requires us to translate the LEGO brick like a book to a film with the artistic freedoms that are necessary. It makes us uncertain. And that is why we never leave the plastic,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp."

"“In 15 years, I believe we will see a radically different LEGO than today, but it will be based on the same idea. LEGO is timeless and universal. Americans perceive LEGO as an essential part of American culture. Many other countries also believe they have the honor of LEGO. It’s only fitting that everyone can reflect on it and say that this is an expression of our culture. It shows the durability of the idea,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, just as Godtfred predicted many years ago."

"“The core business is what you do better than others. The brick, the brand, the building system, and the global fan base are the four things you cannot take from LEGO. Only that. Everything else is not core, and you should challenge yourself on why we do it. That’s why today we have many partners, for example, who produce films where LEGO provides the brand and idea. We no longer do it ourselves,” says Jørgen Vig Knudstorp."