Remember Jack Stone, the LEGO version of G.I. Joe? How about LEGOLAND in California? 

Oh, you don’t remember those? That’s because those were LEGO failures. In recent weeks, we’ve discussed “active inertia” in organizations – that period in the life of an organization where it has plateaued, and the “we’re trying really hard” isn’t getting you out of the funk. The wheels are spinning mud, no matter how much the organization is mashing the gas pedal. 

This plateau is inevitable in every organization. If you’ve reached that point where you think you are spinning your wheels with high effort, but you aren’t getting returns, consider these examples and principles to shift your thinking. 

A great example of recovery from active inertia is LEGO. By the early 200s, LEGO had expanded its business tentacles into all kinds of things: those Jack Stone action figures, amusement parks, movies, video games, clothes and merchandise, and every conceivable iteration of licensed LEGO parts (Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc). Just this last effort had ballooned their number of unique “bricks” to over 12,000.  

But they were in crisis. They were obviously trying REALLY hard, but the company was in crisis. So what did the new head of LEGO (Jorgen Vin Knudstorp) do when he came on board? Innovate and expand?  No. He got back to basics. One of his marketing managers summed it up, saying that their product should simply appeal to 7-year-old German boys: “That’s it. That’s our goal as a company. If we can’t make seven-year-old German boys happy, then we don’t have a future.” 

And it worked. By cutting costs and focusing back on basics, the company hit another boom (even allowing for some ventures into those other areas, like the successful The Lego Movies in 2014). 

Takeaways from LEGO’s Recovery from “Active Inertia” 

Be Ruthless 

First, an important trait in approaching a business re-think is ruthlessness. Now, don’t get images of Ebenezer Scrooge.  You’re not going to be ruthless with people, but rather with how you approach your own thinking and actions.  You may have to make tough decisions and take difficult actions, but you might need to take a “bit the bullet” attitude.  If you are at a difficult point in your business, or just have reached a plateau beyond which you aren’t growing, you might need to do away with any “half-measures” and make clean breaks with processes or products that aren’t delivering. 

Analyze…honestly 

LEGO had to look at the cold reality that they were bleeding money. Of course, that hadn’t been their plan. Amusement parks SOUNDED good. The licensing partnerships LOOKED good. LEGO really, really, really wanted these efforts to work. Surely some of the leaders within the organization had made these their “pets” and tried to sell their colleagues on the success. 

But the numbers weren’t lying. They weren’t making money, and much of the company’s effort was poured into new initiatives that did not deliver.  

A business owner must HONESTLY assess those strengths and weaknesses within their organization. You likely have that pet project that isn’t working out as well as you wanted. Maybe it needs a tweak. But are you devoting too much time and effort to a project with underwhelming results? Be brutal in assessing this:  are you keeping this product, process, or project around just because you WANT it to work?  

Return to Core Competencies…but maybe in New Ways 

The most vital key to getting out of the active inertia funk is this:  return to what you do best, even if that means adjusting that to new circumstances. For LEGO, the road back was simple:  focus on the “brick” business that appealed to its primary customer – that 7 year old boy. They didn’t cut everything to focus on something new. They didn’t radically alter their products. They ruthlessly got back to basics. 

Sometimes, circumstances dictate that you need to get back to your strengths….but in a different way. A classic example of this is Adobe. The boxed software model that had initially worked for them stopped working for them. Instead of reaching out into other areas, expanding out other products and services, they kept on with their products. Except instead of boxed software, their model turned to subscription-based, cloud-based services. They did the same thing, just in a different way modified to evolving circumstances.  

Trim the Fat 

Once you’ve assessed honestly and identified core competencies, you’ll need to rid yourself of those efforts which distract your organization. You’ve seen above how this worked with LEGO. You might have to get rid of those efforts that everyone REALLY wants to work. But you need to trim the fat so that your core strengths can get back to propelling you forward.  Sometimes, you might even be able to return to some of those pet projects, as seen in The Lego Movie, which ended up being successful. But those opportunities can’t come at the expense of you doing what you do best. 

Conclusion

Every business hits a plateau at some point: when effort no longer equals progress. The lesson from LEGO’s turnaround is that success isn’t always about adding more; sometimes it’s about doing less, better. By being ruthless about what’s not working, brutally honest about the numbers, and laser-focused on core strengths, organizations can dig themselves out of stagnation and build their next era of growth, one solid brick at a time.