PART ONE $$ BUILDING A BUSINESS CASE WITH LEGO BRICKS!

Let$$s reverse engineer the Lego article $$ Four Years, $30,000$ Kids, Countless Bricks: Inside the Quest for the Next Hit Lego Set.$$ This article exemplifies how a business case was made for the Lego Dreamzz line.$$ It was an idea that got funded, it was the pet project of Niels Christiansen, CEO.$$ Read the article, and then integrate the ideas from the business case articles.$$

Specifically address each step of the business case process, and support your post with specific examples from the Wall Street Journal article.

Step One $$ What was the problem or opportunity that faced Lego? This was huge and cited several times in the article. They needed to fix something $$ hint, hint.

Step Two $$ How did they generate alternatives to solving this issue?

Step Three $$ What evidence did you see that they gathered data to reduce uncertainty, and increase the probability for success?

Step Four $$ How did they evaluate the options that were being considered?

Step Five $$ Were you comfortable with their ultimate choice? Do you feel like it was a thorough vetting.

Step Six $$ Please offer how they started to put forth a credible path to get Dreamzz to market.

Step Seven $$ How do you think it was sold to the company and Mr$.$ Christiansen$$s higher ups? $($Everyone has a boss $$ even the CEO$)$

Again, we do not have complete information, we don$$t$$ work at Lego, we weren$$t part of the Dreamzzz team, but this article explains how a business case went through a real organization.$$ The goal with this exercise to understand how an idea got brought to life, i$.$e$.$ strategy, through a very deliberate, diligent process.

PART TWO $$ REFLECT ON YOUR TIME AS A STRATEGIST

After reading both articles, how might the business case approach and the understanding of how we sell ideas to folks above us in the organization have helped you in your early careers? $$

These ideas apply if you worked at a daycare, an ice cream shop, a retail store $$ we all see things that can be improved or opportunities.$$ If as the article said, you were scared or intimated to make a strategy pitch in the past $$ that$$s OK$!$ But tell me now how you might have approached the situation differently and made a pitch to your boss.