What LEGO Can Teach Us About Building Better Offices

LEGO bricks are one of the world’s most ubiquitous toys. Loved by millions for generations, these colourful interlocking blocks are as iconic as they are fun. They’re simple to use, limited only by a person’s imagination, and are built (pun absolutely intended) to last.

As a business leader, I firmly believe there’s a lot to love about – and even more to learn from – LEGO.

First and foremost is the product itself. There are few products out there that appeal to such a broad range of people as LEGO. Whether you follow their instructions to the letter or let your creativity take the reins, LEGO makes it easy to build something cool out of simple but high quality plastic bricks. They may not be the most inexpensive plaything on the shelf, but the countless hours and ways you can build with it, pull it apart, and repeat makes it one of the best value toys on the market. Between having mass appeal and being incredibly well-made (Our family’s LEGO bricks are about to be passed on to a third generation, and they’re still in great condition!) It’s no wonder LEGO has managed to be named “Toy of the Century” twice.

LEGO is so beloved that entire communities have developed around the brand. There are TV shows and blockbuster movie franchises, art installations, fan sites and user generated content. There are platforms for sourcing specific pieces to finish old sets and technology that will generate design ideas and instructions based on a simple photograph of a random collection of bricks. People love sharing their creative ideas and collecting and building some of the most complex and rare sets. The community-driven ecosystem around the LEGO brand is almost cult-like in its passion, and it’s a devotion most brands would give anything to see grow around their own products.

The power of LEGO’s legacy is no accident. As a brand, they know exactly what they stand for and they have remained wholly focused on it for decades: play. In fact, play is so central to the brand’s ethos that it’s literally baked into the name, with LEGO actually being an abbreviation for two Danish words that translate to “play well”. LEGO doesn’t sell colourful blocks made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene with a reusable friction fit connection system. They sell fun and creativity, they sell community, and they back it all up with exceptional customer service.

LEGO has every reason to be proud of their product, brand, and purpose. And, while you can easily find much cheaper copies, the LEGO faithful remain truly devoted to the real thing.

When thinking about Bureau, I want to see us take the lead from everyone’s favourite plastic building blocks and become the LEGO of offices. I see us doing this in a few key key ways:

Making it easy to build your ideal space

Whether you’re following the instructions or building your own vision, LEGO’s purpose is straightforward and intuitive. Bureau provides a similarly simple solution to office spaces. You don’t need to have a background in architecture or design to build high quality offices quickly and easily because our wide selection of standarised components do the hard work for you, allowing for an endless combination of ways to create an office to meet any vision and suit any needs a company may have.

Facilitating creativity and customisation

One of the best things about LEGO bricks is the flexibility they provide. Even if you build a set as directed, there’s nothing to stop you from making your own custom tweaks to the design. And when you’re done building, you can disassemble your creation and make something entirely new. Bureau’s products work the same way. Everything we offer can be reused and reimagined to create Elastic Workspaces that change and adapt as a business grows or shrinks, and evolves. This level of flexibility can even be used as an outlet for creativity or helping unlock motivation and inspiration.

Creating inspired, passionate communities

There are communities for just about every interest and idea. One need only look at the Reddit communities for things like mechanical keyboards (1.3 million users) or IKEA hacks (350k) to know what I mean. Just like LEGO has inspired a following of devoted builders, we want to inspire a community of people who are just as passionate about great spaces as we are. At Bureau, we believe deeply in the power of thoughtful, data-driven spaces to inspire people and the work they do. We care about making great spaces and we strive to be a thought leader in this space in the same way that LEGO is the go-to for playful, creative fun.

Providing quality products and customer service

A quality product and thoughtful customer experience are central to LEGO’s success. It’s a simple enough concept: offer something great and take the customer’s needs seriously. Unfortunately, many companies fall short of meeting these standards, choosing instead to cut corners or make compromises. Bureau has always – and will always – take the same approach as LEGO on this front. In addition to providing high quality, long-lasting products, we integrate our own and community-built technologies into designing our products and customer journey to further enhance the experience we offer. We’re customer focussed in our support, and we take pride in knowing what our customers care about. 

Just like LEGO, at Bureau we’re proud of our products, our brand, and our mission of creating workspace that work. And, like LEGO, I believe that focussing on providing a thoughtful, easy to use solution that inspires creativity and community is what sets us apart from other office space companies. In so many ways, LEGO has laid the way to success in colourful plastic bricks, and it’s a path that I and the rest of Bureau are happy to follow.

Build your office, your way.

See how Bureau helps companies create flexible, high-quality workspaces without the complexity of traditional construction. Explore our solutions or book a conversation with our team.