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  • You've probably seen one of these,

  • a Lego Brick.

  • But have you ever wondered how it all started

  • and why it's called Lego?

  • Actually, the name is much older than this plastic brick.

  • Are you curious?

  • Let me tell you how it all began.

  • Many years ago

  • there was a skilled and hard-working carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen.

  • Ole was a respected carpenter with his own company,

  • but times were hard. So he didn't have much money

  • and had to dismiss his last worker.

  • Ole: "Come on in".

  • Worker: "I have closed down the workshop and packed my things".

  • Ole: "Thank you. I suppose I'd better write you a paycheck".

  • Ole: "Take care."

  • Ole: "Well, that was the last one.

  • I just didn't imagine that it would come to this".

  • Wife: "I know. It's hard to understand, but at least now it can't get much worse."

  • But it did get worse. Shortly after, Ole lost his wife.

  • But Ole was a special person.

  • He wasn't the type that gave up.

  • And with the responsibility of his four sons, he had to think of something.

  • Ole had gotten an idea

  • and for him, it never took long to put an idea into action.

  • Ole's little invention made his boys so happy that he thought maybe he should start making toys.

  • Ole decided to give it a try.

  • Luckily, he had saved up a lot of wood from the carpentry production.

  • He could now use it to make toys.

  • Time passed by

  • and even though Ole was a skilled carpenter and had a good eye for quality and detail,

  • sales were very slow.

  • Luckily, one of his sons, Godtfred, started helping out his dad after school.

  • Together, they just barely managed to keep up the production.

  • Eventually, word began to spread that the wooden toys of the finest quality were being made from that little workshop in Billund.

  • One day, a man drove into town.

  • A man who would change Ole's future.

  • He was a wholesaler from factory shop.

  • 'I heard that you are making some very nice wooden toys'

  • Ole: 'Well, one does his best'.

  • The wholesaler was very impressed with all the wooden toys.

  • And placed big order before he left.

  • Ole: 'Now there's finally someone who can see the opportunities and what we are doing'

  • 'Look at this. The wholesaler wants to put a lot of our toys into his store for the holidays

  • it's going to be a good Christmas this year

  • that will be busy".

  • Now, there was a lot to do with the little workshop

  • and Ole could rehire his former workers.

  • Ole only used the highest quality wood

  • which was hand-picked and very carefully prepared

  • They worked day and night to get the order finished

  • So the wholesaler could get the toys out in stores before Christmas.

  • Godtfred: "Is there something wrong, Dad?"

  • Ole: "I'm afraid that we are in big trouble".

  • In the middle of their work, Ole received a letter saying that the wholesaler had filed for bankruptcy

  • and couldn't buy the toys that he had ordered

  • Godtfred: "What are you gonna do? What about Christmas?

  • Now we can't even afford food?"

  • Ole: "I'll do it".

  • Godtfred: "What are you gonna do, Dad?"

  • Ole: "I'll do it myself. I'll drive around selling the toys"

  • There was no time to lose. Ole packed the car with all the toys and drove off.

  • Ole was a very good toy-maker but was not a very good salesman.

  • He didn't like praising himself or talking about how carefully the toys have been made

  • but he had to keep trying

  • Ole: "This is going to be a blast. Is there anything you were interested in?"

  • 'It looks exciting but i don't have a lot of money right now. Maybe we could trade in and call it even.'

  • Ole: "Well, i would prefer money"

  • 'but'

  • In the end, he succeeded in selling all the toys.

  • He didn't receive as much money as he had hoped. But the family managed and they had plenty of food for Christmas

  • Time passed by

  • But the toys didn't sell as quickly as they had expected

  • Ole thought perhaps the company needed a good name

  • 'What should it be? It has to be short word. I wanted to convey playing well'

  • In Danish, `playing well` is called `LEG GODT`

  • 'What should it be? What should it be?'

  • 'If only i could get some sort of a sign'

  • 'LEGO'

  • As you can see, Ole himself ended up finding a very suitable name.

  • But what he didn't know was that in latin, the word 'LEGO' means 'I put together'

  • The name 'LEGO' was well received.

  • And the company slowly started to move forward.

  • Godtfred: "We have made 3000 krones this year. And we more orders than usual"

  • Ole: "Did you say 3000 krones. Then you need to see what i've been looking at"

  • Even though Godtfred wasn't comfortable spending money on a milling machine.

  • He could see that it was useful and that the quality of the toys improved

  • 'Could you finish the last batch and get it ready for shipping?'

  • 'I will'

  • 'Dad.... dad, i saved a lot of money for the company today'

  • Ole: "Really? how?"

  • Godtfred: "I figured we could save money in the locker. It's like only coated the duck twice instead of three times"

  • Ole: "You what?"

  • Unfortunately, Godtfred's idea didn't go over well with Ole.

  • Ole made Godtfred unpacked all the ducks himself

  • gave them the last layer of locker and bring them back to train station.

  • Ole believes in high quality and not cheating his customers

  • when Godtfred returned, Ole explained that wasn't the way to create a good brand.

  • This little lesson opened Godtfred's eyes to the fact that every detail matters

  • and only the best is good enough.

  • In the late 1930s, LEGO was making a profit even when the second world war broke out.

  • They tried to make the best out of a difficult time.

  • It seemed nothing could go wrong.

  • But a stormy night in 1942 changed their luck.

  • 'There's a fire. The workshop is on fire.'

  • But when the firemen arrived, they were unable to save the workshop

  • it burned to the ground and all the drawings and models were destroyed.

  • Ole was beginning to lose hope.

  • All that he had worked for was gone and he almost lost his company

  • but being responsible for his children and workers inspired him to rebuild LEGO

  • A new factory was constructed

  • Soon the production of the wooden toys started again

  • The little company fought it way back into the market

  • Gradually, the LEGO factory began to run smoothly and Ole started looking for new challenges

  • One day, he went to Copenhagen to look at a new machine that had just arrived in Denmark.

  • It was a plastic moulding machine and Ole was very excited about it

  • Ole: "Should we buy it? i'm sure it's a good bargain and it would give us a lot of opportunities"

  • Godtfred: "Well, it does sound interesting but it is a lot of money"

  • Ole: "I'll take that as a Yes"

  • When the plastic moulding machine finally arrived, Ole started making little plastic teddy bears and raddles.

  • But he still had the plastic brick that he had received at the fair.

  • There was something about that he couldn't stop thinking about.

  • And even though no one else could see the potential in them.

  • Ole decided to redesigned and put them into production.

  • But it was when LEGO first launched the great Ferguson tractor, that the plastic toys became a success.

  • Unfortunately the sales were dropped during the summer

  • and the company had too many toys in stock.

  • Godtfred: "This can't be right. Of course, our products can be sold the whole year, not only for Christmas"

  • Godtfred decided that he would go out and sell the toys himself.

  • Godtfred brought his wife as a company and moral support

  • "If you can't get cash,we need butter and eggs"

  • Well, it wasn't that bad.

  • Godtfred was a success in his trip around the country which helped LEGO to get out of its financial crisis.

  • They reached home just in time for Ole's birthday party.

  • Ole turned 60 and the whole family was gathered to celebrate with him.

  • Ole: "Well, I guess it was a long trip along the country"

  • "Hey, I got an idea. Eh, listen. Listen. What about a picture with the three generations"

  • Everyone thought that was a good idea. And we were placed on the sofa with all the presents and flowers around us.

  • On a business trip to England, Godtfred met the head of a big shopping center on his way home.

  • They discussed the toy industry. And the conversation would be very important to the future of LEGO.

  • "Damn that industry. I just think that toys are no good nowadays"

  • Godtfred: "What do you mean? I think they are working very well".

  • "Oh, they work fine. Sure, but there's no system in anything"

  • Godtfred: "System?".

  • Godtfred: "System? Hmm. There isn't any system".

  • Ole: "What in the world are you doing, Godtfred?"

  • Godtfred: "There isn't any system.

  • The toys need an idea and a system built around it.

  • I want to put system in the play. Children have only been offered ready-made solutions.

  • They need something different that will strengthen their imagination and creativity".

  • Ole: "So, you are trying to put LEGO into a system? Interesting".

  • That same year, LEGO started producing the first LEGO system of play.

  • Children could now build houses from the LEGO bricks.

  • The town planned gave play a realistic town setting and with this, children learned about traffic safety.

  • My sister and I could play with the new LEGO system for hours.

  • Some people said we were the luckiest children in the world.

  • Because we grew up in a toy factory.

  • It was a huge breakthrough.

  • And Godtfred decided to try selling it outside of Denmark.

  • The system of play was so popular that they managed to sell it to many countries.

  • "Look what I just built".

  • "That is really nice, Cal".

  • Even though LEGO was meant for only building houses, there was still a lot of opportunities.

  • There was just one problem.

  • "Hmm, I can't lift it up. It keeps falling apart".

  • That made Godtfred wondered. He wanted to find a way to make the LEGO bricks stick together.

  • But that was easier said than done.

  • Godtfred noticed that the LEGO bricks got a better clutch powers with tooth inside.

  • Now, it was no longer just bricks but a whole construction system with endless possibilities.

  • This was ground breaking for the LEGO product.

  • With a child's imagination, LEGO could be anything in the world over and over again.

  • The imagination is the limit.

  • "Look, Dad. Now, I can build everything"

  • Unfortunately, Ole never got to see how successful the little bricks actually became.

  • Godtfred was left on his own and he had to go through another fire at LEGO that destroyed most of the wood production.

  • Just like his father, Godtfred knew that he had to try to get the best out of any situation and never give up.

  • Godtfred took the hard times with his head held high.

  • As sales grew, the company also got bigger.

  • He had to think ahead and he decided not to resume the production of wooden toys and to only focus on the LEGO system.

  • And it turned out to be great decision. Many new models were built and LEGO got stronger in the toy industry.

  • Staff: "Sir, which one of these do you think is the best?"

  • Godtfred: "Hmmm, Err, that one".

  • Even though it got busier at LEGO, Godtfred still had bigger plans.

  • Now, he wanted to build an airport.

  • So, it would be easier to sell his toys to the whole world.

  • Like father, like son.

  • It didn't take long to put his ideas into action.

  • Only three years later, Billund airport was opened.

  • Then many guests and business connections who visited the company always wanted to see their modeling department.

  • Gradually, it got so crowded that it was hard for the employees to keep up their work.

  • Godtfred: "I think we'd better wait a while".

  • Godtfred could see that something had to be done.

  • He needed a bigger place to display the LEGO models.

  • Employee: "Er, I don't want to interrupt. So, I'll just put this package of our new LEGO train on the table".

  • Godtfred: "Jut put it there".

  • The idea grew quickly from an exhibition room to an amusement park.

  • Godtfred: "And then, we could have a tower so you could look over the whole park from above, the whole town. It would be land made out of LEGO, LEGO land".

  • "Well then, it looks interesting. But how many visitors are you actually counting on?"

  • "Well, I guess eh two hundred three hundred thousand".

  • "Three hundred thousand?"

  • Even though it sounded like a lot, my dad was actually pretty far off the mark.

  • There were six hundred thousand guests the very first year.

  • My family and I were there to greet the guests.

  • We've kept up this tradition ever since.

  • Now, you know how it all began.

  • LEGO wouldn't be what it is today if it hadn't been for my grandfather's sense of quality and search for profession.

  • My father firmly believed in the endless possibilities of the LEGO system.

  • I seek to take the LEGO idea even further.

  • Encouraging children to explore, experience and express their own world, a world without limit.

  • And we are still convince that only the best is good enough because children deserve the best.

You've probably seen one of these,

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