LEGO® bricks are the best in the world. Competitors have tried to copy them over the years, but nothing comes close to a real LEGO® brick. So what’s the secret?

To make a product that good you’ve got to continually obsess about design and production lines and quality control. But what makes LEGO® the best in the world is how and where they begin the process. LEGO® design doesn’t begin with the brick. It begins with the people who will use it.

The LEGO® designer doesn’t work hard to make the perfect brick or the best brick in the world. She obsesses about how it feels to put two bricks together and then to pull them apart, with five-year-old hands. She spends her days understanding how it feels to sit on the floor for hours making a model that won’t fall to pieces when you pick it up. Then she designs the product that makes it possible to experience those feelings.

If you want to be the best in the world don’t start by trying to create the best product or service. Start by working out how people want to feel.

Image by Bart.