In 2008, Lego launched an open innovation pilot project. Fifteen years later, a community of 2.8 million customers is sharing and debating its product ideas. Customers whose ideas are retained earn 1% of the sales generated by that product. For some, such as the inventor of the best-selling “Medieval Blacksmith” model, this represents a small fortune.

How can you inspire yourself from this approach to build your own successes? In addition to the—important—sharing of value, this article reveals two lessons.

First, trust your customers to detect potential successes. Lego compared the predictions of its community to those of its employees and experts. The customers were incomparably better predictors, as long as their responses were sufficiently numerous. At Lego, ideas receiving 10,000 votes or more are the ones that are studied further.

Next, be sure to manage disappointments well. Out of 143 ideas receiving over 10,000 votes, only 23 have eventually seen the light of day. Lego observed that people whose ideas were rejected could become negative and harm the dynamic. The solution consisted in involving them in events allowing them to build personal relationships with other passionate customers, which compensated for the feeling of rejection.

Source: Lego Takes Customers’ Innovations Further, Michela Beretta, Linus Dahlander, Lars Frederiksen, Arne Thomas, MIT Sloan Management Review, September 2023.