Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

LEAP investment workshop uses Lego to encourage entrepreneurial culture change

LEAP investment workshop uses Lego to encourage entrepreneurial culture change

Interactive investment workshops were featured on the second day of LEAP’s second edition, with the spotlight falling on David Gram-Hanssen, co-founder of Diplomatic Rebels.
His workshop utilized Lego building blocks to help participants focus on the changes they can create in the future as they become diplomatic rebels in their respective industries.

He said: “Future success depends on the ability to explore and experiment. We all need to become even better at adapting to change.

“There’s a perfect storm of change happening right now geopolitically, environmentally, business-wise. Everything seems to be sort of moving, and over time that speed is only going to pick up.”

Diplomatic Rebels was a concept created out of the work of Lego’s radical innovation department, Future Lab.

It turned into a system and a way of thought that helped people navigate the bureaucracy of companies, sparking change in their offices and communities.

Gram-Hanssen, who previously worked at Lego Ventures, said companies needed to adopt this entrepreneurial culture.

He added: “At Lego we started saying as a mantra, radical is normal. It means that radical change and radical innovation is the new normal.

“We constantly have to move along and experiment and explore what is happening out there.”

He discussed what it means to be a diplomatic rebel, sparking innovation and positive change while anticipating resistance.

He said: “One of the things at Lego that we understood over time was when you’re working with radical innovation and trying to change things, it’s really hard work.

“One aspect to be mindful of is creating the necessary resilience in the teams you are working with.”

He explained that most entrepreneurs feel like they are constantly fighting the immune system of that existing environment.

He added: “They are trying to do something that doesn’t compute in the existing system.”

Gram-Hanssen gave his audience the task of building a Lego model to represent their work today and their vision for the future.

He also explained the concept of a “pretotype,” a predecessor of a prototype, which aims to gather data to aid faster testing, encouraging participants at the session to implement the concept in their daily lives.

He said: “The right question is not so much what is going to change and when, because it’s hard to foresee.

“Maybe the right question to ask is how do we take a lead on this change? What is it? What do we want to see in the world, and how do we put ourselves in front of this change?”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
The Daily Debate: The Fall of the Dollar — Strategic Reset or Economic Self-Destruction?
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
Saudi-Spanish Business Forum Commences in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia and Spain Sign MoU to Boost SME Sectors
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
A Chinese company made solar tiles that look way nicer than regular panels!
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
Saudi Arabia Emerges as Global Tech Magnet with U.S. Backing and Trump’s Visit
This was President's departure from Saudi Arabia. The Crown Prince personally escorted him back to the airport.
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
Trump takes a blow torch to the neocons and interventionists while speaking to the Saudis
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×