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I’ve drafted a letter, and had my wife review for grammar, context and
presentation. By way of credentials, my wife has worked as both a full time
external communications, and internal executive communications writer in a
Fortune 100 company for over 10 years, and also teaches accredited undergraduate
courses in writing and presentation skills in the evening for the past 7 years.
She knows enough German to know what may and may not translate well. (She’s also
a caring sweetheart that fully supports my Lego hobby....Aren’t I a very lucky
guy?)
Someone more skilled in German/Danish would have to translate the final draft,
if we ever agree to one.
And of course, everyone has different styles of writing.
As anyone who has tried to build a Powerpoint slide in real time in a business
meeting with 20 other people can tell you, micro-Wordsmithing in a large group
can take forever. With this version, I’d especially like input on the “content”
of the letter first. Here is the summary - the actual letter follows below.
1) We are disappointed in color change
2) As customers, we like Lego in large part because we believe the Lego Promise
of consistency
3) Besides creativity, Lego can teach children about the benefits and meaning of
consistency.
4) Lego earned it’s reputation because of quality/consistency
5) The color change (although not the worst change they could have made) betrays
that Promise and reputation. It’s not the end of the world, but it is a bad
direction.
6) Here’s how, and why this is important.
7) Thus we have lost some confidence in Lego, and the Core Promise that gives
Lego it’s uniqueness and value in the market.
8) Lego can still recover. Go back to what made you successful. Bring the
original color, and therefore Promise, back.
9) This will gain you loyalty, customers, and help your brand.
Notes to self: Keep word choice and sentence structure simple and concise. Do
not over-react. State the facts. Positive tone. Do not criticize the company,
just the specific action.
If addressed to CEO instead of the company in general, some pronouns,
grammatical structure, and descriptive words need to be changed.
Personal comments: Could probably benefit from being 1/4 to 1/3 shorter if
possible. Not sure if it’s hitting the salient points well enough.
*******
Dear Lego,
One of the most disappointing decisions Lego made this past year is changing its
gray, dark gray and brown colors after 20 years.
Many people are attracted to your construction toy because Lego products have
represented the highest standards in quality and consistency for over 40 years.
Parents purchasing Lego do not just buy a box of bricks – they also buy into the
promise that today’s purchase will “always” work with Lego products from 40
years ago, or 40 years from now.
Children playing with Lego bricks are not just stimulating creativity – they
also are learning the important values of consistancy, dependability and
reliability over a lifetime. They are learning the value of keeping a promise –
the Lego Promise. When these children grow into parents, the value of the Lego
Promise transfers to their children.
Lego has earned an excellent reputation by keeping its promises over
generations; however, the recent color change has betrayed your Promise and
tarnished your reputation.
Gray parts collected over time from various Lego sets should remain the same
color. Changing this is equally as wrong as having inconsistent shades of gray
within the same boxed set. Only a quality of material change, or a change to the
size of your basic brick, could be worse.
The credibility of the Lego Promise – to never alter important things about Lego
– has been uncomfortably shaken. The Promise sounds especially hollow when it is
repeated after this unprecedented color change.
Even worse, what happens to the credibility of a parent who has told his or her
child, “Lego is good because it will always work and stay the same”?
In our rapidly changing world, there is great comfort to both parent and child
to have a quality toy, a Promise and a stable company they can believe and trust
in.
Please return us to your previously unbroken record of consistency by making the
classic gray, dark gray and brown colors available again. Lego bricks represent
creativity, but they also represent a constancy that transcends time – much like
a parent’s constant love for his or her child.
If Lego remains true to its original vision and Promise, it will remain superior
to other companies. It also will continue to have loyal, happy, lifetime
customers – and will achieve its goal of being “the best brand for families with
children.”
Sincerely,
*******
(Please feel free to comment constructively on what you like and/or question. If
you don’t think the Color change is that big a deal, please don’t bring that up
again here. This is only for the audience in LUGNET who does feel it is
important. I’m just trying to help that group out.)
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Message has 5 Replies:
 | | Re: Color change: **CEO Draft Letter**
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| By focusing on general sentiments of disappointment and broken promises, the (f)actual disadvantages of the color change were left out. Please make clear in the letter, that on a very practical level there are many ways in which both AFOLS *and* TLG (...) (20 years ago, 2-Dec-04, to lugnet.color, lugnet.lego)
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