The Power of Teamwork. Another Lego Lesson.

Yesterday my 7-year-old gave me a lesson on how to be a Lego Master. He walked me step by step in the making of a Lego gum ball machine. Now, just to be clear, for the most part, I suck at Legos. I just kind of throw together whatever works, with no attention to color scheme, design, mechanics, etc. My little one on the other hand, can see the whole thing in his head before he makes it. And he’s very particular about how things get made. So much so that sometimes he’s not always the best at listening to my suggestions. But every now and then I actually have a good idea. And once in a blue moon he’ll actually consider it.

So yesterday as we were making the part of the gum ball machine where you insert the coin, he designed it in a way where you have to use another Lego to push the coin through, which in turns pushes out the gum ball. I had the brilliant idea to put the “pushy-thingy” in the slot to begin with, so that the coin pushes the Lego brick, which pushes the gum ball. At first, as I started to make it, he got upset and told me to stop. He was the Lego master and he didn’t want to do it like that. But, he never really let me finish what I was doing, so he didn’t really get to see the overall genius of my idea. So later when we had finished our twin gum ball machines, I slipped in my Lego brick and showed him how it work. He was amazed.

“Hey, that’s a really good idea daddy. I like that. You gave me some ideas.”

He went on to say that I graduated to the next level and that soon I can be a Lego master too. He chalked up the whole experience to great team work.

There are three morals here.

1. Through teamwork, you can learn, grow, and evolve your craft.
2. Listen to your team mates, even if they aren’t as experienced as you. Sometimes they may actually have a good idea. Don’t let pride keep you from growing.
3. Take initiative and chances in life when making a pitch to your clients or bosses.