閱讀暖身
2003年，丹麥樂高積木製造商樂高（Lego）瀕臨破產，如今卻躍升為全球數一數二的玩具大廠。究竟是何種神奇力量讓樂高如浴火鳳凰般重生，在電玩割喉競爭下屹立不搖，且被比擬為玩具界的「蘋果」？
進入本文前，請先想想如何表達以下單字：
A 超越
B 耀眼的
C 耀眼的
The Lego Group was 1) on the verge of bankruptcy in 2003, but just over a decade later, it has grown into nothing less than the “Apple” of toys. Last year, the company briefly a) surpassed rival Mattel to become the biggest toy manufacturer in the world. How could this maker of plastic bricks stage such a b) dazzling comeback, especially in the face of increasing competition from video games and the Internet?
樂高集團於2003年瀕臨破產，然而10年過後，儼然成為玩具製造業的「蘋果」。去年，樂高一度超越對手美泰兒公司，成為全球最大規模的玩具製造商。面對電玩市場和網際網路與日俱增的競爭，這家積木廠如何東山再起？
Every September, a group of around 50 Lego employees c) descends upon Spain’s Mediterranean coast, armed with sunscreen, plenty of Lego bricks, and a decade’s worth of research into the ways children play. Called the Future Lab, the group is the Danish toy giant’s secretive and highly ambitious R&D team, charged with inventing entirely new, technologically enhanced “play experiences” for kids all over the world.
每年9月，大約50名樂高員工齊聚西班牙地中海岸，配備防曬乳、大量樂高積木，以及10年來研究兒童遊戲方式的資料。這群員工隸屬「未來實驗室」，是丹麥玩具大廠野心勃勃的神祕研發團隊，意欲為全球兒童開創全新、高科技的「遊戲經驗」。
The Future Lab has to 2) live up to its lofty name and map out Lego’s future—in a world where play is increasingly digitalized. This is why the group relies on this intense week of brainstorming where small teams compete to come up with bigger, deeper, more awesome ideas.
在一個遊戲逐漸數位化的世界中，未來實驗室名不虛傳，為樂高擘畫未來願景。這就是為何這群員工須投入一星期的密集腦力激盪，他們編成多個小隊，互相競爭，以提出更偉大、更深刻、更令人讚嘆的主意。
Lego CEO Jorgen Knudstorp began 3) turning the company around in 2004 by making several key moves: improving processes, cutting costs, and managing cash flow. Then came stabilization.“But after that, we knew there’d be a third phase of organic growth,” he says. That required them to figure out what a modern Lego should even be, which Knudstorp accomplished in part by investing in deep ethnographic studies of how kids around the world really play.
2004年，樂高執行長喬丹．納斯托普採取幾項大措施來反敗為勝，包括改善流程、削減成本，以及管理現金流。接下來是穩定期，「但之後我們知道會有第3階段的有機增長，」他說。他們必須釐清樂高該有的現代樣貌。納斯托普的部分因應之道是：投資更深入的民族誌研究，了解全球各地兒童如何遊戲。
What’s Lego’s ultimate goal? According to Knudstorp, he only has to worry about “the shareholder”—Founder Ole Christiansen’s heirs, who’ve got two official objectives: Lego continue to create innovative play experiences and reach more children every year.
樂高的終極目標為何？根據納斯托普的說法，他只需擔心「某股東」，也就是創辦人奧爾．克里斯蒂安森的繼承人們。他們有2大目標：樂高持續創造新穎的遊戲經驗，以及每年獲得更多兒童青睞。
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